The government seems unwilling to take drastic measures against wrongdoing in the public sector, said former international trade and industry ministry deputy secretary-general Mohd Ridzal Sheriff.

When the auditor-general report is released each year, there are many issues revealed, but actions taken against those responsible are never made clear, he said.

"If you look at the auditor-general's report, you will find many items uncovered every year. Some of them you feel are unforgivable, but we do not really know what happened.

"We are told these people are moved around or reprimanded, but we don't really know what happens to them.

"What usually happens is you will get the same audit findings next year as well... We do not seem to have the willingness to go all the way, to the extent of firing people," he said, during his presentation at the Dialog Rakyat for national cohesion and unity at Persatuan Alumni Universiti Malaya in Kuala Lumpur today.

Ridzal, who is now working in the private sector, said that unlike in the government, the consequences of wrongdoing in the private sector are high.

If any mistakes are uncovered during an audit or if there are any issues that threaten to damage the company's reputation, he said the senior management officers would probably have to resign or be fired.

"There's not even a second chance because you are a senior officer and you are expected to know (what is happening)," he said.

The accountability structures are similar between the public and private sector, he said, but the difference lies in the consequences after wrongdoing is discovered.

He also compared the difference between the public and private sector in their approach to accomplishing goals and meeting targets.

The private sector, Ridzal said, is very focused as they know they have limited resources.

The government, on the other hand, tends to be very "top down" in its approach to doing things, he said.

"(It's) very aspirational, maybe not pragmatic, which means that really, you are working backwards to try and look for a target set by somebody else." 

He also said that problems tend to drag on for a very long time in the public sector, citing the example of problems brought up in Asean meetings.

Most of the problems discussed in these meetings, he said, are "legacy problems" which are discussed meeting after meeting because they are yet to be resolved.

Some of these legacy problems go back 10 to 15 years, he added.

"In the private sector, we would never do things like that, simply because anything that works or does not work, you close it up, you move on, you don't waste time," he said.