KUALA LUMPUR — Several agencies have come under scrutiny for breaches in good governance practices and procurement processes.
It is understood that the National Audit Department has trained its lenses on these agencies following complaints by various parties, including staff and clients.
Several of these agencies have been operating without a functioning Board and in the absence of a chairman.
With the lack of a quorum to make decisions, it is learnt that the chief executive of at least one agency has been making decisions without any oversight.
“Moves have been made to replace at least one chief executive. However, it is understood he is being protected by a minister,” said a high-placed government source.
The perceived lack of action has caused disgruntlement in the civil service, where several senior civil servants sitting on Boards raised concerns which they claim fell on deaf ears.
One such entity is the Human Resource Development Corp (HRD Corp) under the Human Resources Ministry.
In May, it was reported that the Finance Ministry (MoF) deputy secretary for governance and monitoring (government investment companies division) Datuk Rosli Yaakub raised the alarm on shenanigans in HRD Corp.
Rosli who is the MOF representative on the Board red flagged a proposal to introduce the Skills Passport programme, due to lack of clarity on governance and transparency.
In a six-page letter on April 10, addressed to then HRD Corp chairman Datuk R. Rajasekharan and chief executive Datuk Shahul Hameed Dawood titled: “Non-compliance with Procurement Procedures in the Skills Passport project”, Rosli said the project – a skills database cum search engine – was being pushed through without the board’s approval.
He also raised concerns that the company chosen for the project had weak financials.
In April, Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar was questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as part of the latter’s investigations into a foreign worker recruitment scam.
At least two of Sivakumar’s close aides and a businessman were detained but later released.
In the meantime, several other government agencies are being audited by external auditors as part of ongoing efforts to clean up departments and units; and plug leakages.
Several major changes including terminations, reassignment and reshuffling of portfolios are expected to take place soon. — August 16, 2023