The Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will summon two former director-generals and one former secretary-general for questioning over the National Film Development Corporation’s (Finas) unverifiable accounts, said the PAC chairperson Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

 

Those involved are former Finas director-general Mahyidin Mohd Mustakim ( left ), his successor until 2012, Mohd Naguib Razak, and former communications ministry secretary-general Kamaruddin Siaraf (2009-2012).

 

“We take this matter seriously. Since it has been said that civil servants can’t manage Finas properly, we brought it talents from the private sector, but they (the director-generals) still failed and failed thoroughly.

"They don’t even know financial management,” he told a press conference today after chairing a PAC meeting.

 

Rated 'unsatisfactory'

The Auditor-General’s Report 2012 published last year had rated Finas’ as “ unsatisfactory ” .

 The trio are expected to be called in the next two or three months. A Ministry of Finance representative on Finas' board at the time will also be called.

 

The corporation has an annual budget of about RM40 million, said Nur Jazlan.But when asked, he could not provide an estimate of the losses incurred as a result of the poor financial management.

 

“I didn’t say it had caused a loss,” he replied. “I just said there are weaknesses in the recording of transactions and supporting documents.

 

“That is why the audit department gave the ‘qualified audit report’. It is not a matter of losses or graft.”

 

The Pulai MP told reporters that the National Audit Department accepted Finas’ accounts with some reservations in 2008 and 2011, and without any reservation in 2009 and 2010.

 

“In 2012, it is called a ‘qualified report’. Total rejection of Finas’ audited report. As you can see, the track record of Finas in terms of their financial statements is very patchy,” he said, adding that financial statements should be consistently acceptable to auditors without reservations.

 

Despite this setback, Nur Jazlan says the government will continue to hire talents from the private sector, but added that the vetting process needs to be tightened.