Every year, there is a Guinness record of sorts being reported in Malaysia but unfortunately no one bothers to follow-up and take further action.

I refer to the Auditor-General's report that is published annually which gives great details on how government and taxpayers' funds are being wasted - the latest being the following as published by the New Straits Times on Sept 14 and The Star on Sept 15:

  • 250 meals over-provided for breakfast and lunch during a check over a weekend at an army base.

  • Matriculation colleges of improper construction and deemed unsafe.

  • Revenue collection at colleges was not well managed with poor control of assets.

  • 419 projects abandoned by the Employees' Provident Fund because of poor planning and mismanagement.

  • Hospitals in Putrajaya and Selayang served stale food with failure to record food usage; the Putrajaya kitchen was dirty with food leftovers all over the place.

  • A school in Kelantan had a faulty electrical ground wire installed, causing shocks to 30 students.

  • There is a shortage of beds in psychiatric wards.

    • The Auditor-General's office has prepared a detailed report and they were able to report that only one state JKR office maintained proper records on maintenance of electricity at government premises, street and traffic lights. Congratulations to Negeri Sembilan for doing your duty.

    All the above factors could result in the following:

    • There are many mentally unstable people on the loose in Malaysia as the hospitals cannot cope. No wonder we have so many road accidents.

  • If you need to be hospitalised, avoid the Putrajaya hospital for if your sickness does not kill you, the contaminated food served there could do the job.

  • Students are becoming more violent because of the electric shock treatment they receive or falling beams if they make it into a matriculation college.

  • As for the EPF, it appears to be beyond redemption. The figure indicates it is the landowner with the most abandoned projects. More beds in the psychiatric wards are definitely required here.

    • It is indeed a poor reflection of the Malaysian system where every year, the auditor-general's report is like a cesspool of mismanagement, excesses and complete negligence and nothing appears to happen. Each year is another episode of the Malaysian X-Files.

    If Malaysians aspire to the vision of being a developed nation, MPs or a special committee in parliament should take definite action on all the problems in the report and provide quarterly reports on actions taken and results achieved.

    It is also suggested that the auditor-general's report, where possible, should provide the wastage in ringgit terms for each item detailed, so that an overall figure can be developed.

    For example, the 250 meals at RM1 for breakfast and RM3 for lunch would equate to RM1,000 for the day.

    If necessary, ministers and senior civil servants who have been negligent should be censured and even removed.