INCOMPETENCE OR GREED?

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‘It’s not your father’s money’

The Auditor-General's Report 2010 is not about politics or the opposition, it is simply about the 'mismanagement of our money'.

Nov 13, 2011 : The 2010 Auditor General’s Report is a voluminous document with horrifying mentions of repeated trangresions by the authorities.

It offered more or less the same findings contained in reports of preceding years , which is bizzarre overpricing, negligence, incompetency and officious arrogance.

If you are perplexed as to why the opposition should bicker about the report then we shall have to explain to you in as simple terms as possible.

This is not about politics or the opposition. This is beyond the opposition. This is about the mismanagement of our money.

And mismanagement of our money deserves to be treated as a cause of concern. We are talking about possible fraud and deception.

The short answer to the question then as to why the opposition are irked by the AG’s Report as are all right thinking Malaysians is that the money being treated isn’t the property of the transgressors.

BN government’s deception

That being so, the administration of the money and the application of the funds thereof, must be done with utmost care.

It’s not your father’s money. That is the short answer.

The long answer is, Malaysians are fed up with the deception and misappropriation of funds.

For the year 2010, the government approved a budget of RM149 billion for operating expenditure (opex).

This wasn’t enough and the government had to increase the opex to RM151 billion.

The report noted that nine ministries had overspent. Here is where all of us should be concerned. This is taxpayers money being spent on opex.

The two billion could have been spent on capital expenditure (capex) which builds capacity to create more wealth.

Now, Malaysians are equally outraged by the revelations of the 2010 Auditor-General Reports on the continuing financial scandals, hanky-panky and gross financial negligence in government.

Bizzarre overpricing

• We are horrified to learn for example that the National Sports Institute acquired 23 horses totalling RM5.66 million without a Financial Ministry go-ahead.
• None of these horses competed in two recommended international championships.
• Then we have the case of the RM142 million RazakSAT satellite malfunctioning barely a year after being commissioned.

Wait, we have more disclosures in the AG Report 2010.

• The Malaysian Marine Parks Department spent a whopping RM56,350 for a pair of night vision Marine binoculars. They paid 29 times more than the binocular’s market value of RM1,940 a pair.
• They also paid the same amount for another pair of night vision Bushnell binoculars, or 1,893% more than its actual price of RM2,827.

We are once again appalled at the incompetence of front line workers incapable of appreciating the importance of proper placement of decimal points and making accounting mistakes that have resulted in wasteful overspending.

These should not have happened if there are efficient and proper internal audit systems.

• As the result of a laid back attitude, we are told of stories where a pensioner received RM21,433 a month instead of RM214.33 for 16 months! The mistake was detected after more than a year.

The officer who finally detected the mistake should be a given a merit order.

• We are also dismayed of hearing Giatmara Centre mistakenly paying RM170 per kg instead of RM1.70 per kg for sugar for a poverty eradication programme or RM25, 500 for 150 kg of sugar!

This must be a special kind of sugar.

Repeated irregularities

What about the ‘village-fool’ remark that the Chief Secretary to the Government Sidek Hassan made in response to the AG’s Report?

Sidek’s remark is simply saying he is not worried and that the problem has been dealt with.

Him saying he has sent circulars asking officials to exercise more discipline is in itself a negligent expression and an act of gross callousness.

I am afraid, the public isn’t that forgiving.

Sidek’s call to all departments and agencies to take heed of the AG’s comments and views is is annual repeated reaction.

Which goes to show, that what I said about the same mistakes being repeated did take place, otherwise, Sidek wouldn’t have to repeat his annual reaction would he?

No wonder then, there was this need to delay the submission of the 2010 Auditor-General’s Report to ensure that it would not completely overshadow Najib’s 2012 Budget.

Otherwise, the Finance Minister’s charitable overtures would be overshadowed and overwhelmed by the over 1,300 pages of exposes of financial irregularities, hanky-panky as well as misappropriation of public funds in the first full year of PM Najib Tun Razak’s premiership.

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman and a FMT columnist. This is an excerpt from his blog sakmongkolak47.

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Sekilas pandang dari Laporan Audit Negara 2010.

a] RM160.7 JUTA telah diluluskan oleh Kementerian Pelajaran untuk membina 300 makmal komputer yang. Namun, sehingga kini, hanya 2 buah makmal yang siap. Peralatan ICT yang dibekalkan sejak 3 tahun lepas masih belum dapat digunakan dan masih tersimpan akibat makmal yang tidak sempurna.

b] Pembelian alatan yang jauh lebih mahal dari harga tertinggi pasaran.

