COMMENT | Avoid winning gold for lapses in good governance

COMMENT | When there is a bottomless pit of government money and no one to account for it, the sky is usually the limit. Hence, the Malaysian malaise of extravagance to impress becomes one of the outcomes.

The success of the 1998 Commonwealth Games stands as a monument of such overindulgence in organising grandiose ceremonies where no money was spared to create the Malaysia Boleh spirit to amaze the world.

Today, 36 years later, no one knows the cost of such extravagance. No accounts have been submitted and the company set up to run the Games ended insolvent.

The culture of transparency values openness, honesty, and collaboration in every aspect of sports organisations and their activities. It encourages and empowers staff and players to communicate, share information, and foster a climate of trust and respect.

The issue of governance has been the emphasis in the sporting world.

While corruption, match-fixing and doping have taken centre stage internationally, Malaysia’s weaknesses in the areas of lack of transparency in procurement, rent-seeking, financial prudence, over-pricing etc. would have certainly vied for the gold medals.

Poor governance

The hosting of the 2017 SEA Games saw almost a repeat except that what resembled accounts emerged two years after the event. Even then, it was stumped by poor governance.

Although it was not officially released, its contents as expected listed the big-ticket items.

The report noted that the National Sports Council had used RM59 million from the allocation for sports development programmes and obtained a “kelulusan berteguran” (reprimand approval) from the Games’ finance committee on Jan 31, 2019.

The report, among others, said that RM71 million was spent on the opening and closing ceremonies and other non-sport performances.

Another RM31 million was spent on promotions and publicity; RM23 million on the rental of a warehouse, computers, photostat machines and space; and RM4.5 million on uniforms.

With all and sundry clamouring for Malaysia to host the 2027 SEA Games and Sarawak’s generous offer to pay half the cost of organising, Malaysia is almost certain to play hosts.

Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh said a presentation of a study on the impact of organising the Games will be made to the cabinet before the Paris Olympics next month.

“We are preparing the cabinet paper based on the engagement with stakeholders and the previous organisation of the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur,” Bernama quoted her as saying.

It was reported that it would cost RM700 million to host the 2027 SEA Games.

With half – RM350 million coming from Sarawak, there will always be the temptation to spend but the flaws and failings on and off the field when we last hosted the Games in 2017 and the Commonwealth Games in 1998 should never be repeated.

In both cases, the funds came from taxpayers - you and me. Hence, when it is not their money, the need to be transparent and accountable is the least of the priorities.

The private sector, especially government-owned and government-linked companies will be asked to do “national service” to supplement the government funding.

Total income and expenditure disclosure

However, they too should demand and expect total disclosure of all income and expenditure.

Can we avoid splurging millions on side shows and have a “no frills” competition? Is it mandatory for all the pomp and pageantry?

After all, the athletes are judged by their performance on the field and not the minor distractions which usually cost an arm and a leg.

Is it necessary for officials to have blazers in different colours on taxpayers’ money? Who checks if appropriate vendors have been chosen to supply goods and services? Who decides if the supplier should be paid RM30 or RM40 for each nasi bungkus for the volunteers?

Overall, every procurement exercise should follow the requirements of good governance with open tenders leading the way. There should be no room for the abang-adik connections to rule the roost.

The ministry will use the 2017 Games figures as the basis for making budgetary allocations. If the official audited report of the 2017 Games is made public, Joe Public can give his or her views and ideas in areas where costs can be trimmed.

There should be no repeat of the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games where income and expenditure have not emerged.

Despite continued reminders stretching three decades, no one has cared let alone responded to the numerous requests.

The ministry must give an undertaking that the 2027 Games accounts will be made public and not hide behind bureaucracy and officialdom to avoid public scrutiny.

This is certainly not asking too much of the Madani government which for the past 18 months has been bombarding Malaysians with claims of openness in the spending of public money.

FOOTNOTE: After the 2012 Olympics, the then sports minister agreed to make public the money spent on the “Road to London” project but the National Sports Council overruled it. This is just a reminder of the bad old days.

R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist who writes on bread-and-butter issues. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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