KUALA LUMPUR: The government should consider having Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) focus on its core education business activity and refrain from engaging in investment ventures.
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) President, Dr Muhammad Mohan, said the university's failure to obtain prior approval from the Finance Ministry for injecting millions in capital and engaging in loan-to-equity conversions, alongside previous reports of inefficiency and leaks, indicates a lack of proactive measures.
The Auditor-General's Report 2022 revealed that a total of RM259.98 million was invested in Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Holdings through capital injections and loan-to-equity conversions without the approval of the Finance Ministry (MoF), which is in violation of the Universiti Teknologi Mara Act 1976.
This, Muhammad explained is a violation of the procedures.
He called on those responsible for making such a decision to be held accountable.
Muhammad said the latest AG report was heartbreaking especially given the university had previously been investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for inefficiency and leakage of RM157 million.
"It seems that this is another repeated case of losses.
"What is very disturbing is projects like the conversion of UiTM Solar Park 1 land use conditions to the industrial category and others are not resolved and they resulted in the loss of huge money.
"All these show that no action has been taken and I think the government should seriously look at the situation of the UiTM commercial arm.
"It appears to me like these projects are not their core competency and they shouldn't be involved in this," he said, adding that UiTM should be allowed to focus on its core business as an educational institution.
It was reported that UiTM Holdings was previously investigated for alleged inefficiency and leakage leading to RM157 million in losses.
FMT quoting Utusan Malaysia said the investigation began nearly two years ago after revelations of severe losses for four consecutive years.
Auditor-General Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Radzi said UiTM's investment activities in the energy sector were also inefficient, noting weaknesses in the implementation of large-scale solar power projects and rooftop solar projects.
"The conversion of UiTM Solar Park I land use conditions to the industrial category is still unresolved, although the project has been fully operational since 2019, and fines and land taxes amounting to RM14.69 million have been imposed by the district and land office of Kuantan," she said.
She also highlighted the incomplete cable installation project, which led to frequent incidents of cable breakage due to pests at the UiTM Solar Park II project, resulting in a loss of RM415,019 and cable replacement costs of RM98,055 for the period of 2022 to March 2023.