Laptop dan pencetak dengan RM11,845 berbanding pasaran RM3,428 : 246% lebih mahal.

LCD TV dan DVD Player dengan RM16,100 berbanding pasaran RM2,182 : 638% lebih mahal.

Radar X-Band dengan RM47,725 berbanding pasaran RM8,255 : 478% lebih mahal

Bushnell Binocular dengan RM56,350 berbanding pasaran RM2,827 : 1,893% lebih mahal

Marine Binocular dengan RM56,350 berbanding pasaran RM1,940 : 2,805 % lebih mahal

Walkie-Talkie dengan RM4,324 berbanding pasaran RM1,561 : 177% lebih mahal

c] Peralatan yang tidak mengikuti  spesifikasi kontrak :

Enjin bot aluminium : Kontrak enjin 4 stroke RM11,553, beri enjin 2 stroke RM6,549 : Rugi RM5,396

Peti sejuk : kontrak peti jenis Panasonic RM1,299, beri peti Mitsubishi RM629 : Rugi RM 670

Dapur : Kontrak dapur Electrolux RM6,955, beri dapur TAIYO RM2,110 : Rugi RM4,855

LCD TV dan DVD Player : Kontrak jenama Toshiba RM16,100, beri jenama Philips RM195 : Rugi RM15,905

GPS : Kontrak jenama SAMYUNG, RM5,080, beri jenama FURONO, RM1,055 : Rugi RM 4,025

CCTV : Kontrak jenama PARADOX RM5,750, beri jenama Belco, RM640 : Rugi RM5,110

Laptop dan Printer : Kontrak jenama Acer Aspire dan HP CP1518, RM11,945, beri Acer Travelmate dan Canon Pixma RM2,137 : Rugi RM9,808

d] Majlis Sukan Negara telah membeli 23 ekor kuda baka khas untuk sebuah pertandingan dengan harga RM5.66 juta. Pembelian ini dibuat secara runding terus tanpa mendapat kelulusan dari Kementerian Kewangan. Namun, 18 ekor darinya tidak melepasi piawaian Federation Equestre International, hanya lima ekor sahaja lulus untuk menyertai pertandingan.

e] Sebanyak RM110.67 juta insentif tidak berbayar kepada 73,291 orang petani. Ianya disebabkan oleh pengurusan yang tidak telus lagi tidak efektif di bawah Kementerian Pertanian dan Industri Asas Tani.

f] Akibat pengurusan yang kurang efektif, peralatan yang berjumlah RM64.69 juta masih terbiar dan tidak dapat digunakan sehingga kini. Akibat itu, sejumlah RM0.44 juta lagi dibazirkan untuk kawal selia dan insurans bagi menyimpan peralatan tersebut.

SYARIKAT GLC

1. Bayaran Dividen Kepada Kerajaan

Lebih 50% dari syarikat GLC yang tersenarai tidak membayar dividen seperti yang dijadulkan. Daripada 21 syarikat GLC yang mendapat keuntungan RM264.94 billion sebelum cukai, hanya 10 syarikat sahaja yang membayar dividen setiap tahun kepada kerajaan. Baki 11 lagi hanya membayar pada tahun tertentu sahaja.

2. Nisbah Hutang Ke Atas Ekuiti Negatif

Terdapat syarikat yang mempunyai nisbah hutang ke atas ekuiti negatif selama tiga tahun berturut-turut berpunca dari kebergantungan mereka yang sangat tinggi terhadap hutang. Syarikat tersebut seperti Keda Aquaculture sdn bhd, Kumpulan Modal Perdana, Sepang Internation Circuit, Indah Water Konsortium, Syarikat Perumahan Negara, Perwaja Terengganu, Composites Technology Research Malaysia, Keretapi Tanah Melayu dan Assets Global Network.

3. Penurunan Pendapatan

Yang tersenarai, lapan Syarikat GLC yang mengalami penurunan pendapatan selama tiga tahun berturut-turut. Jumlah penurunan terakhir 2009 ialah RM26.3 billion.

4. Kerugian

Mendahului senarai Syarikat GLC yang mengalami kerugian ialah, Syarikat Prasarana Negara, Kertapi Tanah Melayu, Assest Global Network dan Indah Water Konsortium. Jumlah kerugian ialah RM630.45 Juta.