AMID the bad news, there is good news. First the good news.

According to the Auditor-General’s Report for 2007, there is an improvement in the financial management of a majority of government agencies at the federal and state levels.

Of the 212 agencies scrutinised under the Accountability Index assessment, 4.7 per cent were categorised as “very good", 66.5 per cent were “good” and 28.7 per cent considered “satisfactory".

Among the federal agencies Tan Sri Ambrin Buang said had “very good” financial management were the Prime Minister’s Department, the Public Service Department and the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Looking at the overall report, there does seem to be an improvement. Some of the preposterous amounts paid for certain items — such as screwdrivers, car jacks and instant noodles — in the past did not make an appearance.
And now for the bad news. The report still details a string of almost unrepentant abuses, gross inefficiency and continued profligacy on the part of civil servants.

It is for the Anti-Corruption Agency, which has suddenly (and thankfully) come alive in recent weeks, to determine if there is corruption in any of the cases highlighted by the auditor-general. Let’s hope the ACA does not wait for someone to lodge a report before beginning investigations.

The auditor-general was puzzled as to why, after spending RM3 million, the Veterinary Services Department only managed to get nine cattle that fit its requirements for a cattle stud farm project. It doesn’t, as a friend says, make cow sense.

The auditor-general saw through the Health Ministry’s purchase of three X-ray machines costing RM33 million, and noted the irregularities. The ministry’s method of disposing clinical waste in hospitals and health clinics was, Ambrin felt, a washout.

The auditor-general also sniffed out unethical practices involving the construction of the Stormwater Management and Road Tunnel (Smart). Testing and accreditation certificates were issued for equipment before the actual testing was carried out in four instances. And Ambrin found 10 instances where equipment that had failed testing were issued certificates. Certainly not a smart move.

He was not amused with developments at Kemas, the Community Development Department, either. Some of the furniture bought remained unassembled and were collecting dust while many books and equipment bought for use in its resource centres were still kept in boxes. To top it all, some of the items purchased had been overpriced. Certainly a case of “Tak kemas” (not tidy).

Talking about equipment, the auditor-general was unable to locate some RM9.56 million in equipment supposed to have been sent to 812 schools between 2005 and 2007 for the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English. Oops! Is that why some say the teaching of Science and Mathematics in English is a failure? Another funny thing: no police reports had been made about the missing equipment.

The release of the report last week hardly caused a flutter. Perhaps we’ve become inured to such horror stories. For they have indeed become an annual staple.

The 1990 Auditor-General’s Report, for instance, observed weaknesses, such as a lack of inspection and poor management of contracts, in the Education Ministry’s purchase of RM48.3 million in school equipment between 1988 and 1990.

In the 1993 report, the auditor-general was astounded that RM54 million was spent on repairing and maintaining a Royal Malaysian Navy warship, bought secondhand in 1977 for RM15 million.

Last year, the government got serious and charged 12 civil servants with alleged irregularities exposed in the Auditor-General’s Report. Does anyone know what happened after that? Was any of the 12 found guilty?

While Ambrin’s observation that most issues raised in the Auditor-General’s Report 2006 had been dealt with is good news, I wish we were able to read a report which says there are no abuses and irregularities. But, hey, I’m a dreamer.