Three companies have been allowed to retrieve manganese ore from Kelantan since 2009, despite not having signed any agreement to do so.

This was revealed in the Auditor-General's 2013 report, which named the three companies as Ratusan Ardi Sdn Bhd, Centamin Construction & Development Sdn Bhd (Centamin) and Jangka Bakat Sdn Bhd.

The report stated that three out of six companies have signed an agreement with Yayasan Kelantan Darul Naim (Yakin). The three which have signed an agreement are Takrif Baru Sdn Bhd, Hajaria Sdn Bhd and Mado's Holding Sdn Bhd.

It noted that Ratusan Ardi only signed the agreement with Yakin on Sept 22 last year.

        

"We have issued reminders to the two remaining companies on Jan 15 this year to sign the agreement and gave them two weeks," Yakin said in its reply to the auditor-general.

"We have issued a draft of the agreement to the companies, which they say they will consult with their lawyers but till today, there is no response.

“Yakin will continue to prepare the agreement for the two companies if they fail to return it within the stipulated period,” it added.

The auditor-general is of the view that Yakin, which is tasked to give loans to needy students via income from mining activities, should be stern in ensuring that the companies sign the agreement first.

As a result of this, the audit report notes, the revenue gained by Yakin, which had seen an increase over the years, is unsatisfactory as some of the payments of tributaries was less than what had been extracted.

There are four companies that have paid lesser tributaries to Yakin compared with what they have extracted, resulting in millions of ringgit in revenue lost by the state subsidiary company.