PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s reform movement ignited 26 years ago is set to yield a tangible result in the form of the Government Procurement Bill.
The proposed law sets out to put a stop to the awarding of government contracts without vetting, failure to declare interests, interfering in procurement processes and falsification of documents.
It covers not just the federal government but also state governments, local authorities, statutory bodies, government-linked companies and any entity that receives government grants or loans.
It’s about time. Government procurement has been a fertile ground of abuse for decades, taking the form of negotiated tenders, sweetheart deals for cronies or simply the “legal” siphoning of public funds.
The power for abuse lies with top government leaders and civil servants in every machinery that approves and awards tenders to finance infrastructure projects, prep supplies, pay consultants and conduct business.
Soon, the power of those awarding contracts will be cut down to size, especially after recent procurements were riddled with corruption, opaqueness and misuse of power.
According to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), procurement abuse constitutes 42.8 per cent of complaints filed between 2013 and 2018. Last year, it rose to 70 per cent.
The abuse is staggering: the biggest ones are direct negotiations or selected tenders to crony companies that provided overpriced and inferior goods, and compromised public welfare and safety.
The abuse has been going on for decades despite the best efforts of the authorities to stamp it out. Senior anti-graft officials and activists have estimated that up to 30 per cent of government contracts are mired in corruption.
Effort to improve procurement by promoting open tenders and reforms went awry due to entrenched practices, insufficient enforcement and resistance from powerful and influential people who fear losing their “golden goose”.
It’s a tale we’ve heard before, cronies are awarded huge contracts and rake in millions, if not hundreds of millions, but provide meagre funds to the actual contractor doing the work. It explains why some government projects fail due to cheap, substandard materials being used.
Just like the Immigration and military officers recently caught over a variety of offences, government leaders involved in shady procurements are not just committing crimes of bribery, they are also committing treason.
It took a while before Anwar could push for this moment but you knew this was coming after he unshackled the MACC to go after the “untouchables”, a huge aspect of reformasi that’s better late than never.
© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd
