Tag: Management of Public Funds

No “First Come, First Serve” Sales for Bukit Botak Housing Units

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SHAH ALAM, 12 Oct: Single-storey detached houses in Bukit Botak, Selayang, will not be sold directly to those who were present at the sales event which was held today at Bukit Botak.

The Public Relations Manager of the Selangor State Development Corporation (PKNS), Ishak Hashim in a notice, informed that the Selangor State Government has ordered for the “first come, first serve” sales to be cancelled immediately.

Instead, PKNS has been instructed to use the Special Selection Committee, comprising of the Selangor Housing and Property Board (LPHS) and PKNS, in collaboration with the Gombak District Land Office.

This committee will shortlist the applicants and make a sales offer to applicants qualified through an interview process and specific selection criteria.

“The State Government has issued a directive where PKNS, as the developer, has been asked to obtain applicants information first,” according to the notice.

In addition, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will be a witness while the Assemblyman’s office will act as the observer,” he added.

In relation to hat, those who were present at the sales event today has been asked to fill out an application form and return it to PKNS to be processed according to the prescribed procedure.

PNSB Saves Abandoned Projects, Buyers Receive CF

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KUALA SELANGOR, 11 Oct: The purchase of the Taman Alam Perdana housing project in Kuala Selangor, which was abandoned since 2004 and restored, has now obtained the Certificate of Fitness (CF).

The project which was saved by Permodalan Negeri Selangor Berhad (PNSB) involves 1,116 housing units.

Hence, PNSB asks all home buyers of Taman Alam Perdana to communicate directly with PNSB for further business at the PNSB office at Level 25, Wisma MBSA, Shah Alam.

Buyers can also contact PNSB at 03-5510 7105/ 7233/ 7234.

In November 2011, PNSB, as a subsidiary company of the Selangor Government through Menteri Besar Incorporated (MBI), was tasked with the responsibility to restore the housing project.

The project was abandoned since 2004 and failed to be restored when Selangor was still administered by Umno-BN.

Restoration was completed on April 2012 and the Temporary Certificate of Fitness (TCF) was issued by the Kuala Selangor District Council (MDKS) on 28 April 2012.

It was initiated by the State Government to protect the interests and welfare of the people.

Audit Report Leakages: Bring Culprits to Justice – Anwar

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PRESS STATEMENT

Assalamualaikum, Good Morning and Greetings,

We thank Tan Sri Dato’ Setia Haji Ambrin Buang and his team at the National Audit Office for the release of the Auditor General’s Report 2012.

It is déjà vu all over again. The report continues to show a consistent pattern on the lack of care in managing government finances and assets, weak management and supervision of government projects, continued financial malpractices and more importantly the lack of political resolve and to stop all leakages and inefficiencies in managing government finances.

Another glaring and very worrying trend, is the continued lackadaisical attitude in spending government money by ministries and the lack of political will by the current government to curb repeat offenders despite its continued calls for transformation.

It is totally unacceptable for the government to continue allowing such financial malpractices especially when Malaysia has been cautioned internationally for overspending and not taking enough steps in curbing such practices.
Despite repeated caution by the investment community, the government continues the old habit of spending as long as it is within the allocation, rather than thinking to reduce its spending allocation and being more frugal.

We wish to highlight a few main findings by the National Audit Office where the government continues to spend without having the necessary controls in place, which had resulted in either wastages or leakages.

1. A sum of RM 2.051 billion was spent over 2010 to 2012 out of a RM 3.689 billion allocation by the Ministry of Education to introduce non-armed security personnel at our schools and national institutions. While the intent is indeed noble, the lack of monitoring has allowed over-aged, non-security vetted personnel and non-functioning CCTV’s to be trusted as means of keeping our children safe in schools.

2. Ministry of Transport spent almost RM 1.42 billion from an already revised allocation of RM 1.47 billion to upgrade the Kota Kinabalu International Airport. Despite spending over 96% of a revised allocation, this project initiated since 2006 is far from completion with arrival halls and passenger toilets in unsatisfactory condition, 599 potholes were found on the runway and taxiway since 2010, which are not yet repaired.

3. rom 2006 until December 2012, Ministry of Education, Communication and Culture spent RM 800.3 million with Telekom Malaysia to introduce the Malaysian Emergency Response Services (MERS) 999. This is to formalise 999 as the only formal number for emergency services. The report highlights a total of RM 41 million of improper payments and overpaid items, including a paid training trip to Geneva for a Senior Ministry Official, which amounted to RM 303,813 for 4 days.

