Public funds leakage: Stern action against officers, minister for abuse of power, says Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: Emphasising the importance of governance reforms to address the wastage of public funds allocation, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said stern action will be taken against any officer or minister involved in the abuse of power that causes the leakage of public funds.

The Prime Minister said he does not want the issue of corruption and governance to be taken lightly because it can cause losses to public funds, as frequently brought up in the previous Auditor-General's Report (LKAN).

"We must take note of such experiences (abuse of power and leakages), and I want to stress that they cannot be repeated... because we have decided to take action as soon as it is confirmed.

"Officers, managers or ministers or anyone responsible must be dealt with. This also includes the unsatisfactory management of government company funds,” said Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, when wrapping up the debate on the Supply Bill 2024 at the policy level at the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday (Nov 3).

He said the government went through several experiences, including the auditing warnings regarding procurement, such as that reported in the LKAN and Public Accounts Committee (PAC), such as the 104 malfunctioning ventilators out of the 136 acquired during the COVID-19 pandemic and the RM505 million loss due to the 8.5 million expired vaccine doses.- Bernama