PARLIAMENT | The Science, Technology, and Innovation Ministry has clarified that “confusion” over committee structures was a factor which led to governance weaknesses in Mimos Bhd’s management of the MyDigital ID development project.
Minister Chang Lih Kang said this in his rounding-up speech after parliamentary debates on the 2026 Auditor-General’s Report Series 1, which had flagged several flaws in the early implementation of the national digital identity project.
Among other issues, the audit found that Mimos had spent RM28.13 million between December 2023 and March last year without prior verification by the project’s steering committee and technical committee.
Addressing the Dewan Rakyat today, Chang said the project’s expenditure had been presented at the project’s steering committee and technical committee meeting in February 2024, during which both committees had taken note of the matter.
“Subsequently, in March, the project was handed over to the National Security Council (NSC) as the project supervisor.
“Among the factors contributing to governance weaknesses was confusion arising from changes in the committee structure, which led to inconsistencies in the decision-making process in the project’s implementation,” he said.
Chang stressed, however, that there was no leakage in governance or procurement processes, highlighting that the project’s operations have been monitored by the NSC under the Prime Minister’s Department.
Mimos is an agency of the Science, Technology, and Innovation Ministry.
On July 21, 2023, Mimos was appointed as the implementing agency for the MyDigital ID project, which was initially placed under the Home Ministry and the National Registration Department as the supervising agencies.
An RM80 million development allocation was channelled to Mimos, which bore the responsibility of submitting a detailed breakdown of the allocation to the Home Ministry.
The RM80 million was transferred to MyDigital ID Sdn Bhd (MYDIDSB) on Feb 20, 2024, after its incorporation as a special purpose vehicle.
Development fund used for operating costs
The report by the National Audit Department, which was presented in Parliament yesterday, also found that while Mimos claimed RM14.17 million under sub-scope E14 on project management, RM14.09 million (99.4 percent) constituted operational expenditure not in line with the 12th Malaysia Plan’s guidelines.
The operational expenditure, the report stated, comprised emoluments worth RM14.09 million for up to 98 officers, resource costs amounting to RM850,000 for 57 officers, staff medical benefits, and office equipment.
Responding to the matter today, Chang told the lower house that his ministry acknowledges and accepts that development allocation cannot be used to cover operational expenditure.
However, he said MYDIDSB had presented the project expenditure, including emoluments and asset procurements, at the project’s technical committee meeting dated Sept 6, 2024, with the matter later endorsed at the steering committee’s meeting on Oct 25, 2024.
“MYDIDSB is in the process of applying for operating allocation from the Finance Ministry to finance operational costs, including emoluments,” Chang added.
Equipment purchased despite objections
He further assured that equipment procured by Mimos, namely two units of door access and a security cage worth a total of RM79,000, remains under the ownership of MYDIDSB and is utilised by several ministries.
The audit report had detailed that the equipment was not agreed to by the relevant committees and was recommended to be removed from the project scope.
The procurements were also said to have been made despite the project’s steering committee having earlier agreed that Mimos should submit detailed specifications on the procurement to the Home Ministry for a value assessment process.
Chang went on to record his appreciation to the National Audit Department for their “professional reprimands and constructive findings”, which he said will help the government to address weaknesses and strengthen integrity in improving the public service delivery system.
“MyDigital ID registrations have increased to 9.7 million to date. MyDigital ID has also been successfully integrated with 92 government and private applications across various sectors, including telecommunications, finance, and healthcare.
“All recommendations and reprimands will be given due attention by the ministry,” Chang added. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.