LETTER | Use of public funds must adhere to highest accountability standars

LETTER | The latest emergency ordinance, which amended the National Trust Fund Act 1988, is part of a disquieting trend in the ordinances passed thus far since Jan 13 this year. With a common theme of being able to tap into funds without check and balance, this raises concerns about the potential for serious abuse and corruption, especially in this time of crisis for Malaysia.

The National Trust Fund is reported as having RM16.9 billion in assets as of the end of 2017, with Petronas as its most notable contributor. While, under the original act, the funds can be utilised in the name of the Development Funds Act 1966 to purchase public health supplies, the funds still needed to be disbursed through Parliament, a key element for check and balance.

The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Center) joins the chorus of voices demanding transparency on what happened to the RM3 billion announced by Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz to procure vaccines, as parliamentary questions over its invisibility in Budget 2021 has raised suspicions. If it was parked under the Covid- 19 fund, the legislation did not specify vaccines as a permitted expenditure.

Still, the National Trust Fund takes this into account with its provision that it can be used to purchase public health supplies, which vaccines are ostensibly categorised as.

This new ordinance is not the first of its kind. It reads as the government allowing itself to bypass the normal check and balance of Parliament to use the monies in the fund, in the name of the Covid-19 emergency.

In late March, the government had gazetted an ordinance that allows the prime minister, chief ministers or menteri besar to pass a supplementary budget and tap into funds without going through Parliament or their respective state assemblies.

The first ordinance, which came into effect immediately, has already come under fire for its lack of checks and balances, and this does not reflect well on a government that has seen recent corruption scandals plaguing the nation.

We live now in a Malaysia surrounded by multiple corruption scandals, with “cartels” exposed one after another in the administration of our country, as well as questions about the recovery of assets from the 1MDB fiasco still hanging over Malaysia. 

It is imperative that the government adheres to the highest standards of transparency and buck up. The Perikatan Nasional administration must demonstrate its respect for accountable governance if it is to rebuild waning public confidence.

C4 Center demands a necessary and clear accounting by the government regarding transparency around public expenditure during these difficult times of the pandemic, for the long-term accountability of our public health system.

Clearing the air can only be a boon towards the state of the nation now while hiding behind the state of emergency and bypassing Parliament in this way only serves to justify the people’s opinion of a failed government.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.