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Police lose weapons, Customs men lose shoes

Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (11)
by Hafiz Yatim
Malaysiakini
Oct 1, 2013

AUDIT REPORT The Auditor-General’s 2012 report reveals that the Royal Malaysian Police Force recorded a total of 309 missing items in the form of weapons, handcuffs and cars.

It also reported that the Royal Customs Department wasted a whopping RM600,000 on 7,659 pairs of shoes that were not according to specification and were then badly damaged during prolonged storage.

The items missing from the police force were recorded between 2010 and 2012, resulting in losses amounting to RM1.33 million. Continue reading “Police lose weapons, Customs men lose shoes”

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RM73mil CIQ complex illegally built on private land

Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (10)
by Nigel Aw
Malaysiakini
Oct 1, 2013

AUDIT REPORT The RM73 million Malacca Customs and Immigration Quarantine Complex (CIQ) was illegally built on a private land, which eventually cost the Malacca government RM10.8 million, says the Auditor-General’s Report 2012.

The report pointed out that the federal project, which included a jetty, was to be built by Pesona Metro Sdn Bhd on a plot of 1.78 acres at the mouth of the Malacca River.

Melaka River CruiseHowever the building required four acres of land. So, with the help of state authorities, the state government in October 2010 approved an additional 2.22 acres of adjacent land to make up the difference.

The said land was in fact owned by Pembinaan Kota Laksamana (Melaka) Sdn Bhd, which then issued a trespassing notice against the project contractor.

Despite the legal warning, the federal government instructed the contractor to continue with its works, resulting in the land owner filing a lawsuit against the contractor. Continue reading “RM73mil CIQ complex illegally built on private land”

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Millions lost due to Works ministry failure to recoup money from terminated contractors

Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (9)
by Rita Jong
The Malaysian Insider
October 01, 2013

The Public Works Department failed to recover RM15.77 million in performance bonds despite terminating 21 government projects.

The Auditor-General’s report which was made public today stated that the department fully recovered 30 performance bonds amounting to RM20.97 million, while only half of another 21 bonds totalling RM26.97 million were recovered.

The amount from the outstanding bonds that were yet to be recovered totalled RM15.77 million. Continue reading “Millions lost due to Works ministry failure to recoup money from terminated contractors”

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Bonus for losses, the GLC way for rewarding employees

Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (8)
The Malaysian Insider
October 01, 2013

Seven government-linked companies (GLCs) rewarded their employees with fat bonuses despite recording a combined loss of close to RM2 billion in 2011.

The Auditor-General Report today stated that Syarikat Prasarana Negara, an infrastructure company which had the highest recorded deficit of RM763 million among the group, gave its employees between one-and-a-half and two months bonus each.

The report also found that MIMOS, the country’s research centre, was the most generous of the group, by giving out between two and three months bonus to its employees, despite making a RM4.6 million loss in 2011.

Meanwhile, employees of KTM received the least, with the railway operator distributing ex-gratia payments of a half-month’s salary or a minimum of RM500 in the same year. The company made losses of RM103 million. Continue reading “Bonus for losses, the GLC way for rewarding employees”

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AG’s report reveals ministry official claimed RM300,000 for trip worth under RM50,000

Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (7)
by Trinna Leong
The Malaysian Insider
October 01, 2013

The Auditor-General questioned a RM303,813 travel claim by a Communications and Culture Ministry senior officer for a four-day study trip to Geneva, Switzerland, which the auditors felt was worth only RM50,000.

The 2012 Auditor-General Report revealed that even if the officer took a return first-class flight, stayed in the best hotels, wined and dined in fancy restaurants and was given allowances to shop for winter clothing, the final tab would have cost no more than RM50,000.

The claim was made by the officer as part of the ministry’s Malaysian Emergency Response Services (MERS) 999 project. MERS 999 is a government initiative to have only one emergency number, sub-contracted out by the ministry to Telekom Malaysia (TM).

The project, done in phases from 2007 to 2012, cost the government a total of RM801.55 million. Continue reading “AG’s report reveals ministry official claimed RM300,000 for trip worth under RM50,000”

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No funds, so costly wings of cops clipped

Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (6)
Hafiz Yatim
Malaysiakini
Oct 1, 2013

AUDIT REPORT Between June 2008 and December 2010, the Malaysian police purchased five Beechcraft King Air 350 aircraft at a whopping US$58.25 million (RM175.24 million) for its Air Wing.

