KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has recommended that the Prime Minister’s Department (JPM) examine the significance of the National Professors Council (MPN) in harnessing academic expertise to aid the government in national development. PAC chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin emphasized that should the government choose to maintain MPN as a Company Limited by Guarantee (CLBG), it should be repositioned under the Ministry of Higher Education (KPT) to align with its purpose and function.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Mas Ermieyati urged JPM to update PAC on the government’s decision regarding MPN’s status, whether it continues as a CLBG agency under governmental purview or transitions otherwise, in subsequent proceedings. The Auditor-General’s Report (LKAN) series 2/2024 unveiled financial mismanagement within MPN, highlighting unsatisfactory corporate governance practices.

The report disclosed unauthorized payments amounting to RM207,000 in fixed allowances to MPN’s Chairman and Deput
y Chairman, lacking ministerial approval. Mas Ermieyati pointed out that MPN’s effectiveness and role for the government remain unverifiable, with activities deviating from its foundational objectives.

The issues stemmed from undefined key performance indicators (KPIs), insufficient reporting to JPM, and misallocation of funds away from its clusters/chapters. Established in 2010, MPN aimed to leverage the expertise of seasoned academics to support government development initiatives, initially under KPT’s jurisdiction.

In 2014, MPN was transferred to JPM and incorporated as a CLBG under the Companies Act 1965, facilitating autonomous operations across ministerial lines. However, in 2018, oversight of the think tank was withdrawn from JPM, with its re-recognition as an agency under JPM announced on November 8, 2021.