PETALING JAYA: The support letters issued by Terengganu and Kelantan government officials requesting direct project approval are a serious breach of procurement rules, says Malaysia Corruption Watch (MCW).
The non-governmental organisation said the revelation that exco members from both states had written to request direct approval of projects had crossed red lines set under Treasury Circular PK 2.4 on direct negotiations.
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"An exco member sending such a letter constitutes political interference, bypassing procurement processes and potentially leading to abuse of power," it said in a statement on Tuesday (Dec 2).
"Under PK 2.4, only the controlling officer may apply for direct negotiation to the Finance Ministry – not politicians," it added.
MCW said the letters from state excos were significantly more damaging compared to the ongoing case involving the Prime Minister's former senior political secretary, Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin.
MCW noted that Shamsul Iskandar’s case, which only involved a support letter for consideration, did not bypass technical procedures or the direct negotiation process and was in a grey area.
"While Shamsul Iskandar’s case is not ideal and still warrants reprimand, the state exco letters... violate the procurement structure," the statement read.
It called on the government to abolish the culture of support letters entirely because they potentially placed implied pressure on civil servants.
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It also urged the government to establish a national guideline on support letters, which should include a total ban on letters in procurement matters, a tracking system for support letters, and authority for officers to reject political interference.
"MCW emphasises that government procurement must remain technical, professional, and free from political influence.
"Only comprehensive reform can end the culture of 'letters carrying projects', which has been the source of leakage for decades," it said.
In Parliament on Tuesday (Dec 2), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim revealed that government officials from Terengganu and Kelantan had issued support letters explicitly requesting approval for projects, with one endorsing a project to be awarded through direct negotiation.
On Nov 25, Shamsul Iskandar resigned as Anwar’s political secretary after it was revealed that he had issued a letter of support for contractors in a hospital project, which had been issued last year.
On Nov 28, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) revealed that Shamsul Iskandar and two others had been detained in a probe of allegations that businessman Albert Tei paid bribes to recover funds said to have been distributed to several Sabah assemblymen.
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