KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee is the right authority to look into the inconsistencies with the River of Life (RoL) project, said local government expert Derek Fernandez.
While the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should conduct an investigation for elements of wrongdoing and corruption, he said PAC was best equipped to scrutinise the project as it had the authority to call in experts.
Fernandez said the first order of business, should there be any element of malpractice related to the RoL, was for the relevant minister to commission an independent internal audit to come up with a report.
“The minister must have the audit report in front of him to answer questions on the internal audit report. If it is found that the internal audit report is lacking, it is within his power to commission an external audit report,” said the lawyer.
“He must come up with something first. Show us a report as proof of accountability.
“If he doesn’t show the (full) report, he must state findings of the report and prove that corrective measures had been taken after the first and second Auditor General’s report findings.”
Some of the things that the minister needed to identify included details on whether the contracts were overpriced and the work delivered substandard, and if there was lack of supervision, he said.
Fernandez said he believed that Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) did not have the capability to conduct a proper internal audit.
“In other (city councils), they have the Audit and Governance Committee comprising councillors and its Audit Department to carry out an independent audit that involves management staff.
“For example, in the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), the Audit and Good Governance Committee will conduct an investigation with a team assisted by the internal Audit Department of the council.
“The department serves only a secretariat, while the main (influencers) are the four councillors from different parties.”
This way, there was independent oversight on actions by the mayor and management, he said.
“We will prepare a report for the board for further action and pass it to the state government if needed.”
Fernandez said an external audit was necessary and the job was not that straightforward because the Federal Territories Ministry, while being the administrator, also shared the allocated funding with the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry for the Department of Irrigation and Drainage to clean the rivers.
“That’s why PAC is the best body.”
He said if the ministry was unsatisfied with the work by contractors, it could have conducted spot checks that could lead to the termination of their contracts due to poor delivery.
He said this, however, would require political will.
Water and Energy Research Association of Malaysia president (Awer) S. Piarapakaran urged the government to set up an independent technical committee to evaluate the success rate of the RoL.
He said only after the assessment had been completed could the Finance Ministry decide on whether funds should be released for the project.
“Awer never believed that this project will be able to turn Sungai Klang into picnic spots. For one thing, the liquid pollution input has not been solved.”
Piarapakaran also questioned how it was the Performance and Management Delivery Unit that proposed the project in the first place.