The planes were supposed to facilitate the upgrading of the nation’s air security.

However, within less than five years of usage, one of the planes had to be grounded for eight months, between September 2011 and April 2012, while another could not be used between June and November 2012.

Furthermore, out of the five, only three aircraft have been delivered so far. Continue reading “No funds, so costly wings of cops clipped”

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RM199m “burnt” as incinerators for waste management become white elephants

Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (5)

The Malaysian Insider
October 01, 2013

The Auditor-General Department revealed a waste of RM199 million which was spent on the construction of four incinerators by the National Solid Waste Management Department over the last four years, as there was no expertise to operate such machines once they were built.

The incinerators were built in Langkawi, Pangkor, Tioman and Cameron Highlands.

According to the AG Report released today, the construction of these incinerators was also delayed two to three times from their original schedule.

The report revealed that three of the incinerators were not in operation for between 223 and 642 days, due to the lack of expertise.

The plan to build the fifth incinerator in Labuan also did not take off. Continue reading “RM199m “burnt” as incinerators for waste management become white elephants”

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Govt overpaid TM by RM11.6m for 999 emergency line, says A-G

Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (3)
by Joseph Sipalan
October 1, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 —The government has been told to take back at least RM11.6 million from Telekom Malaysia Berhad (TM), after the Auditor-General (A-G) detailed a laundry list of “improper payments” and “unreasonable expenses” incurred in the development of the Malaysian Emergency Response System (MERS) 999.

The figure does not include an RM25.88 million lump sum payment made out to the national telecommunications company by the Information, Communication and Culture Ministry, which the auditor in his 2012 report said could not be verified but was given ministry approval.

In his 2012 annual report released today, the A-G identified numerous issues surrounding the RM801.55 million project, where funds were carved out from various parts of the project over the course of its six-year development by TM from 2007 to 2012.

This included some RM5.07 million spent by the ministry to cover the cost of organising training workshops and seminars and related expenses for TM staff, which the A-G described as unreasonable.

He said it must be recouped from the project contractor. Continue reading “Govt overpaid TM by RM11.6m for 999 emergency line, says A-G”

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RM38,000 wasted in Health Ministry’s ‘stupid’ campaign

Auditor-General’s 2012 Report (2)
Malaysiakini
Oct 1, 2013

The Health Ministry’s decision to brand smokers as ‘stupid’ in promotional literature cost it RM38,750 after the material was deemed unsuitable for distribution.

The Auditor-General’s Report 2012 states that the ministry had ordered 300 backpacks costing RM19,500 and 3,500 notepads at RM19,250 with the slogan ‘Smoking, a stupid habit for stupid people’.

But the items never made it into the hands of the citizens as the language was later deemed inappropriate.

But the lingual faux pas was not the ministry’s only mistake. Continue reading “RM38,000 wasted in Health Ministry’s ‘stupid’ campaign”

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Security in schools sees RM2bil go down the tube

Auditor-General’s 2012 Report
Malaysiakini
Oct 1, 2013

AUDIT REPORT The 2012 Auditor-General’s Report has revealed severe mishandling of RM2.051 billion with regard to hiring security contractors for schools between 2010 and 2012.

From poorly prepared contracts to hiring of septuagenarians as security guards, the auditor-general said the management of security services in 35 schools and hostels surveyed was generally unsatisfactory.

The audit, which involved schools in Selangor, Perlis and Sabah, found that the contracts were not uniform and did not state specific requirements set by the Education Ministry. Continue reading “Security in schools sees RM2bil go down the tube”

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Nazri’s “Blow Job” in Parliament

by Martin Jalleh
1 November 2012

The Prime Minister has often preached about new winds of change and transformation blowing through Umno and into the country. There would be reform to deal corruption a deadly blow.

He has a very dependable Minister in his department who makes up for his frequent absence in Parliament, one who is very adept at blowing in the wind in the august House, i.e., providing answers that are as intangible (in meaning) as the wind – Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.

Nazri Aziz is also reputed for blowing a fuse and spewing caustic invective when he finds himself in an intellectual and logical void and when all sense and sensibility deserts him in parliament.

He blows his cool when challenged and when his trademark nonsense is made bare. Similarly, when his theatrics, temper tantrums, threats and taunts fail, he blows off steam, accompanied by low blows.

