M.Krishnamoorthy, A media coach, adjunct professor and author
Imagine how many hospitals, schools, highways, and other public amenities could be built for Malaysians if the billions of Ringgits were not wasted due to the civil service's faults and foolishness.
Year in and year out, the Auditor-General's Report has investigated and revealed poor financial management, which has resulted in Billions of Ringgit wasted over the years.
Such action burdens the government, causing it to lose revenue to manage the economy.
When will they stop wasting taxpayers' money and stop malpractice, wrongful procedures, and mismanagement of public funds?
Will those heads of departments be fired or action taken to reprimand or transfer them as millions have been lost in the nation’s wealth?
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) is expected to summon LTAT, Felda, and PR1MA over their worrying financial status, as declared in the Auditor-General’s 2022 report.
Will PAC recommend reprimanding, transfer or pay cuts for those responsible for incurring losses? In the past PAC had investigated CEOs of Government agencies with prima facie cases of corruption and no action has been taken. For example, a Finance Ministry official legitimately complained of a government’s agency and the PAC called for investigations and all went quiet.
The 2022 auditor-general's report has proposed several corrective actions and improvement recommendations.
The Financial Statements of Federal Agencies for the year 2022 will be uploaded on the National Audit Department’s website at https://lkan.audit.gov.my after being tabled in the Dewan Rakyat.
Auditor-General Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi said in a statement published in The Star.
The recommendations include:
- Heads of federal agencies should submit financial statements for auditing according to the set period and ensure grants are used for their intended purpose within the specified time frame.
- Improve financial statement presentation before submission
- Federal agencies should settle their loans according to the repayment schedule and not burden the federal government, which would incur financial costs beyond the due period.
- It is also recommended that the head of federal agencies review the establishment of dormant subsidiary companies, incur losses, and fail to generate satisfactory returns.
- Agencies, among other things, must comply with accounting standards to overcome the poor maintenance of financial records and face financial system issues.
On the Analysis of Financial Statements of Federal Agencies for the Year 2022, Wan Suraya said that out of 130 audited financial statements, special attention should be given to 80 federal agencies recording a current surplus of RM54.677bil and 50 federal agencies registering a current deficit amounting to RM4.570bil.
She said 126 federal agencies have higher asset amounts compared to liabilities, while four have higher liabilities compared to assets
"Eighty-six federal agencies received grants for management and development totaling RM27.034bil from the federal government, while 83 have accumulated outstanding development grant balances amounting to RM25.535bil.
"Ten federal agencies have the highest outstanding loan balances totaling RM122.388bil. Four out of these 10 agencies have loan balances from the federal government totaling RM5.338 billion, while three out of the four federal agencies have rescheduled the repayment period for the loans,” she said.
Wan Suraya further said that 53 federal agencies have 234 subsidiary companies with a total investment value of RM56.128bil. Of these, 212 subsidiary companies are active, while 22 are dormant.
In addition, she said that 121 subsidiary companies recorded profits. In comparison, 91 subsidiary companies experienced losses, and only 66 out of the 212 active subsidiary companies have paid dividends to the federal agencies totaling RM1.910bil in 2022.
Meanwhile, Wan Suraya said the Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) and PR1MA Corporation Malaysia (PR1MA) are facing concerns based on their debt levels and reliance on government assistance, whether through grants, loans or guarantees.
"In addition, the Armed Forces Fund Board's (LTAT) reporting is related to the impairment in value of investments in two subsidiary companies and the payment of profit-based non-cash dividends to contributors.
Meanwhile, Bose Dasan, a tax consultant, a certified financial planner, and a chartered financial consultant, said it was disappointing to read the Auditor-General’s report on the financial management of our federal agencies. Here are some concerns Bose expressed:
- No one would be surprised as each of these agencies operate on a non-profit basis.
- Government ownership means taxpayer’s burden. Who are the watchdogs for the government?
- All you can say is “this is Malaysia” The number of failed federal and state organizations can fill a whole volume of “business failure in Malaysia.
- So, when the AG writes a report what do you expect to see? Losses and poor investment decision?
- You can see an individual behind the scene probably taking a personal bite at the situation.
- A country with no proper mission/instrument/will and intention to check corruption are not going to discover sterling performance.
- When ships (LCS) were ordered and not one ship showed up but most of the funds had been disbursed. No questions or reprimanding done to correct the situation.
- Criminal investigation is required. My sympathies with the AG’s office who went through the whole process of auditing these agencies.
- Any human risk management to prevent corruption and abuse of position and power is still work-in-progress.
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Freelance Writer M. Krishnamoorthy (www.imkrishna.net) is a media coach, adjunct professor and undercover journalist. He has freelanced with Bernama, NST, The Star, and Malaysiakini. He also freelances as a fixer/coordinator for CNN, BBC, German and Australian Television networks and the New York Times. As an undercover journalist, he has highlighted society's concerns.
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