Declare family interests for government loans, says MACC

Every government official should declare their interest when government loans are being granted to their immediate family members.

This was among the slew of recommendations by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) specifically in relation to ‘weaknesses’ found in connection to the National Feedlot Centre (NFC) scandal.

According to MACC’s 2012 annual report released today, one weakness in the NFC case was that there were no legal or ethical provisions to require government officials to declare any conflict of interest if their immediate family members are granted government loans.

The MACC also recommended that it should be made mandatory that projects with direct tender and soft loans-- especially with family members or allies are involved-- are first tabled in Cabinet for approval.

The MACC report also found that the Ministry of Agriculture(MOA), then helmed by now deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, had “failed to select a competent company in managing the NFC project”.

“The MOA needs to conduct due diligence in selecting companies. In dept evaluation is needed in selecting competent and capable companies (financially and experience) in managing the NFC project,” said the report in its recommendations.

In total, MACC had found 12 weaknesses and gave the same number of recommendations for NFC, among the recommendations were:

- The Ministry of Finance should provide a standard guideline, that is clear and transparent on soft loans to prevent ‘negative perceptions’ or doubts.

- The Ministry of Finance should provide clear criteria to determine loans. To also ensure applications are tabled in Cabinet for approval first

- Roles, responsibilities and referral acceptance of Authorized Technical Committee / Authorized Technical Officer ( ATO / ATC ) must be set prior to project implementation. This matter should be articulated as

part of the contract

- Provide guidelines on the role and responsibility of Board of Directors representing the government in companies related government / state-owned enterprises / companies the Minister of Finance Incorporated ( MKD ) to ensure that they adopt ‘professionalism’ in the interests of the government and people

- Establishing an agency specifically tasked as the coordinating agency specifically and officially among the agencies involved in high impact projects.

- Establish a standard documentation when an approval in principle made especially involving national interest

- Create a comprehensive market study on the project before it carried out to avoid any complications during implementation. This research includes conducting risk assessment and management which could prevent government losses

Aside from the NFC project, other cases of national interest highlighted in the annual report was the allocation of Ramadan bazaar spaces at Lorong Tunku Abdul Rahman dan Jalan Masjid India by City Hall; the financial management and procurement Companies Commission of Malaysia; the handling of officers for the Kelantan government as well as the Department of Veterinary Services.

The report also highlighted a increase of successful prosecutions, specifically 85% compared to 75% in 2011(71% in 2010 and 54 in 2009).

“This is contributed by all levels of work including intelligence, investigation and prosecutions,” said the report.

Throughout 2012, MACC received a total of 5,496 graft-related complaints and of those, 1,078 investigation papers (IP) were opened. 75% of those investigations were completed within a year. As many as 701 people were arrested during that time.

The MACC annual report was handed over to Special Parliamentary Committee on Corruption this morning at the lobby of the Dewan Rakyat. It will later be sent to the prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.