Audit report proves failure of Najib’s reforms, says Anwar

By Debra Chong

October 26, 2011

The Auditor-General’s Report was made available 17 days after Najib tabled his Budget. — File pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Pointing to the Auditor-General’s Report for 2010, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim denounced the Najib administration for failing to deliver its transformation plans ahead of national polls that could elevate the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact into Putrajaya.

The opposition leader also accused Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of deliberately delaying the report’s release in a bid to cover up the Barisan Nasional (BN) government’s inefficiencies.

A former deputy prime minister and finance minister, Anwar said the latest audit report, released on Monday, was late 17 days from October 7 when the government’s Budget 2012 was presented in Parliament.

He said the Auditor-General’s Report should have been presented on the same day to allow the public to assess how the federal government spent taxpayers’ money.

“The delay in distributing the report should not arise unless there is a strategy to hide the facts from the public,” the de facto PKR chief said in a statement last night.

“Even though Datuk Seri Najib announced many promises to overcome the imbalances and weaknesses, clearly those promises have not been fulfilled,” Anwar said.

He appeared to be capitalising on the fact that Najib is seeking his first mandate since becoming prime minister after Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi quit office ahead of term in April 2009.

“The Auditor-General’s Report 2011 [sic] has exposed and proved the failure of the prime minister’s transformation policy,” Anwar said.

The 64-year-old who is also economic advisor to Selangor — Malaysia’s richest state — said the audit of 32 government ministries, their agencies and seven companies revealed various weaknesses stemming from poor supervision, ineffective monitoring, insufficient funding, labour and expertise.

He said the report also exposed weaknesses, imbalances and misappropriation in 45 government activities and projects, especially those that target the lower-income groups and the poor.

Anwar said to change and wholly reform the system requires great political will.

He added that without the three key ingredients of commitment, perseverance and public participation, all policies to develop the country are bound to fail no matter how cleverly they are drafted.

Since stepping into office as the country’s sixth PM, Najib has been rolling out various transformation plans to open up the country’s economy to turn Malaysia into a first-world nation.

However, he has been forced to backtrack or compromise on some of his ideas by hawks within his party and the BN’s lynchpin, Umno.