4. Other infrastructure build projects such as the Projek Pembetungan Negara (RM 744 million spent), Kolej ATM in Port Dickson (RM 190 million spent) and Pusat Pemprosesan, Pengeluaran dan Gudang in Bangi (RM 94 million allocation) all recorded losses of between 16% to 20% from the total spent due to project delays arising from the lack of initial planning and project monitoring.

5. Delays in collection of company taxes by the Inland Revenue Board had losses estimated at RM 62 million.
6. The acquisition of 5 Beechcraft King Air 350 costing RM 175.24 million, which could not be used effectively since the pilots and technicians were trained using training modules not recognised by the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation.

Amongst the smaller wasteful expenditures and examples of the lackdaisical attitudes are;

1. Ministry of Youth and Sports spent a total of RM 67.6 million for Hari Belia 2012 from an initial allocation of RM 15 million; where RM 1.6 million was used to hire a K-pop group.

2. Polis DiRaja Malaysia lost assets under its custody amounting to RM 1.33 million. Examples of these assets are 156 handcuffs, 44 firearms, 29 vehicles, 26 walkie-talkie, 22 radio.

3. Custom-made shoes for Customs Department officials, which were not distributed on time and resulted in 7659 pairs being demolished because quality specifications were not met. The total loss reported was RM 602,089.

We urge MACC to conduct a thorough investigation on the alleged financial malpractices and to bring the culprits to justice.

However, we also yearn for the day when the government would act to penalise the ‘sharks’ responsible for these malpractices rather than only prosecuting the smaller ‘fries’.

We repeat that these ongoing financial malpractices and lackadaisical attitude of the government in spending the country’s money are totally unacceptable especially when the rakyat are now being burdened with rising fuel prices and the possible introduction of the GST.

DATO SERI ANWAR IBRAHIM

OPPOSITION LEADER OF MALAYSIA

Water Supply Disruption at Peak 208 Resolved

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MONDAY, 7 Oct: Residents at Peak 208, Taman Kajang Utama, are now able to breathe a sigh of relief because the water supply disruptions at their homes did not go on for too long.

Assemblyman for Kajang, Lee Chin Cheh said, the disruption which affected nearly 800 residents was because of maintenance work under their treatment plan at the Sungai Semenyih Water Treatment Plant.

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Last Wednesday, water disruptions were resolved and residents enjoyed water supply as usual.

“Three weeks ago, Konsortium ABASS Sdn Bhd (ABBAS) stopped operations at one of the retention ponds to allow for maintenance for the water treatment plan to be implemented,” he said when contacted by TVSelangor.

Chin added, a week after the operation was carried out, higher grounds, especially the Taman Kajang Utama residential area, was affected.

“I extended this matter to Syabas and they informed that the plant was under the supervision of ABASS. However, Syabas will monitor the water levels of the plant. If it is detrimental, they will send a letter to ABBAS to stop the maintenance work.

For the record, areas around Semenyih, Kajang and Bangi, receive water supply from the Sungai Semenyih Water Treatment Plant which is managed by Konsortium ABASS Sdn Bhd (ABASS).

The plant, with a capacity design of 545 million litres per day (MLD) has been operating above it design capacity (overload) by producing 683 MLD and production cannot be increased further.

Water disruptions often occur due to the water recovery process which takes a long time because the production capacity of the water treatment plant is at its maximum level.

Audit Report: Ministers Should Not Blame Junior Officers

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Kuala Lumpur, 3 Oct: Cabinet Ministers have been urged to stop blaming junior officers by being fully responsible of all fraud and wasteful spending that happens in government departments.

Opposition Leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said, based on the Auditor General’s 2012 Report, there were many spending leakages which happened in federal departments that require investigations so that it does not repeat.

“Ministers should take responsibility and not blame junior officers because it happened in front of them without supervision.

“We do not want to hear that ministers are under investigation or consideration because every year, this happens, in fact it gets worse,” he said in a press conference at the Parliament lobby.

He also urged the Public Accounts Committee (PAS) to provide a special session to look into this matter in addition to asking Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs to be involved in the committee to continue urging for the matter to be monitored.
“Every time an audit report is published, we seem surprised when leakages and embezzlement happens every year.

“The leakages happen when prices of goods go up, the people are pressed but embezzlement that happens are ignored,” he said.

