Demote, suspend or sack errant officers, MACC and govt told

As more Malaysians call for action against civil servants responsible for mismanagement that cost the government millions of ringgit, a former senior civil servant has urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) to demote, suspend or sack errant officers.

Former Transport Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam said action should be taken before Budget 2014 is announced on Oct 25.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, meanwhile, said a high-powered committee comprising the deputy prime minister as chairman, the parliamentary opposition leader and the auditor-general (AG), should be set up to identify and punish wrong-doers.

He said only a high-powered committee could put fear into the hearts of custodians of public funds who betrayed public trust.

Navaratnam told theSun that the MACC should work with the Public Service Commission (PSC) and the special committee set up by the government to study the 2012 Auditor-General's Report and bring those responsible for the mismanagement and leakage to book.

"If there are elements of corruption, the MACC has to investigate immediately and take action," he said, when commenting on the report released last Tuesday which highlighted, among others, numerous cases of poor administration of funds besides anomalies in procurement.

He said that if there was evidence of negligence, inefficiency and incompetence on the part of the officer responsible for public expenditure, the PSC must take note and recommend demotion, suspension or termination.

He said the government should act expeditiously to bring about a more responsible and effective public service.

Special committee

Navaratnam said that while he supported the proposal by Chief Secretary to the government, Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamza, to set up the special committee, he wanted it to comprise both civil servants and corporate leaders from the private sector.

The former Treasury deputy secretary-general said if the committee was only made up of government officials, they would be too protective of their colleagues.

He suggested that the committee include representatives of Pemandu, Malaysian chambers of commerce and professional bodies like an accounting firm, and that the committee be turned into a permanent standing committee which would follow the same procedure every year after the Auditor-General's report is released.

On why he wants action to be taken before Oct 25, he said the people will feel new taxes introduced would be money wasted if no action is taken on the report.

Navaratnam, who is also chairman of the Centre of Public Policy Studies (CPPS), had harsh words for Parliament's Public Accounts Committee, which he said had failed as the AG's report continued to be very critical of management practices in the government.

Lim, in statement issued in George Town, said Ali's announcement that the special committee would study and scrutinise the AG's report "is a laughable attempt to let the issue die down by studying it to death".

He said the public will not accept any delaying tactics as excesses were repeatedly exposed every year by the AG without any action being taken.

He said that the failings and financial wrongdoings exposed in the 2012 report highlighted criminal breach of compliance in five key principles required in managing public funds of public accountability – transparency, value for money, open and fair competition as well as fair dealings.

Demote, suspend or sack errant officers, says former senior civil servant.

The Sundaily