A backbencher has defended the government’s proposed procurement bill amid criticism that it grants excessive powers to ministers, saying that no law can guarantee against the abuse of power.
Speaking to FMT, Beruas MP Ngeh Koo Ham said the Government Procurement Bill was no different from other laws in empowering the minister in charge to have the final say, subject to checks and balances.
Ngeh also said the bill would improve government procurement as rent seeking and intervention in government procurement would be made offences. A lawyer by training, Ngeh said the proposed law was necessary to authorise certain officials to carry out enforcement.
“With any law, we have to trust and authorise certain persons. In this case, power is given to the secretary-general of the Treasury and the state financial authority. We trust them to execute their duties conscientiously,” he said.
“There can be no foolproof way (to ensure) that an officer will not abuse his or her power or be corrupt. We have cases where Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers are corrupt, but we have the deterrence… a law that applies to all. Whoever commits an offence will be dealt with by the law,” he said.
His remarks came after the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) urged the government to delay the bill’s second reading, saying it could be “institutionally dangerous” if passed in its current form.
C4 also raised concerns that the proposed registry of contractors and suppliers, as well as the investigative power granted to Treasury officials, could be open to abuse. It said these provisions would weaken the bill’s stated objectives of transparency and accountability.
The bill has also been opposed by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS) and Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M).
IDEAS said the review process should include consultations with civil society organisations to ensure that the bill reflects best practices and public interest, while TI-M said it was crucial that public input be provided on a law that would determine how billions in public funds would be spent.
Hassan Karim, the PKR MP for Pasir Gudang, said in the Dewan Rakyat that under the proposed legislation, Parliament would not be able to debate government tenders and purchases.
“One section of the law effectively puts the finance minister above the law,” he said, describing it as a “threat” to reform.
The draft legislation lays down a full procurement framework through 12 parts and 93 clauses, applying to ministries, statutory bodies, GLCs, and local councils that spend public funds at both the federal and state levels.
