A group of students from multiple public universities has urged the MACC and the Higher Education Ministry to investigate alleged corruption within procurement systems at universities nationwide.
Speaking during a press conference at Rumah Mandiri in Petaling Jaya today, Himpunan Advokasi Rakyat Malaysia (Haram) chairperson Brendon Gan described university procurement systems as a “cesspool for corruption and manipulation”.
The third-year law student at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), together with student representatives from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), raised concerns following a series of procurement scandals that have implicated public universities over the years.
Gan (above, centre front) said in UKM’s case, the university has yet to issue any official response over its recent procurement scandal involving RM58.45 million, despite a memorandum being submitted to UKM’s board of directors on Dec 12.
“In the memorandum, I demanded that the procurement system be reformed thoroughly, so that the deficiencies that allowed the scandal to happen will be improved.
“However, up to this day, we still have not received any official statement or response from the UKM’s board of directors.
“This not only reflects the failure of the board to uphold judicial responsibility towards the students of UKM, but also their negligence towards the trust that was given to them to manage the public funds from the people and the students,” he said.
Worrying indicator
On July 21, the National Audit Department found that Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hospital (HUKM) had failed its compliance procedures for at least three tender procurement processes worth RM58.45 million.
Its report found that out of 165 procurement tenders approved by the UKM Tender Committee in 2024, only seven were audited. Among these seven audited tenders, three were found to have failed to comply with procedures.
Gan highlighted the findings as a worrying indicator, questioning how many more instances of misappropriation and abuse of power may remain hidden among unaudited tenders.
He also said the large number of unresolved projects across universities raises serious concerns over whether companies awarded contracts through the procurement system are properly qualified to carry out the work.
“Assuming that the MACC and the Audit Department decided to audit the entire four years of procurement that was entered (in UKM), how many more revelations of corruption could have happened here?
“And I hold on to the principle, assuming that this can happen in UKM, a prestigious university in Malaysia, it can happen at all other universities in the country,” he added.
Other procurement scandals
UKM is not the only public university to have been embroiled in procurement controversies.
The group highlighted several other cases involving other public institutions over the past decade.
In 2023, the MACC investigated UiTM’s subsidiary, UiTM Holdings Sdn Bhd, over allegations of inefficiency and leakages, which led to RM157 million in losses incurred from 2017 to 2021.
UiTM student representatives, Sayed Arif and Luqman Kamal, claimed that UiTM had injected RM259.98 million in capital into the subsidiary through cash transfers and loan-to-equity conversions without the approval of the Finance Minister.
“This non-compliance with the law is not just a technical issue, but a systemic failure in safeguarding the public financial trust,” Sayed said.
They also highlighted the UiTM concession scandal in 2014, when Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli exposed a series of concession agreements for new UiTM campuses that were allegedly awarded to Umno-linked companies.
Another case involved former Sabah infrastructure development minister Peter Anthony, who was convicted in a forgery case linked to UMS.
The case involved a forged letter of support purportedly issued by UMS to his company, Syarikat Jati, which was contracted to carry out operational and maintenance works for the Mechanical Phase 2A project at the UMS campus in 2014.
In USM, former sports and recreation centre assistant administrative officer Zurina Abdul Hamid was charged in September 2020 and later convicted in September 2021 for abuse of power and receiving bribes totalling RM135,445.90.
The charges stemmed from her involvement in issuing false invoices and approving procurement orders for office and sports equipment supplied by TZP Venture between 2013 and 2017.
In solidarity
Also at the meeting was Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (Umany) president Tang Yi Ze, who stated that although Universiti Malaya (UM) has not been embroiled in major procurement scandals, they will stand in solidarity with the students.
Tang said corruption and abuse of power within public universities ultimately affect students nationwide.
“Imagine if all of these issues were not there, if all of the systems were transparent and all of the mechanisms were effective, how much money could be used towards student welfare?
“But because there are many scandals like this, we as students cannot access this kind of welfare,” he said.
The group further outlined several demands, including calling on the MACC to investigate procurement scandals in public universities and for the government to conduct comprehensive and independent forensic audits of all related tenders and projects.
They argued that internal audits were insufficient and that audit reports should be submitted directly to university boards and made public.
Additionally, they also demanded the repeal of the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), particularly provisions granting the higher education minister broad powers to appoint vice-chancellors.
Five days to respond
Gan said the group has given the Higher Education Ministry five working days to respond to its demands for clarity and reform in public university procurement systems.
Gan added that repeated attempts to seek clarification from university leadership had so far gone unanswered, warning that they are prepared to take the matter to the streets if no action is taken, including by holding protests in Putrajaya and outside the ministry.
“We are giving a span of five working days for the ministry to at least give a response and clarify what is happening to the higher education system.
“If the ministry fails to respond within this timeframe, we will not hesitate to escalate the issue to ensure that students’ voices are heard and taken seriously by the authorities,” said Gan. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.