Excerpt from AG-Report

Scanning through the AG-report in 2013 is really interesting at how public services are managed in MP Teluk Intan. Below are the extract of the findings and the auditee replies. Reminds me of the book, Rich Malaysia, Poor Malaysian.

Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh, Majlis Perbandaran Teluk Intan Pengurusan Perolehan PBT Siri 1/2013 LKAN Tahun 2013 Siri 1

Penemuan - Perenggan 2.4.2.2(a) : Anggaran kontraktor bagi 2 buah jeti sementara yang digunakan semasa pembinaan membaikpulih jeti asal di Taman Rekreasi Gunung Lang pada 25 Julai 2012 hingga 26 Disember 2012 berjumlah RM60,609 adalah tidak munasabah berbanding dengan anggaran jabatan yang lebih rendah iaitu RM5,000. Jeti sementara tersebut kemudiannya dibeli dengan tambahan kos sejumlah RM30,000 selepas keputusan pemilikan jeti sementara dibuat melalui Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Perubahan Kerja Bil.199/17/12 pada 26 Disember 2012. Pihak Audit mendapati kos keseluruhan yang dibayar kepada kontraktor bagi 2 buah jeti sementara tersebut adalah RM90,609. Pengesahan yang telah dibuat oleh pihak Audit dengan Jabatan Teknikal mendapati anggaran kos bagi 2 jeti sementara adalah RM20,000. Kegagalan pihak MBI membuat semakan dan perbandingan harga antara senarai kuantiti MBI dan kontraktor menyebabkan harga yang dibayar kepada kontraktor adalah tidak munasabah dan lebih tinggi dari harga anggaran MBI sehingga RM85,609 atau 1,712.2%. Status : Mengikut maklum balas daripada MBI bertarikh 15 Januari 2014, kontrak yang ditawarkan adalah secara terbuka untuk Kelas E (Bumiputera). Oleh yang demikian, harga yang ditawarkan adalah dari pihak kontraktor sendiri. Bagaimanapun, secara keseluruhannya kos kontrak yang ditawarkan oleh pihak kontraktor masih lagi rendah jika dibandingkan dengan anggaran jabatan sejumlah RM499,944 berbanding RM432,787. Namun pihak MBI tidak melaksanakan penyelarasan harga yang ditawarkan. Mulai akhir tahun 2013, pihak MBI telah mula melaksanakan penyelarasan harga dalam proses perolehan.

Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh, Majlis Perbandaran Teluk Intan Pengurusan Perolehan PBT Siri 1/2013 LKAN Tahun 2013 Siri 1

Penemuan - Perenggan 2.4.2.2(b) : Anggaran kontraktor bagi satu unit leach bin 660 liter yang dibekalkan semasa projek menaiktaraf kerja-kerja mengecat dan pembaikan kecil rumah pangsa Kinta Height berharga RM7,000 adalah lebih tinggi berbanding anggaran oleh MBI yang hanya RM1,500. Berdasarkan kajian pasaran yang dilaksanakan oleh pihak Audit mendapati harga seunit leach bin yang mempunyai saiz yang sama hanya antara RM1,250 hingga RM1,550. Status : Mengikut maklum balas daripada MBI bertarikh 15 Januari 2014, Pihak MBI akur tidak melaksanakan penyelarasan harga yang ditawarkan supaya lebih rasional. Bagaimanapun, secara keseluruhannya kos kontrak yang ditawarkan oleh pihak kontraktor masih lagi rendah jika dibandingkan dengan anggaran jabatan. Mulai akhir tahun 2013, pihak Majlis telah mula melaksanakan penyelarasan harga dalam proses perolehan.

Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh, Majlis Perbandaran Teluk Intan Pengurusan Perolehan PBT Siri 1/2013 LKAN Tahun 2013 Siri 1

Penemuan - Perenggan 2.4.3.1(a) : Pada 1 April 2013, MBI telah melantik syarikat LTC Alam Bersih Sdn. Bhd. secara konsesi selama 15 tahun secara rundingan terus melalui Jawatankuasa Penasihat Tujuan-Tujuan Am tanpa kelulusan Pihak Berkuasa Negeri. Berdasarkan satu kontrak perjanjian yang telah ditandatangani di antara pihak MBI dengan syarikat, premis terlibat dengan kadar yang telah ditetapkan dan dipersetujui oleh kedua-dua belah pihak, bayaran yang dituntut oleh pihak syarikat adalah sejumlah RM912,988 sebulan. Berdasarkan kiraan pihak Audit kos purata perolehan setahun ialah RM10.96 juta. Status : Mengikut maklum balas daripada MBI bertarikh 15 Januari 2014, Lantikan kontraktor bagi perkhidmatan kutipan sampah ini dibuat secara Rundingan Terus berdasarkan faktor keperluan mendesak dan maksud penyeragaman

Annual AG report for 2013

Eye-opening read: Norhasniza Norkhalid, an assistant auditor with the National Audit Department, inspecting the A-G’s Report 2013 (Series 1). — Bernama

 

PETALING JAYA: Money meant for food to feed malnourished children was instead spent on buying meals such as nasi lemak, kuih and teh tarik to be served at meetings by three district health offices.

The abuse is one of the key highlights of the 2013 Auditor-General’s Report which listed 283 issues related to wastage of funds, poor rev­­e­n­ue and asset management, negligence as well as weak planning and monitoring of projects.
The shocking discovery showed that RM87,851 out of RM923,000 meant to feed poor rural children was misspent by the Jerantut, Gua Musang and Kota Kinabalu health offices, causing a public uproar.
The report pointed out that the funds were also misused by the three health offices to buy curtains, hampers for cooking programmes, and replica models of food items such as biscuits, nasi goreng, and nasi lemak.

Souvenirs, t-shirts for a choir group, as well as the rental of canopies for a family day were also among the items purchased.
Discrepancies were also found between the prices of food items in the tender documents and invoices.

As a result of the discovery, the Health Ministry set up an internal investigation committee on Feb 27 to investigate and reprimand the officers involved.

Suhakam commissioner James Nayagam described the abuse involving hungry children as a serious crime that should be investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
“This is corruption no matter how you cut the cake, because money meant for hungry children was used to feed those who were supposed to take care of them,” said Nayagam who has worked with children’s organisations for the past 33 years.
The report said that the weight recovery of the children in the Health Ministry’s Rehabilitation Programme for Malnourished Children, which started in 1989, also did not reflect the targets set.
The underweight children were found to have only achieved normal weight after a year and not within the six to 12 months promised by the programme.

A total of 8,556 children were in the programme between 2011 and 2013 with an allocation of RM66.51mil.

All the youngsters were supposed to receive food baskets comprising food items and multivitamins worth RM150 each under the programme.

The food baskets provided 104% of their calorie needs and 222% of their protein needs.
The report said some of the health offices went over the RM150 budget in buying the food items for the children due to the rise in the price of goods and the higher cost of certain items in rural areas.

A total of RM238,213 was overspent on the food baskets, with the Tawau health office found to have overspent by RM88.80 per basket.

The report said the ministry after being queried had set up an internal investigation committee on Jan 27 and that the probe on the matter was expected to be finished by the end of February.
The ministry had also explained to the auditors that it needed to spend not just on the malnourished children’s programme but on other programmes as well.
The report in its recommendations said officers must have a good grasp of financial regulations to ensure that allocations were spent according to the rules.