Subsidies for the dead among wastage

PUTRAJAYA: Non-Conforming payments and awarding subsidies to the deceased are among financial management non-compliances that resulted in losses, irregular payments and waste totalling RM158.08mil.

These are among the findings of the Auditor-General’s Report 2021 Series 2.

One of the issues highlighted in the report was the payment by the police to a company that did the printing and mailing of police summonses but did not do so according to contract terms.

The irregularity in payments amounted to RM17.76mil.

The force was also found not to have imposed a fine of RM1.82mil on the company for the delay in carrying out the job.

Explaining this, Auditor-General Datuk Seri Nik Azman Nik Abdul Majid said the police could not impose a fine on the company as its contract had expired on Nov 30 .

“The relevant ministry and police are in discussion with the company about the fine to be paid,” he added.

The report also found that the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry had paid RM730,000 under the padi price subsidy scheme to farmers who had died.

The report also found that the Customs Department had failed to collect RM72.3mil in duties for imported vehicles brought out of duty-free islands.

The report also noted there was RM1.16mil in uncollected rent by the Prime Minister’s Department for civil servants’ quarters.