An opposition MP has called for the tabling of the Government Procurement Bill 2025, which she labelled as “dangerous”, for its third reading to be deferred, saying it could lead to leakages and corruption.
Mas Ermieyati Samsudin (PN-Masjid Tanah) said the proposed legislation should first be referred to the special select committee on finance and economy.
Claiming that the bill had been tabled in a rush, she said MPs, especially from the opposition, were not consulted or provided with a detailed explanation.
The bill was tabled for its first reading on Monday and tabled for a second reading today.
Mas Ermieyati said the bill granted the minister absolute power, a concern that was raised by PKR‘s Hassan Karim earlier today. She also said she found the lack of check and balance in the bill to be “very worrying”.
“As the Public Accounts Committee chairman, I am troubled by what is stipulated in the bill. How are we to trust (government purchases) if there is no check and balance and if one minister has all the power (to decide on the procurements)?” she asked when debating the bill in the Dewan Rakyat.
Mas Ermieyati’s call for the tabling of the bill for a third reading to be postponed came amid concerns raised by NGOs and a think tank.
Yesterday, the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) called for the bill’s second reading to be postponed after expressing concern that it might be “bulldozed through” and legislated without sufficient debate and feedback.
Earlier today, Transparency International Malaysia said civil society organisations such as itself were not given access to the bill’s text before its tabling in the Dewan Rakyat.
The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs said a key concern was the wide discretion granted to ministers, such as allowing the finance minister or chief ministers of states to exempt “one-off allocations” to GLCs and statutory bodies from the bill entirely.
Mas Ermieyati also claimed that the bill would enable corruption, misappropriation, abuse of power as well as leakages, and that such wrongdoing was often revealed in past PAC proceedings.
She also raised concerns about the investigative powers granted to Treasury officials in the bill to raid and seize documents without a warrant.
“I urge you to delay (the tabling of the bill for a third reading). It’s not that we do not agree with it, we support it, but it must be improved upon,” she said.
In defending the bill earlier today, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said past scandals such as 1MDB and the Jana Wibawa programme showed the need for a government procurement law to be enacted.
Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said transparency and responsibility in managing the government’s finances were no longer a choice but a necessity.
