Malaysian Youth and Sports minister Khairy Jamaluddin has vowed to conduct thorough investigation on KBS’ internal mechanism as well as their Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), after it was confirmed that a senior officer within KBS embezzled over RM100 million since 2010.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission nabbed the suspect over the weekend, after conducting a raid on his home last Friday, and Khairy confirmed the news in a press conference that was hosted in Putrajaya this morning.
He went on to claim that the individual made full use of a procedural loophole within KBS’ SOP and that it’s an issue that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible.
“Referring to the statement by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the issue of corruption of a government official, I would like to confirm that said individual is a senior officer in the Ministry of Youth and Sports (KBS),” Khairy Jamaluddin said.
“MACC had informed me a few weeks ago that the individual was being investigated. I have told KBS and the agencies operating under it to fully cooperate and put this behind us once and for all. KBS will hand this case over to MACC to decide on the appropriate action. I will continue to fight against bribes, corruption and misuse of power alongside MACC.
“Meanwhile, an immediate review of all internal mechanisms and governance processes relating to the distribution of funds will be implemented in KBS.
“For this purpose, I have discussed with the Chief Secretary to the Government (KSN) on the establishment of an investigative unit to identify errors and improve processes and internal financial procedures. The main objective of this team is to fix the weakness of the internal process that may lead to the embezzlement of public funds,” he added.
WHAT DO WE THINK
This one is puzzling, really. Khairy claims that he wasn’t aware of the entire embezzlement, since the SOP didn’t require him or the Chief Secretary to sign off on some of the contracts and processed invoices. But the amount that we’re talking about here is massive – it’s over RM100 million. Why wouldn’t an amount like that – irrespective of whether it was embezzled in different phases – not require approval from the highest authority. If that is indeed the case, then KBS’ SOP would definitely require a major revamp.
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