The government’s new tender information website - MyProcurement - has failed to impress critics, primarily due to the lack of details of projects awarded.

NONE Centre of Public Policy Studies chairman and former economist Ramon Navaratnam said that there is already evidence that the system is not working.

“You cannot give a few details because it does not provide for transparency,” he said.

Ramon stressed that information on successful tenderer and those who failed, the price and technical specification required of the tender, all the details including the contact person should be published as well.

“It is not rocket science. This is the basic info that needs to be made available. By not giving all the details, people may not realise that it is the failing of the system.

“The people will think that it is denial of information which is serious because the public has the right to know,” he told Malaysiakini.

He also said that the Malaysian government should have consulted experts in the field such as accountants, or even take a leaf out of the neighbouring Singapore’s books in setting up a one-stop procurement portal.

“There are already international standards on setting up these kinds of system. Don’t reinvent the wheel,” he said.

Examples from our neighbours

In a check in similar websites from more other countries such as Singapore itself, even minute details such as the unit of measure are included as attachments and are accessible by the public in the government’s GeBIZ .

For example, the maintenance of the koi pond in the Singaporean Science Centre for one year was awarded to a Tong Sun Tropical Fish Farm for SGD4,500.

Not only were details of the work required were published - to check the pH levels of the pond water and to feed the fish - but also the contact details of the government officer in charge of receiving the tenders.

The tenders published on the portal ranged from purchasing flight tickets to million-dollar construction works.

However, with all its intents and purposes, even the most vocal critics said that the portal was still a “breakthrough” when it comes to instilling good governance.

Ramon who was also top government official before resigning as Transport ministry secretary-general in 1989 said that never before has so much been revealed about about tenders.

Exorbitant amounts on tenders

He said this was a positive step by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to encourage government transparency.

“But if the system is not implemented properly, it will only become counter productive,” he said.

Yesterday, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua was the first to highlight a glaring error in form of a purported RM6.5 billion contract awarded to company to supply army rations .

NONE A check this afternoon showed that the figure has been revised to RM6.5 million.

Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Idris Jala, who is charge of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu), vehemently defended the veracity of MyProcurement's data.

"All the information on the portal is accurate," he told BFM radio station during an interview this morning.