Nur Jazlan: Armed Forces purchases must undergo audit

Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed

KUALA LUMPUR: A thorough audit of procurement procedures of the Armed Forces is needed to avoid abuse of power, leakage, misappropriation of funds and corruption, said Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

He said this followed the arrest of several navy personnel by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in a special operation recently.

"The National Audit Department needs to carry out an audit on the procurement procedures of ATM's three wings (Army, Navy, Airforce) to ensure and maintain the respectable image of the security forces.

"The arrest of several navy personnel by the MACC for alleged involvement in corruption was indeed shocking, especially when it was reported to have been occurring over the past few years," he said in a statement here.

Nur Jazlan said MACC's operation proved that there were weaknesses in the Armed Forces procurement procedures and a thorough audit was critical.

Nur Jazlan said several years ago, PAC had called the Navy to explain the acquisition of the Eurocopter helicopters but many information were not disclosed on grounds that it involved secret and sensitive matters concerning national security.

"Armed Forces needs to be more transparent in the procurement as it uses the people's money and that it should not use the excuse of not being able to disclose the procedures on grounds that it was a secret and sensitive to national security, while there were elements of misappropriation and corruption among its personnel," he said.

Nur Jazlan said he would write a letter to Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang soon on the matter. - Bernama