KUALA LUMPUR: The Government Procurement Bill gives the Finance Minister greater powers than the Prime Minister, Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin (PN-Putrajaya) says as he voiced his strong opposition to the Bill.
“We put politics aside. We need to learn from the dark and bitter history of 1MDB,” he said when debating the Bill in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Aug 27).
“When the Prime Minister becomes the Finance Minister, the power becomes very great,” he said.
“Today both sides have acknowledged the Bill has many weaknesses. How can we pass something that is not right?” he added.
He flagged Section 2(2) of the bill which read; “Notwithstanding anything in this section, the Minister or, in relation to a State, the Menteri Besar or Chief Minister, as the case may be, may, by order published in the Gazette, exempt from the application of this Act any one-off allocation of funds appropriated by the Supply Act or Supply Enactment, as the case may be, for any Government procurement by any statutory body, local authority, Federal Government entity, State government.”
“This is a very wide power regardless of who the Finance Minister is,” he said.
He also questioned the internal controls in the case of the Bill.
He reiterated that the Bill should be sent to the Parliamentary Special Select Committee for further scrutiny.
