Big Spender, Low Performer......

The recent AG's Report has got many of us reeling with disbelief. And what is more appalling is the snootiness of the government in trivialising the serious side of good governance in the aftermath of the unveiling of the report.

I'm not gonna write my 2 cents worth here, coz it will just be swear words and ramblings and rantings of a very frustrated rakyat at the attitude of our government. Instead, I'll just be doing some "cut and paste" job from here and there for sharing purposes.

The Tourism Ministry overpaid nearly RM270 million for advertisements when it chose to use direct bookings instead of open tenders. So the paying of 1-2 million for setting up websites is peanuts compared to the cost of placing advertisements. It is indicative of the minister’s inability and incompetence of putting her ministry in order. The same vendor has been at it- placing exorbitant advertisement fees for years. If the same vendor can control the Tourism Ministry in almost a cartel-like embrace, that should raise everyone’s concern of a possibility that ministry officials are more than just good friends with the particular vendor. It can suggest that corrupt practices and favoritism in return for consulting fees is rampant at the ministry and the loud mouthed minister is not able to do anything about it. Taken from here.


Selain itu, semakan juga mendapati LPKP mengambil masa antara 41 hingga 756 hari untuk menyelesaikan 123 daripada 257 aduan, yang mana bertentangan dengan piagam organisasi iaitu 30 hari bagi urusan pengendalian aduan. Taken from here.

The ministry also spent a whopping RM1.95 million to buy 1,000 racks — RM1, 950 per rack — to hold its tourism pamphlets for the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign. Perhaps it’s time for the ministry to set up an in-house workshop for the fabrication of display racks since these are going to be used continuously. We are not going to nit-pick at the ministry’s inability to explain the unaccounted or missing 149 units of racks amounting almost a quarter of a million Ringgit — but that would surely be grounds to trigger a domestic inquiry. Why would the ministry be billed for the missing 149 units and if that can happen to 149 units, can the ministry be certain that they actually got 1000 units? Taken from here.

Previous media reports showed the MoA picked a company called Agroscience Industries Sdn Bhd, owned by Shahrizat’s husband, Datuk Dr Mohamad Salleh Ismail, to spearhead the project, under a company called National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFCorp). Shahrizat’s  three children, Izran, Izmir and Izzana, reportedly play key roles in the NFCorp. Izran is CEO while his brother and sister are executive directors. Taken from here.

He pointed out that the audit report had found that the Marine Parks Department paid RM56,350 for a binoculars not worth more than RM1,940, more than 28 times the market price.The department also purchased common items like laptops, printers, DVD players and LCD televisions for RM192,694 when their total value should not have exceeded RM20,193. Taken from here.

The Auditor-General’s report yesterday showed the ministry has yet to pay RM110.67 million it owed to more than 70,000 farmers under a scheme to encourage a higher rice production.Citing Padiberas Nasional Berhad (Bernas), Malaysia’s rice industry regulator, the report said the farmers were eligible to receive RM341.29 million between January 2007 and January 2010. However, Bernas only managed to pay incentives worth RM230.62 million as at end 2010, citing lack of funds.This resulted in 73,291 farmers not receiving incentives totalling RM110.67 million. Taken from here.

Malfunctions barely a year after the RM142 million RazakSAT satellite was launched caused it to take 1,328 unusable mapping images that were inaccurate by up to 37km, the Auditor-General’s report showed today. The report made available today said state-owned Astronautic Technology Sdn Bhd (ATSB), which operates RazakSAT, lost RM10.89 million in 2009, of which RM7.7 million went towards insurance premiums for the faulty satellite. Taken from here.

Only two out of 300 computer laboratories for Sabah schools have been constructed since the government began its RM160.73 million project in April 2008, the Auditor-General’s report said today. Sabah recorded the highest number of computer lab construction projects as well as costs, followed by Sarawak (RM49 million), Johor (RM10.88 million) and Selangor (RM11.95 million.) Taken from here.

The National Sports Institute (NSI) paid RM3.94 million for 18 horses that were not qualified to race in the 2008 World Endurance Championship (WEC), the Auditor-General said in his report today. The report noted NSI had failed to get the Treasury’s approval before buying the horses, as required for direct negotiation purchases. Taken from here.

Land acquisition costs for the Senai-Desaru Expressway project exceeded estimates by nearly 103 per cent or RM375.6 million more than originally stated, according to the 2010 Auditor-General’s report. Following this development, the Auditor-General is suggesting for the government to adopt a new approach by “capping” expenditure for future projects. Land acquisition for Senai-Desaru Expressway Bhd (SDEB) was initially estimated to cost RM365 million but the final cost weighed in at RM740.6 million. Taken from here.

The Defence Ministry must explain why it paid RM7.6 billion for armoured personnel carriers (APC) procured by DRB-Hicom Bhd for only US$559 million (RM1.7 billion), Tony Pua said today. Defence Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi told Parliament last Tuesday his ministry did not have any information about the deal between DRB-Hicom unit Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (Deftech) and Turkish firm FMC-Nurol Defense System (FNSS) for 257 units of Pars 8x8 APCs. Taken from here.

Indah Water Konsortium (IWK) and Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd were among six government-linked companies (GLCs) that paid employees up to two months’ bonus despite suffering an accumulated RM354.91 million in losses in 2009, the Auditor-General’s report said today. The report also said that sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional was among ten government companies that have not paid Putrajaya any dividends despite making net profits in 2009. Taken from here.

Nine ministries and government departments overspent last year’s overall operational allocation by a total of RM3.73 billion, according to the Auditor-General’s Report released today. The ministries include the Education Ministry, Health Ministry, Home Ministry, Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Ministry, Public Service Department, Attorney-General’s Department, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the Public Services Commission. Taken from here.

Putrajaya risked public safety when it took four years to approve funds to repair the damaged roof at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium, the Auditor-General said in his report released today. The report highlighted that the Merdeka Stadium Corporation (MSC), a federal statutory body responsible for the management of all national sports complexes, had applied to repair damage to the Bukit Jalil Stadium a total of four times since 2006. Taken from here. Their lackdaisical attitude about the rakyat's safety is truly alarming. Now they approve Lynas plant to open in Kuantan. If there is a radiation leak, how? Wait four years before they decide that the plant should close? 

Ali Kadir posed a very relevant question about our reaction to all these mismanagement and over spending here.

And the ONLY reaction we got from our government was this feeble and unconvincing promise here.

I am sad. Very sad. With the going ons in this country. Am I wrong if I say it right out now that I love my nation, but I detest our government for all these here, and some more elsewhere? I am just one person, one vote, but I feel for this nation, for all of the other taxpayers. What say you?