People want to know who are behind the leakages

SHAH ALAM - The recent revelation made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim that there are leakages of RM3 billion to RM4 billion to parties and political figures shocked Malaysians.

Malaysian Islamic Youth Movement (Abim) secretary general Fazril Saleh urged the government and authorities to take immediate action towards what was revealed which had caused the country to suffer major losses.

He said many individuals may have heard rumours that "politicians were taking money" and it was true as it was confirmed by Anwar who revealed it officially at the 2023 Budget Dialogue Council.

"In the revelation, the Prime Minister had identified that RM3 billion to RM4 billion could be saved from the leakages to parties and certain figures, but the revelation is actually a general knowledge.

"The people would certainly ask who are the people involved and which political parties would commit such acts.

"The government must take action and expose those involved and charge them in court for misappropriating the country's funds," he told Sinar Premium on Wednesday.

During the dialogue, Anwar said Malaysia could potentially save up to RM10 billion in the government procurement system if corruption could be eradicated at all stages.

Commenting further, Fazril said the revelation made by Anwar on the abuse of power and corruption involving the country's funds was a bold and transparent move, thus realising the fight against corrupt practices which were growing rapidly.

He said all parties should fully support the Prime Minister's bravery and commitment to consistently curb corruption to prevent it from being systematic and running rampant and becoming a norm that would be hard to change.

Fazril said in terms of government procurement and allocation, it should be purchased through open tenders that were much more professional and transparent.

He explained that the matter was much-awaited by the people following the warnings and recommendations by the National Audit Department (NAD) every year but seemed to be ignored.

"The laws are in place, the enforcement was done, the guidelines and standards were set but corruption is still rampant.

"This means that those who know the law knew ways to avoid it making corruption much more systematic.

"However, the Prime Minister has given his commitment to improve the country's governance.

"We believe that based on the Prime Minister's power, he should be able to implement the war on corruption in Malaysia," he said.

The Centre for Combating Cronyism and Corruption (C4 Centre) urged the government to act firmly on the parties involved in the leakages.

Its acting chief executive officer Pushpan Murugiah said the issue of leakages in the national procurement system had been ongoing for a long time but was yet to be exposed by leaders.

He said if the NAD's report was reviewed, there were many inconsistencies reported regarding tenders and projects implemented.

Pushpan said C4 Centre was among the NGOs seeking for the draft of procurement laws which was the same matter discussed and announced in the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019-2023.

"NACP is one of the main strategies to aid in reducing the issue of leakages and inconsistencies happening in the country's procurement management.

"The government should reconsider seriously drafting a procurement law that is much more consistent and transparent.

"The issues revealed by the Prime Minister regarding the RM10 billion inconsistencies has brought C4 Centre to urge the government to investigate it transparently and charge individuals involved.

"The decisions and investigation results regarding this major issue should be revealed to the public and enable them to know about the development and display the government's transparency to overcome the issue on corruption," he said.