COMMENT | Is stealing, larceny, misuse and abuse of power and money entrenched in the civil service? Have these become part of its culture? How else can one explain the issues pointed out in the Auditor-General’s Report year after year.

Is no one worried about the humongous sums of money that are misused? Why is no one ever held responsible for the lapses?

Ordinarily, the government would be quick to appoint task forces and special committees when even lesser amounts go missing. But when it comes to issues raised in the Auditor-General’s Report, there’s hardly a whimper.

Except for the media, which highlights these issues, it hardly draws any comments from officials under whose watch such discrepancies occurred. Year in and year out, the issue is quickly forgotten and despite the report being described as a “catalogue of abuses”, it’s business as usual for the government.

On Tuesday, auditor-general Nik Azman Nik Abdul Majid said that non-compliance with financial management has resulted in the issuing of irregular payments amounting to RM1.299 billion...