Ambrin Buang: National Audit Dept free from political coercian

Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang has reiterated that the National Audit Department is an independent entity and free from political coercion with the auditing process abided by the international standards on auditing.

He said each task was executed specifically based on the merits of a project, instead of zeroing in on those responsible.

"We are not going after government A or government B, we are colour blind.

After each state or department was audited, it is followed by reports, you can see the reports.

"That's why every report issued must be read in entirety for views and opinions from a department or an agency being audited were also included.

"We admitted there were weaknesses, but we strive to improve (the process) from time to time," he told reporters after presenting a keynote address at the 14th Perdana Discourse Series entitled “Enhancing Accountability and Integrity in the Malaysian Public Sector — Are We Doing Enough?”, here, today.

"The auditing process is long. For next year, we have already made the preparation and what we do has nothing to do with the general election. We do not know when the election will be held," said Ambrin.

He said the auditing process was based on facts gathered before a revision was made, and the task was usually done before a project was completed.

"We do not wait until a project is completed before we start the auditing process, we start auditing when a project is underway. Our intention is to correct the mistakes at the implementation stage," he said.

He said the auditing reports on an agency or a department were posted on the National Audit Department's website for public scrutiny.

"The information will enable the public to play their role in curbing extravagance, waste and abuse (3P) in a department or an agency, thus it can also be used in an effort to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and economy (3E)," he said.