Singapore-Malaysia
Tale of two telling reports
There’s a difference their governments react to their Auditor-Generals’ reports. The Star.
Oct 1, 2007

By Rashvinjeet S.Bedi
While the Malaysian Auditor General’s Report ran into 679 pages, the same report across the Causeway was just 59 pages. Singapore’s very transparent tender system could be the reason for the difference.

JUST a simple comparison, yet the differences are very telling. The Malaysian Auditor-General's report this year is 679 pages but the same report in Singapore is a mere 59 pages.

This Malaysian report does not include the respective state reports, most of which are thicker than the Singapore report.

“You won't find much in the Singapore report,” says retiree Gursharan Singh who worked with the Government audit office for more than 30 years.

While Singapore is a fraction of the size of Malaysia, its budget for 2007 was about half or S$33.27b (M$75.521b) while Malaysia's was M$159.4b.

As in any other government in the world, there were irregularities mentioned in the Singapore Auditor General's report (available at www.ago.gov.sg), but the Auditor General Lim Soo Ping remarked that generally improvements were observed.

“I note that by and large ministries and statutory boards have been diligent in following up on past audit observations and taking remedial action,” said Lim in the report.

For example, the report stated that the 421 cases involving delayed payments identified in the financial year of 2003/04 dropped to 56 cases in the 2006/2007 financial year.

Neither does the Singapore report disclose the kind of mismanagement of funds in the same magnitude as that in the Malaysian Auditor General report (available at www.audit.gov.my).

The most glaring examples in the 2006 Malaysian report include the purchase of two helicopters worth M$117.75m by the police air wing, which could not be used, as they did not meet specifications.

Another M$15.4mil was spent to train pilots to fly these helicopters.

The Customs Department meanwhile under-utilised its M$290m information technology system but were planning to spend another M$451.30m to develop a new one.

Then there was the National Youth Skills Institute (IKBN) project: -

* Where a car jack that cost M$50 was bought for M$5,700,
* A digital camera that cost M$2,990 was bought for M$8,254 and,
* A set of technical pens with a market price of M$160 was bought for M$1,146.

In the case of IKBN, the question on everyone's lips is how could it have happened?

Auditor General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang, in earlier news reports on IKBN, said a direct negotiation was made with the supplier because the minister wanted the institute to be operating as soon as possible.

Under these circumstances, permission to conduct direct negotiations had to be obtained from the Treasury with a condition that the lowest possible price was negotiated.

The result of the negotiations would then have to be reported back to treasury.

“The procedures are very clear,” said Ambrin, adding that the officers involved should have been diligent and conducted a proper market study.

Could there been corruption?

“I'm not saying that. Let the relevant authorities investigate. I'm just saying that the price was exorbitant,” he said.

According to Gursharan, such dealings would not have transpired in Singapore because they had a very transparent open tender system.

“In Malaysia, contracts are substantially awarded on a consideration basis. This usually translates into low quality, bad planning, high cost and poor maintenance,” says Gursharan, adding that the Malaysian tender system used to be competitive but deteriorated after a change of administration policy.

In Singapore, all tender bids are conducted through their Government Electronic Business (GeBiz) website www.gebiz.gov.sg

The Government Procurement Procedures requires statutory boards to publish their tender results in the GeBIZ portal not later than three working days after the date of tender award.

“Publishing of tender results is part of the system of transparency and fairness in government procurement. It is also helpful to those who tendered unsuccessfully to be informed of the results promptly so that they can release their resources for other projects,” said Lim in his report, rapping a statutory body for delaying the publishing of the tender results.

Comments (Malaysia Today)

mountain man wrote:
S$1.00 = M$2.28: The whole story can be told with this simple exchange rate.
Malaysia blessed with so much resources and with a land size many, many times bigger than Singapor and a much bigger population was messed up by BNputras all for their personal gains.

jcsa15 wrote:
Seems like now things have cool down. Ministries no need to explain? All the cash already in their pockets.
Wait till next year, same report, same wayang and no action.
Each and every one who rapes the country should be put to jail, not just them, their whole family tree including their pets.

billykbk wrote:
"I'm not saying that... the price was exorbitant".
Mind you, M$50 became M$5,700, you call it "exorbitant"? It's called "daylight robbery".
What's there to investigate? Get the officer who signed for the purchases, the rest will fall like dominoes. To investigate in Malaysia, it's to find excuses for the culprits to go free. PROVE ME WRONG!

SonofMalaysia wrote:
42 years ago, Malaysia and Singapore parted way. The two countries were more or less on the same good foundation inherited from British government, same footing in terms of administration, law, economic development, education, social development etc.
Singapore has gone on to build upon and improve every aspects of their country, effectiveness of the administration of the country, economy, education, social integration, racial and religious harmony and just about every things that matter.
They have excelled in so many things, which are undisputable. They have produced worldclass achievement, SIA, NUS, Singtel, Keppel, DBS and many more which are making their presence felt in the region and the world, and they are steaming ahead.
On this side of the causeway, Malaysia has become Bolehland. Every thing, judiciary, education, police, economy, security, social harmony are rotting and stinking.
There is nothing we can be proud of. What we have are only some nice tall buildings and highways. Everyone knows these are no big deal achievements; any one with oil money can do this.
The important thing that matters to people, economy, security education, judiciary are all screwed up!
What we have now, is a very corrupt, incompetent.. government that gives rise to those unspeakable, ruinous montrous mismanagement!
The most tragic thing is, those bandits who are responsible for these are unable and unwilling to change this course.
They will resort to all possible means, however unimaginable, to perpetuate this tragedy!
How far down Bolehland will sink ?
(Malaysia Today)