PETALING JAYA: Civil society anti-graft bodies are calling for immediate corrective measures and follow up on all of the issues raised in the Auditor-General’s Report (AG’s Report) 1/2026.
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Raymon Ram said on the AG’s Report’s findings on the MyDigital ID project, substantial unreturned research grant balances and failure to safeguard government intellectual property are not isolated administrative oversights.
“The report reinforces a concern that the issue is no longer the absence of rules, but the absence of consequences when those rules are not followed,” he said.
Raymon said the issues raised in the AG’s Report point to deeper governance weaknesses, particularly in approvals, financial closure and oversight of publicly funded projects. “When such basic controls fail, it signals a breakdown in accountability mechanisms.
“What is needed now is clear, time-bound action, corrective measures, recovery where appropriate and accountability processes that demonstrate that non-compliance carries real consequences,” he added.
Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) chief executive officer Pushpan Murugiah said Malaysia’s financial governance still lacks sufficient and necessary controls to monitor and intervene expenditure that goes awry.
“Every year, one of the main issues highlighted is that so many expenditure decisions are made without adhering to procedures and yet, the payments go through.
“What this tells us is that the existing procedures and the way they are implemented simply are not working.
“What is sorely missing are points of intervention for publicly-funded projects that are able to adequately control and monitor how these entities use their funds. One example, said Pushpan, is the Government Procurement Act that does not impose reporting obligations on entities that are implementing government procurement.
Pushpan said this is a clear blind spot in the government's management of contracts given to private entities. Malaysia Corruption Watch (MCW) president Jais Abdul Karim said the disclosure of 273 new governance and financial management issues in the 1/2026 Auditor-General’s Report is both significant and concerning. "When institutions such as Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, national digital infrastructure initiatives like MyDigital ID, and even the development of a Covid-19 screening tool are flagged, it signals systemic weaknesses, not isolated mistakes," he said.
To improve transparency, the government must publish detailed follow-up action plans with clear timelines for each major finding.
MCA Youth information chief Neow Choo Seong said the serious financial and security weaknesses exposed in the MyDigital ID project at such an early stage is not a minor administrative lapse but involves public funds and the personal data of millions of Malaysians.
"The AG Report revealed breaches of financial procedures, including more than RM28mil in unauthorised expenditure.
"The rakyat deserve a clear and transparent explanation as to how such lapses could occur in a high-profile national project entrusted with sensitive responsibilities.
"MCA Youth calls for a thorough and independent investigation. The probe must scrutinise the approval processes, procurement practices and payment mechanisms, and determine whether there were elements of negligence, abuse of power or conflict of interest. The findings must be made public to ensure transparency and restore public confidence," said Neow.