Occasionally, Parliament hears Nazri’s own blown up importance, the latest being his loud declaration and reminder to the Opposition that he is the “number one” minister of law – and of course, he knows everything about the law. Continue reading “Nazri’s “Blow Job” in Parliament”

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Pakatan is doing the right stuff

Jeswan Kaur | October 17, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

With the Auditor-General’s report vouching for Pakatan’s ability to ‘do a good job’, does BN have any other trick up its sleeve to bring the curtains down on its arch rival Pakatan?

COMMENT

Poetic justice – that best sums up the 2011 Auditor-General’s report that has given the opposition Pakatan Rakyat-controlled four states top marks for fiscal management.

The Auditor-General in its report had praised Selangor and Penang for collecting a revenue of RM62.50 million and RM192.19 million respectively.

Both states recorded a surge of 46.8% and 4% respectively as compared to the previous year.

The AG’s report also praised Kedah and Kelantan for their revenue collection but said that the states needed to improve their debt management system.

The DAP-led Penang showed the way in terms of revenue collection, chalking up RM192.19 million or 46.8% increase compared with the RM410.70 million generated in 2010.

Selangor, the country’s richest state, increased its revenue collection by RM62.50 million or 4% for the same period.

A paradoxical scenario indeed for in spite of the vehement attacks by Barisan Nasional on Pakatan’s ability to administer the four states under its fold, the opposition coalition, as revealed by the Auditor-General’s report, has proven its rivals wrong, shutting them up in the most fashionable way through an impressive performance. Continue reading “Pakatan is doing the right stuff”

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AG report: Top marks to Pakatan states

Syed Jaymal Zahiid | October 15, 2012
Free Malaysia Today

The 2011 Auditor-General’s report showed that apart from a few minor glitches, all four states showed good financial standing.

KUALA LUMPUR: The 2011 Auditor-General’s report indicates good fiscal management by all four Pakatan Rakyat-controlled states with revenues improving.

DAP-held Penang led the way in terms of revenue collection, recording a RM192.19 million or 46.8% increase compared with the RM410.70 million made in 2010 while Selangor, Malaysia’s richest state, increased by RM62.50 million or 4% for the same period.

Kedah, on the other hand, saw its surplus drop when it recorded an increase in operating expenditures despite boosting its revenue, but the report noted that the PAS-led state government had more or less maintained a “satisfactory” balance sheet. Continue reading “AG report: Top marks to Pakatan states”

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Speaker Pandikar Amin should overrule Nazri’s interference with parliamentary affairs and order that the Auditor-General’s 2011 Reports should be tabled in Parliament immediately without any delay

The Speaker, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, should overrule the blatant interference in in-house parliamentary matters by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of parliamentary affairs, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz and order that the Auditor-General’s national audit reports for 2011 be tabled in Parliament immediately without any delay.

The reason given by Nazri that the government will only table the Auditor-General’s 2011 audit reports about a week or two after the 2013 budget is presented by the Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Friday is utterly ridiculous, unacceptable and an outrageous affront to the concept and principle of parliamentary independence and autonomy, even in its most attenuated and diluted form after 55 years of encroachments by the UMNO/Barisan Nasional government!

Nazri said the tabling of the Auditor-General’s Reports are being held up so that “it won’t steal the limelight from (debate on) the budget” is totally misconceived, misguided and a blatant abuse of executive power, especially as the annual audit reports by the Auditor-General are an integral and essential part of the annual budget debate by MPs.

Has Najib given Nazri the “green light” or the directive to hold back the Auditor-General’s 2011 Reports a week or two after his Budget 2013 presentation on Friday? Continue reading “Speaker Pandikar Amin should overrule Nazri’s interference with parliamentary affairs and order that the Auditor-General’s 2011 Reports should be tabled in Parliament immediately without any delay”

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Was Shahrizat’s act really a sacrifice?

by Kee Thuan Chye
March 14, 2012

Shahrizat did not ‘resign’. She knew the time was up, and perhaps the game too.

Let’s get this right. Shahrizat Abdul Jalil did not, in the strict sense of the word, resign. She merely chose to relinquish her position as Women, Family and Community Development Minister just a little ahead of April 8, when her senatorship would expire.

And her guess was probably as good as many people’s that her senatorship would not be extended, given that she’s now a liability to her party, Umno.

Ever since the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) scandal broke out, she has been hounded for the fact that the company belongs to her family. Despite her claims that she had nothing to do with how the NFCorp got a RM250 million soft loan from the government while she was a member of the Cabinet, few people actually believe her.

So, if her senatorship were to be extended, Umno’s chances at the coming general election would have been severely impaired.

