'The government should accept the Auditor-General's report in good faith and straightaway initiate necessary action to correct the anomalies immediately.'
Another task force - to probe Auditor-General's report
WCP: Hello PM, what are we trying to accomplish? Set up another task force to study the permanent task force (the auditor-general)? The auditor-general is already a watchdog for the government. Can't we take his report as it is and get all those ministries involved to respond?
It's becoming fashionable now to have task forces to look into other task forces. All this is an eyewash and the public knows it! Just watch, nothing will come out of this. It's an annual affair, like a carnival complete with ferris wheel.
Concerned: All the task forces and commissions of inquiry so far have been essentially set up by the authorities to show to the public that they are seriously tackling the problems. But in the end, nothing happens.
Now most people have begun to believe that all these task forces and commissions are just ‘wayang kulit' shows to cover up and protect the wrongdoings of the cronies of the people in power.
Yuvan: This is typical of how the government views the irregularities and mismanagement reported in the Auditor-General's annual report. Having task forces and having meetings after meetings will lead to nothing. It is totally an unproductive exercise and sheer waste of public funds.
An audit report is based on hundreds of hours of meticulous investigation and gathering information from all relevant sources. The government should accept the Auditor-General's report in good faith and straightaway initiate necessary action to correct the anomalies immediately.
The parties involved must be hauled up and sacked. Demoting them and transferring them to other departments is not the solution. Most of these culprits will again go back to their 'tricks' and continue to abuse their positions in a more discreet manner.
The bottom line is government leaders and public servants from top down should know that corruption is a sin that will not only destroy them but also the future of their children, forever.
Hibiscus: It is good the cabinet views the Auditor-General's report seriously because the rakyat also view the report seriously. The blatant hijacking of the rakyat's money is disgusting and a let-down by those in power.
To restore public confidence the task force must not recommend "No Further Action". The highest priority must be given to the biggest losses first, and so on. The task force must not insult the intelligence of the rakyat by merely catching the small-time crooks. It should not wait until all cases have been investigated before action is taken. As soon as a wrongdoing is found, it must take action quickly.
One action is to get the civil servant to pay back the kickbacks he or she received. There should be no protection for any wrongdoing of civil servants by the politicians. All MPs and state assemblypersons must sign an oath that they will not interfere with the investigations.
Mahindar Singh: This is not the first time the Auditor-General's report has highlighted wastages and corruption. This has been going for years with BN in power. What has been done all these years? Did we get any conviction? Even after the Lingam Tape case where a royal commission was formed, no action was taken.
Brij Jayaram Kathiravelu: If PM Najib is serious about addressing the findings of the Auditor-General's report, he should appoint a non-partisan task force that reflects the current parliamentary composition. Bring all parties in as equal stakeholders, and who are accountable to the rakyat .
This is a national issue and it affects every single rakyat , hence all members of parliament must shoulder the responsibility to address the matters raised by the auditor-general.
