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KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 163 government projects have been either cancelled or deferred since 2018, says the Finance Ministry.
The ministry also said there was no need for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to be established to look into the cancellations, as data showed there have been no significant losses in respect of the allocations utilised by ministries.
The ministry was responding to a question by Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong (Barisan Nasional-Ayer Hitam) on the list of federal projects cancelled or deferred since 2018.
Dr Wee also asked about the amount of compensation paid or potentially payable for each project, and whether an RCI will be established to examine the losses incurred by the nation.
“In May 2018, the Finance Ministry issued a directive to suspend all government procurements conducted through open tender, restricted tender and direct negotiation for the procurement of supplies, services, consultancy and works, as part of efforts to improve governance and the implementation of government procurement,” it said in a parliamentary written reply dated July 6.
A month later, the ministry explained that all government procurements done through open tender, restricted tender and direct negotiation for which a Letter of Acceptance had not yet been issued were to be cancelled and re-tendered through either open tender or pre-qualified open tender.
“The government's decision at that time also formed the basis for the review of government procurement procedures,” it said.
As such, certain measures were taken by the government including the categorisation of projects according to priority.
This included approval for the extension of existing contracts and reducing supply quantities or the scope of services or works without affecting functionality, as well as the abolition of Agency Procurement Board 'B', with its functions consolidated under Agency Procurement Board 'A', accompanied by revised financial approval thresholds.
“The government's decision in that year also formed the basis for the proposed enactment of the government Procurement Act, with the objective of strengthening government procurement governance. From 2018 until May 31, 2026, a total of 163 projects were cancelled or deferred,” it said. - THE STAR