So no, she did not ‘resign’. She knew the time was up, and perhaps the game too. Continue reading “Was Shahrizat’s act really a sacrifice?”

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Will the charge against NFC boss be an escapade for BN?

— Kim Quek
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 14, 2012

MARCH 14 — It appears that the charge of NFC chairman Mohamed Salleh Ismail in court is a tactical move to get away from the scorching NFC scandal – the same way Barisan Nasional has got away with the RM12.5 billion PKFZ ghost town scandal and the Khir Toyo corruption scandal.

This move is known as the “decoy and silence” tactic, which has been BN’s time-tested strategy to slip away from a high corruption scandal entrapment. It is simply to initiate a peripheral charge to divert attention from the real issue and use the court action as shield to fence-off further attacks on ground of “sub judice”.

This is vividly illustrated in Parliament on March 13, a day after Mohamed Salleh was charged, when Speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia absurdly cited the current court case as reason to reject an emergency motion on the NFC project debacle tabled by MP Zuraida Kamaruddin, despite the latter explaining that her issue was with the ministries which approved the project, and not with Mohamed Salleh’s misconduct, which is the subject matter of the current court case.

And on the same day, Agriculture Minister Noh Omar, under whose jurisdiction the NFC project falls, deflected all questions on the scandal on the equally ridiculous suggestion of sub judice; while Barisan Nasional MP Abdul Rahman Dahlan falsely claimed that the court is now the best platform to thrash out the issues, adding that the party that should answer questions is NFC, and not the ministries.

Apparently, BN hopes that with Mohamed Salleh in the dock, the BN government would be left in peace. Continue reading “Will the charge against NFC boss be an escapade for BN?”

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Mat Zain: ‘No doubt’ Shahrizat’s husband, children committed multiple CBT

By Clara Chooi
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 26, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 — Former senior police officer Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim asserted today that the National Feedlot Corporation’s (NFCorp) controversial condominium purchases are clear examples of CBT (criminal breach of trust), adding the Attorney-General should have “no doubt” of this when deciding whether to press charges.

Mat Zain said that based on provisions in Section 409 of the Penal Code, the husband and children of minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, who run the NFCorp, should each be slapped with numerous counts of CBT.

If convicted, the former KL CID chief said they would be liable to a jail term of between two and 20 years, whipping and a fine.

“After having sighted the NFC (National Feedlot Centre) loan agreement that was made available yesterday, coupled with the public statement by the Commercial Crimes Investigations Director (CCID), I would say that the Attorney General’s Chambers should not have any doubts in their mind now, that these are clear cut case of CBTs by agent as defined under Section 409 (of the) Penal Code.

“There’s no two ways about it. This is not like a breach of an agreement,” he said in an emailed statement to The Malaysian Insider today. Continue reading “Mat Zain: ‘No doubt’ Shahrizat’s husband, children committed multiple CBT”

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The shameless lot

– Spencer Gan
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 26, 2012

FEB 26 – When exactly did Malaysia reach this point: where those sullied by wrongdoing (NFC) and the mother of all wrongdoing (PKFZ) speak without shame, even with arrogance.

There is no remorse or humility. Aren’t those who are wrong or who have misused public funds supposed to show some sorrow or at least keep silent?

Not so the people at the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp) or the political party whose politicians fleeced Malaysians of billions of ringgit, the MCA. Continue reading “The shameless lot”

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Loan agreement shows NFCorp broke terms, says Pua

By Yow Hong Chieh
The Malaysian Insider
Feb 25, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 25 — DAP MP Tony Pua today revealed the loan agreement signed by the National Feedlot Corporation (NFCorp), which he claimed proved the company had violated conditions attached to the RM250 million facility.

The DAP publicity chief pointed out that Clause 3 of the agreement clearly states that the federal loan should be used to “part finance the project as described in the First Schedule of this agreement”.

The First Schedule states that use of the loan must be “consistent with the government of Malaysia’s policy of developing, promoting and nurturing the production of beef and beef products through the National Feedlot Centre as a centre for commercial and integrated cattle feedlot”.

“It cannot be more obvious. Use of the funds can only strictly be used to part finance the setting up of the centre and nothing else,” Pua told reporters at DAP headquarters here.

“So all the claims made by the executives and directors of NFCorp that they can use the money for anything is complete rubbish.” Continue reading “Loan agreement shows NFCorp broke terms, says Pua”