Audit report delay at variance with Pemandu's targets

Aidila Razak 12:00PM Oct 11, 2012

DAP’s Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching today pointed out that the delay in the Auditor-General’s Report goes against specific targets set by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) in the second phase of the Government Transformation Plan (GTP 2.0).

“During the GTP 2.0 open house in July 24, 2012... one of the proposals put forward by Pemandu... to fight corruption is to have the periodic Auditor-General’s Reports tabled in Parliament each and every sitting, so that members of parliament can debate on it every time we meet in the Dewan Rakyat instead of debating it once a year,” she said.

According to Pemandu’s website, the auditor-general’s reporting processes are to be transformed by tabling the report “thrice yearly, thereby enabling speedier and more efficient processing of its contents enabling quick remedial action”.

“If we are not to follow Pemandu’s recommendations, then why do we spend so much money on them? Is Pemandu just decoration? Just a vase?

“The prime minister and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Pemandu Idris Jala must explain,” she said.

Teo (right) added that with the audit report still not tabled today, MPs lose the chance to openly debate the matter.

This is because during the committee stage of the budget debate, parliamentarians are limited to debate only specific items of expenditure.

“Any MP who tries to debate on the AG’s Report during this stage will take the risk of being labelled by the speaker as ‘wasting the Dewan’s time’ or ‘defying the standing orders’,” she said.

The 2012 Auditor-General’s Report has yet to be tabled in Parliament, with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz saying that this is so as to not steal the limelight from the budget.

Today is the last day of the debates on the budget speech, at policy level. The cabinet ministers are due to reply next.