Issues and questions highlighted in the annual auditor-general's report should be thoroughly investigated by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee said today.

The reports by Auditor-General Ambrin Buang - in two volumes with a total of 1,367 pages - were tabled in the Dewan Rakyat last Friday.

"Observations in the report can be followed up for further investigation by the ACA," said PAC head Shahrir Abdul Samad after attending a briefing by deputy auditor-general Azizah Arshad held at the Parliament House.

"PAC thinks the ACA should not just act independently on the information that they have received from everywhere (when) you have an audit report which is already a basis for the investigation," he noted.

Shahrir, who is also the Johor Baru MP said "there is no excuse" for the ACA not to know about the issues highlighted since the report can be easily accessed on the Auditor-General Department's website, newspapers and Parliament.

Although the cooperation between both ACA and the department have improved - the latter now has access to files in the ACA - he said the ACA has not initiated any investigations based on the annual report.

Shahrir said the report should not just serve as a basis for rectifying weaknesses, but should also be seen as a way of improving the system.

On the 2005 report, Shahrir highlighted two issues that the PAC would examine - the misuse of the national disaster relief fund for tsunami victims and uncollected taxes.

The auditor-general observed that the programme to repair or build houses for tsunami victims in Kedah and Penang in 2004, which cost RM9.82 million, had been badly managed.

On the relief programme for tsunami victims, he said the repair and purchase of fishing nets, outboard motors and boats, costing RM9.84 million, had been mismanaged.

Shahrir said the PAC is considering visiting both places to gather more details.

He also voiced concern about uncollected taxes, which stand at RM368 million at the Customs Department and RM11 billion at the inland revenue board - "two key revenue agencies".

Issue for cabinet

Earlier in the House, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said the government would monitor the use of the tsunami relief fund to prevent its misuse at ground level.

Responding to Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail (PKR-Permatang Pauh), he said that, under the trust law, the money collected can only be used to assist those affected by the disaster.

"It can't be used in other forms. However, we gave donations and assistance such as new boats to those who had lodged a police report," he said during the Question session.

Wan Azizah had asked whether Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would personally monitor the tsunami fund to prevent its misuse and if there would be additional safeguards to prevent such an occurrence.

At a press conference later, Nazri said he would raise the abuse of funds as highlighted in the report at the next cabinet meeting.

"We will recommend that this be investigated and (what form of) action should be taken. We don't know if there has been misuse of the fund ... now that the AG's report is there, then I want it to be investigated," he said.

He added that it would be up to the ACA to decide whether or not to investigate the case.

On the delays in returning excess tsunami aid fund of RM6.7 million to the Treasury as stated in the report, Nazri said that, as far as he understands, nothing is left from the fund.