The Johor government parted with millions of ringgit to set up an e-portal to check the marital status of Muslim individuals, but the portal has not gone live almost four years after the scheduled deadline.

According to the Auditor-General 2010 Report, the portal – 'e Nikah Cerai Rujuk' (e-NCR) – was supposed to go live in Jan 2008, but data migration has yet to be completed.

This is despite the Johor Science Technology and ICT Unit (Ustict) having paid RM1.78 million for this purpose.

azlan “No due date was given for the contractor to complete the work,” the report reads.

The report notes that only about 16,000 of the 70, 254 data have been migrated, of which only 3 percent is complete.

The audit found that there was also no back up of the data.

A total of RM2.49 million has been paid as of end-2010 by Ustict.

The report notes that while late penalties of RM500 per day has been stipulated in the contract, the document also has contradicting clauses and provides leeway for delays.

Fittings for a non-existent floor

The Johor Bahru City Council, meanwhile, was found to have paid RM284,000 in light fittings for the sixth floor of a building which only has four floors.

NONE The contractor had billed the council according to the old job scope for the new office block, for which specifications was revised down from six to four floors.

“Any payment made before all items supplied or services rendered are checked are improper payments.

“The council should investigate and take disciplinary action against the officer who made the improper payment,” the report reads.

The report also calls for the blacklisting of the consultants who had cleared the contractor's bill.

Besides this, RM114, 450 worth of equipment - including RM89,200  worth of compound lighting - was not delivered or installed.

An audit of the items which were actually installed, furthermore, found unreasonable mark-ups of up to 289 percent of market price.

The council paid almost double the market price for a closed circuit television system - RM97,900 - when the market price was RM47,930.

This includes paying RM18,000 for two 16-channel digital video recorders worth RM5,000.

An audit of the CCTV system, pedestrian walkway, electrical wiring and electrical fittings found that the council had paid an extra RM110,040 compared to market price.

Leaks and cracks

NONE The building was almost two years late and opened its doors only in Aug 2009, instead of Dec 2007 as scheduled.

This forced the council to rent office space from Menara Tabung Haji for RM62,000.

Despite granted six extensions to complete construction, the quality of the work left much to be desired with the auditor finding cracks on the roof and leaks in the ceiling about a year after completion.

This was found to be due to poor quality concrete and cement, with high portios of sand being used.

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