Private Jet Costs RM86.4 Million, Najib Proposed to use MAS

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KUALA LUMPUR, 3 Oct: The Central Government has spent RM100 million over the past three years for the rental cost and maintenance of Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s private jet for his tour programmes and official visits.

Member of Parliament for Taiping, Nga Kor Ming said, the government admitted to spending RM86.4 million for the rental costs of the jet, maintenance costs (RM16.515 million) and the cost to improve the jet (RM3.23 million).

In addition, he said, the government also incurred expenses of RM44.02 million to finance Najib’s overseas trips since 2008.

“In contrast, the Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Hsien Loong travels by Singapore Airlines, first-class, when making overseas visits and it saves millions of public funds.

“The Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, always sits in the economy-class when touring or making visits.

“These exemplary actions should be emulated. It is suggested for Najib to consider flying first-class on Malaysian Airlines (MAS), and not an exclusive private jet,” he said in a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

He said, when the country is facing deficit for 17 years in a row, the Umno-BN government has failed to set a good example in terms of prudent financial management.

He added that the Umno-BN government needs to submit a supplementary budget twice in Parliament due to the economic downturn.

He also asked for the Auditor General to conduct an audit on the Prime Minister’s Department which issues emolument payments and salary exceeding RM4 billion a year.

ISA 2: A Black Day for Malaysia

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SHAH ALAM, 3 Oct: Another black moment hit the country’s legal system when the Prevention of Crime 2013 Bill (Amendment and Extension) was passed by the House of Representatives thus allowing detention without trial for two years.

DAP Advisor, Lim Kit Siang on his Twitter, considered the approval to amend this act which restores the draconian ISA which was repealed as ‘a Black Day for Malaysia’.

“PCA passed at 1245 am – a black day for Malaysia!” Lim tweeted.

Previously, the Internal Security Act (ISA) which was introduced and enforced on 1 August 1960 was to address the Communist armed resistance.

Pakatan Rakyat (PR) objected to the amendment of the act on grounds that it violates basic human rights.

In addition to political leaders, members of the Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) non-governmental organisation also objected to the amendment of the act.

The group also held a demonstration at the forecourt of Parliament last week and handed a memorandum of protest to the Home Affairs Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The amendment draft allows for detention without trial for two years with the suspect not given the right to be represented by legal counsel in any investigation.

Never-ending Cycle of the Audit Report

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(NEWS ANALYSIS) As the ruling government for over 50 years, the Auditor General’s 2012 Report only highlighted the failures and true attitude of the Umno-BN Government in managing public funds.

After raising the price of fuel on grounds of saving the country’s funds, the report disclosed the true ‘wickedness’ of Umno-BN in wasting billions from the public fund.

Apart from inviting annoyance towards the attitudes of politicians from a wasteful government, the attitude of government administrators who spend without it being based on the ‘value for money’ principle is also worrisome.

What is the reason for spending RM300,000 for a trip overseas when the cost is only RM50,000?

The problem of wastefulness continues to go on despite opposition leaders previously stating that the government could potentially save RM28 billion if it is able to address leakages, inefficiency of management and corruption.

Being improvident is only a small amount detected due to the annual audit, however, what about the expenses of the Prime Minister, Deputy Minister, Cabinet Ministers and their wives?

Perhaps if all of them are audited, more appalling wastefulness or even embezzlement will be found. It fact, it would not be impossible if it amounts to billions of ringgit.

If the amount can be saved in a year, perhaps the people will not have to face the hike in petrol prices and the government will not stubbornly want to implement the Goods and Services Tax.

Regardless, what is important is the action by the authorities to investigate and prosecute individuals that cause wastage and the existence of the element of corruption.

This is because the report, which is a ‘hot’ topic being debated here and there for a week or two, will turn ‘cold as ice’ without any concrete action.

If this practice continues, it looks like we need to wait for next year for the debate of the latest report and hear bad excuses from the government while forgetting the report that is in front of our eyes.

And it this cycle will go on, till who knows when.

Redevelopment Takes Into Account the Interests of Original Owners

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SHAH ALAM: The State Government encourages efforts to redevelop old flats into affordable housing in effort to provide a more comfortable and harmonious environment for the people.

The Executive Councillor in charge of Housing, Building Management and Urban Settlement, Iskandar Abdul Samad said that there are proposals for five-storey flats like those in Taman Dagang to be demolished to give way for the redevelopment of 12-storey apartments with the status of Affordable Housing.

According to the proposal, the original owners will receive units in the new apartment with an area of up to 1,200 square feet for free. Meanwhile, the remainder units will be open to the public.

