Chief secretary to the government Ali Hamsa has refused to comment on the practice of cutting budget allocation for several departments but later tabling supplementary budgets in Parliament asking for more funds.

 

Ali Hamsa was asked over criticism by local think-tank the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) of such a practice, especially under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's administration.

 

"I do not want to comment ‎on this - maybe another time," he told reporters after a session with the media on the 2014 Audit Reports.

Ideas chief executive officer Wan Saiful Wan Jan said the government has not been serious and should more fiscally disciplined as they miss their own targets every year.

Wan Saiful ( right ) said like previous years, the 2014 Audit Report mentions delays in contract signing, negligence, improper payments, and unreasonable delays in project delivery.

“The report shows that the government has not been serious in its intention to be more fiscally disciplined. At the end of last month, the government tabled a supplementary bill for the 2014 Budget. Supplementary budgets have become a regular feature of this administration.

"It shows incompetence on the side of our two finance ministers, Najib Abdul Razak and Husni Hanadzlah. Both Najib and Husni missed their own targets every year and if they were working elsewhere, they would probably have been sacked by now.

“Either that, or they do not understand how to show respect to the parliamentary processes of tabling national budgets. Their behaviour implies that the annual tabling of budgets is a waste of time because they never take it seriously anyway,” the Ideas CEO was quoted to have said in a statement.

Opposition lawmakers have also criticised Najib’s tabling of supplementary bills like the recent one last month, where it shows the government under the premier who also the finance minister has not been prudent in its expenditure, and they describe the management as worrying.

Six punitive admonishments

Ali, earlier in his speech at the town hall session with the various heads of departments and ministries with the media, said following last year’s 2014 audit, it had issued six punitive admonishments for abuse of power, misappropriation and carelessness.

A total of 313 corrective admonishments for the improvement of the system and internal procedures had also been made.

Ali said this action represented a decline in punitive and corrective admonishments compared to 2013, from 33 punitive admonishments two years ago to six, and also 385 corrective admonishments in 2013 to 313.

The chief secretary further listed out the six punitive admonishments and they include:

  • For the broadband infrastructure project in Sabah and Sarawak under the Communications and Multimedia Ministry;
  • For the management of Wisma Perwira of the Armed Forces at Jalan Padang Tembak under the Defence Ministry;
  • For the management of infrastructure and other amenities at Wisma Transit, under the Defence Ministry;
  • For the management to get furniture for the re-development of the 5th Batallion, Police General Operations Force in Simpang Renggam, Johor under the Home Ministry;
  • For the management of revenue for the Forest Research Institute Malaysia and
  • For the management of Perbadanan Nasional Berhad.
Of these six punitive admonishment, Ali said the one concerning the General Operations Force is being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

The chief-secretary said that the reduction means that such mismanagement by the civil service is on the decline and this shows an improvement.

He also commended the town hall sessions as proof that the government is being transparent in the use of public funds.