PSD chief warns civil servants against breaching SOP on procurement

LABUAN: The Public Service Department (PSD) has warned that action will be taken against civil servants found breaching the standard operating practice (SOP) on procurement, as non-compliance is a cause of leakage in government transactions.

PSD director-general Tan Sri Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman said there would be no compromise on this matter as it involved taxpayer’s money.

“Our message is clear. There must be no tolerance for any civil servants found to have not complied with the existing SOP. Although the regulations are quite difficult to comply with, it gives us a level of confidence that there is transparency in the procurement.

“It is a must to fully comply. So, when there are cases of non-compliance, certainly there will be leakage, negligence, et cetera.

“We are acting based on the Auditor-General’s reports and public complaints on unhealthy practices among civil servants,” Mohd Khairul Adib said today.

He told reporters this after addressing civil servants of federal department and agencies at the Perbadanan Labuan Multipurpose Hall here.

“We want the Royal Malaysia Police and MACC to discharge their duties diligently, and any civil servants found committing the offence (corruption in government dealings) will be prosecuted,” he added.

He said PSD had set up a committee to oversee compliance with the SOP, including the ISO 37001 Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMC).

Mohd Khairul Adib said the existing Organisational Anti-Corruption Plan (OACP) is a fundamental anti-corruption document at organisational level to overcome weaknesses and issues regarding governance, integrity and anti-corruption.

“Every ministry must have this OACP, which can help in addressing corrupt practices in their respective departments and agencies,” he added.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki had said that corruption cases resulting in leakage of government procurement involving civil servants were seen to be increasingly critical.

He also said that 50 per cent of such cases involved government agencies.

Following that, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali said he would convene a meeting with MACC regarding allegations of leakage of government procurement involving civil servants.

He said the matter must be addressed immediately for fear that it will slow down the economic recovery process, especially now that the country was still facing the threat of COVID-19.

“So, I will discuss with them what we should do next or the preventive measures that we can take.

“With our economy already showing a slow pace of recovery due to COVID-19, and the leakage of government procurement, I’m worried that our country will not be able to progress as rapidly as we planned,” he said.

-- BERNAMA