‘KSSB accounting in disarray’

Lapses in book keeping coupled with a new 'top-up' system for buyers provides a breeding ground for corruption, says a former employee.

PETALING JAYA: Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB), the Selangor state-owned company at the heart of a sand mining scandal, did not maintain its books properly, claimed an ex-employee.

The whistleblower who refused to be identified also provided FMT with documents showing accounts poorly kept by KSSB or had inexplicable balances added on.

He claimed that such cases had affected numerous companies. “It is not merely limited to not maintaining the books but a new “top-up” system that came into place in 2010-early 2011.

“Under this new system, a purchaser cannot gain access to the sand mine unless he has paid up first. When he has “topped-up” his account, than he could take sand from the mine.

“The problem is many of the accounts are in disarray…at the last-minute the purchaser gets a call demanding payment, failing which they cannot gain access to the sand.

“If the accounts are not well-maintained, they can randomly demand money at anytime. Whether or not this money goes into to KSSB’s accounts is anyone’s guess,” he said.

The whistleblower was an former employer with KSSB who was dismissed from his duties last September.

When FMT contacted one the companies which had dealings with KSSB to double check, the accountant there was absolutely irritated by the top up system that was in place.

“I have been chasing them for months now just to inquire about the outstanding balance in our accounts since last year. They said that I needed to produce slips.

“So I got proof of payment and when I called them back, they said that they have to check with their banks as well. It’s been seven to eight months now,” she said.

KSSB: No cases of account manipulation

She added that KSSB would always make last minute calls for payments due to the top-up system.

“They (KSSB) will always call at last minute after my (company’s) lorry drivers call and say they can’t enter the mine. What sort of attitude is this?

“We don’t even know if they are keeping the accounts properly. We stopped taking sand for a couple of months. Since last month we started our own checklist,” she said.

She said that even if KSSB was a new company, training must be provided to the staff in order for them to be more professional.

“They are a state-government agency, surely they can do better than this,” she said.

KSSB CEO, Wan Abdul Halim, however, rubbished allegations of possible corruption, saying that there were no cases of account manipulation.

“I have not heard of cases of manipulation of accounts for personal gains. There may have been some confusion previously but that is not the situation now.

There is no dispute as to how much balance there is in any company’s account as the accounts department oversees all accounts. There is only one source,” he told FMT.

He also took the whistleblower to task, arguing that it will be unlikely for KSSB’s accounts to be audited if it was not kept well.

It was reported that KSSB has been steadily increasing its revenue and profit margin.

In 2008, KSSB raked in RM 8.17 million in revenue. In 2009, it took in RM 13.76 million. In 2010, it made RM 15.3 million and by May last year, the company had RM60 million in revenue.