KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — The government will take action against officers who mismanaged public funds as highlighted by the Auditor-General’s Report 2008, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan said.
Mohd Sidek, who chaired a meeting of a government task force to determine the type of action to be taken against those found to have breached the rules and regulations pertaining to public fund management, said there were four types of action which could be taken against civil servants. They are:
- Surcharge under the Financial Procedure Act 1957;
- Disciplinary action under Chapter D of the General Orders — Public Officer Regulations (Conduct and Discipline) 1993. The government can still take civil or criminal action against retired officers;
- Investigations by police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on cases of misconduct such as those highlighted by the AG’s report. In view of this, police will also be included as a member of the task force; and
- Court action if there are enough evidence.
The Chief Secretary to the Government said this in a statement today following a meeting of the Task Force to Study the 2008 AG’s Report, which he chaired on Monday. The meeting was attended by the Attorney-General, Treasury Secretary-General, Auditor-General, MACC Deputy Chief Commissioner and Public Service Deputy Director-General.
Mohd Sidek said the meeting, among other things, agreed that action should be taken based on clear facts and taking into consideration the reminder by the prime minister on the need to spare officers who made decisions in good faith, made unintentional mistakes, or committed an error due to factors beyond their control.
“The basic principle which the task force will focus on when deciding the type of action is that it must be able to inculcate good governance in public administration and spur civil servants towards the culture of high performance,” he said.
Mohd Sidek said the task force would look into cases in stages, addressing first those which involved high incidence of non-compliance such as making payments for goods which were not delivered or services which were not implemented or procurements of services and goods which did not adhere to specifications.
“In these cases, the officers involved can be surcharged and face disciplinary action under Chapter D of the General Orders,” he said.
In discharging their duties, he said, members of the task force would focus on the basic principle of good public fund management.
“Members of the public service should practise the culture of high performance. Those who perform well will be rewarded but the government will not tolerate abuse of power, mediocrity, negligence and intentional breach of rules and regulations as highlighted in the Auditor-General’s Report 2008,” he said.
Mohd Sidek also said the task force, whose setting up was announced by the prime minister on Oct 30, would meet weekly and planned to conclude its tasks at the latest by April next year. — Bernama
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