“With this proposal, more residents will be able to buy affordable homes,” he said at an event at the MPAJ Tower in Pandan Jaya when commenting on the proposal to build more affordable housing in the Cempaka constituency.

However, Iskandar is of the opinion that this proposal is better suited to be implemented by private developers. They may submit their proposals to the homeowners and have negotiations with them.

“At the moment, an agreement of 100 percent is required from the homeowners before redevelopment can be done.

“It is also subject to planning policies as set out in the Local Plan for a Local Authority,” explained Iskandar.

He also stressed that any project should be based on the construction of affordable housing.

Will BN Raise Petrol Prices after the Sungai Limau By-Election?

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SHAH ALAM, 29 Sept: Although there have been no announcement regarding an increase in oil prices which is causing a stir on social media websites, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Consumerism Bureau expects that the government will once again raise the price of petrol and diesel in the near future.

Its Director, Yahya Mat Sahri, said that the increase in fuel prices is difficult to be averted due to the weakness of the leaders’ financial management and corruption practices in the Umno-BN government.

“This is due to the depreciation of our currency which needs to be supported, the unbalanced income and expenses, expenses that are too high and the national debt which is also too high, as well as corruption not being curbed.

“The government is desperate to find financial resources and eventually, they place the burden on the people.

If it is this way, then the government’s work is easy. There’s no need to find other solutions. As long as it is an economic problem, it is handed to the people to bear it,” he told TVSelangor.

Yahya did not rule out the possibility that the government will take into account the results of the Sungai Limau constituency by-elections not long before making the decision to raise the price of petrol.

He also condemned the statement by the Deputy Finance Minister, Datuk Ahmad Maslan, who gave the excuse that it is due to the increase in international prices.

“He said that the increase is to be in line with the international market price, but in fact, the current international oil market is down. It is only we who are raising prices,” he said.

In addition, he said that the reason for the increase to combat the smuggling of petrol at the border also does not make sense as the problem has been going on for decades.

“This is not a new thing. It has been going on for decades. Why has it not been overcome till now? Every time the issue of rising oil prices comes up, the issue of smuggling is brought up to be given as an excuse,” he said.

MPSJ Breeds Toxo Mosquitoes to Overcome Aedes Population

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SUBANG JAYA, 28 Sept: The Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) released adult elephant mosquitoes or Toxorhynchites mosquitoes (Toxo) at the Sri Tanjung apartment in USJ 16 to reduce the Aedes mosquito population.

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The Aedes Breeding Control and Prevention of Dengue programme is being carried out in collaboration with the University of Science, Malaysia (USM) and CIMB bank, which allocated RM60,000 for the success of the programme.

The President of MPSJ, Datuk Asmawi Kasbi, said that the apartment is the second location after Kampung Sri Aman following findings that the population of Aedes mosquitoes were high at around 500 to 700 larvae per month.

He said, discussions between MPSJ and USM regarding the choice of the new site was held in May after a pre-study was conducted in around June.

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“The habitat for Toxo mosquitoes is suitable because the apartment area has lush plants that produce nectar to encourage the breeding of Toxo mosquitoes.

“Hopefully, it will have a positive impact in the next five to six months,” he said in a press conference after the launching of the programme today.

Asmawi advised the people to maintain cleanliness and work together to preserve the greenery at the apartment to encourage the breeding of Toxo mosquitoes.

He said, the MPSJ Department of Health wants to expand the mosquito release programme to other areas to prevent the dengue epidemic.

“We are the first local authority to use biological methods of prevention to prevent the breeding of Aedes mosquitoes without the need to use chemicals,” he said.

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State Assets To Be Supervised Carefully

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SUBANG JAYA, 24 SEPT: All state assets will be effectively governed to produce profits for the State. These profits, Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim explained, will be channeled into people-focused programmes such as the ‘Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor’ (MES) Agenda.

His statement was made following the recent discovery of poor management of Selangor assets. In fact, there are no known assets.

“Selangor has unused assets worth RM12 billion. Even if the income from these assets is worthed three per cent, Selangor will only get a revenue of RM360 million,” said Abdul Khalid.

He was adamant that the state asset management should move their assets so that the results can be leveraged. This is because the people will definitely assign blame on the State should the assets fail to generate revenue.

“When it comes to the subject of budget, it is worth remembering that it is not a two-way street of spending and revenue. If we produce no results, how do we spend?” said Khalid, further adding that the people will hold the State accountable if the asset does not generate revenue.