Display project cost at the site: Activist
Published on: Thursday, October 20, 2016
Labuan: Activist Datuk Patrick Sindu said it is time all government project signages also state the cost of the awarded project."Such disclosure will enable the public to know if the project had been awarded at an inflated price and be a deterrent to corruption as well as in line with Government's policy of transparency," he said.He said project signages presently merely announce the name of the developer or contractor, consultants and other details, but not the most important information, i.e. the cost of the project.
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"Why is this so, is there something to hide? Any project under Federal, State or Local Authority funding, irrespective of value or whether big or small, members of the public have the right to know," he said. His comments came in the wake of the seizure of RM114.5 in cash and assets from top officials of the Sabah Water Department. The money was believed to have been siphoned from allocations to the department for infrastructure projects worth RM3.3 billion since 2010.Describing the case as the "mother of all scandals" in Sabah involving a State department, Patrick said the case should serve as an eye-opener."It reflects how accounts could be manipulated to escape detection and weaknesses in the existing system.
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This was a big rat and no one smelled it until millions of project funds had disappeared."Another measure that needs to be taken to fight corruption is to take immediate action when the annual Auditor-General Report exposes abuse and possible corruption," said Patrick.
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He noted that every year the A-G's Report exposed weaknesses or management faults such as purchase of items at over-price, but no action was known to have been taken against the officials concerned."There may be a need for a Civil Service Act to deal with such suspicious officials, to help improve integrity of the civil service," he said.Patrick welcomed the recent announcement by the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Ali Hamsa, that all projects worth above RM500 million should involve the A-G and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). "This is a good idea. Corruption could involve any project, big or small, and it should not be tolerated at all levels. All projects should have some form of involvement from MACC," he said. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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