The Perak Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will probe complaints over procurement of equipment by several departments and agencies that failed to meet specifications and rendered useless.     

Its chairperson, Raja Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar said the equipments were also said to have been bought for much higher than the market prices while the quality was poor, resulting in huge losses incurred by the government.     

He said the equipment were rendered useless beyond the possibility of restoration for use even after they had been serviced.     

The head of departments and agencies concerned will be pulled up for questioning and the date of inquiry will be fixed by the PAC at its meeting on March 28, he told Bernama in Ipoh today.

"We will tick them off for the mistakes and the PAC wants all departments and agencies to place orders through procedures established for they involve public fund," he said.     

    

Raja Ahmad Zainuddin said the PAC would investigate the extent of the mistakes made in the purchase by getting the actual costs incurred by the departments and agencies involved.     

The PAC will also call back a senior officer of the state Education Loan Division to give a detailed explanation on the failure to collect overdue loans totalling RM27.6 million.     

"The PAC is not satisfied with the officer's explanations at a meeting recently for the information provided by him was not well structured," he said.     

Much to the PAC's chagrin, the division allegedly did not have updated information on defaulters besides failing to take any effort to recover the loans.     

- Bernama