Kuala lumpur: The Dewan Rakyat today approved the Auditor-General’s Report (LKAN) 2/2025 on the Activities of Ministries/Departments/Statutory Bodies/Federal Government Companies, which contains matters raised from audits on five programmes, activities, and projects across seven ministries.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the motion on the report, tabled by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, was passed by a majority voice vote after being debated by 32 Members of Parliament. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) M. Kulasegaran, when winding up the debate for the department, clarified that the Auditor-General may be appointed from among public service officers. He explained that the Federal Constitution allows the Auditor-General to be appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the advice of the Prime Minister, following consultation with the Conference of Rulers.
Kulasegaran was addressing concerns raised by Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu) regarding the appointment of Datuk Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi as Auditor-General while she was still serving in the civil service. Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir highlighted that improvements were being made at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) following procurement management issues identified in the LKAN report. He noted that corrective actions, such as updating outdated procurement circulars, were underway.
Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Rubiah Wang responded to criticisms concerning FELCRA Berhad’s oil palm estate performance. She stated that while three out of four estates had shown increased output and profits, challenges such as a shortage of skilled workers and extreme weather were affecting one estate’s performance. Efforts are being made to address these issues, including increasing harvesters and repairing agricultural roads.
During the winding-up session for the Ministry of Works, Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi explained the contractor selection process for Phase 1B of the Pan Borneo Sabah Highway Project. The process was conducted through a selective pre-qualification open tender to ensure only capable companies were awarded the project. He also acknowledged challenges like land acquisition delays and labour shortages impacting timelines, with improvement measures being implemented.
Deputy Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir stated that feedback, including on procurement management, would be considered moving forward. The Dewan will reconvene tomorrow.