“The ministry should ensure a more organised and better system which adheres to financial procedures (is put in place) in order to decrease wastage and misappropriation because these events are held annually,” said the bipartisan committee in its report tabled at the Dewan Rakyat today.
Among the issues raised were the making of payments without supporting documents.
“A document verification exercise was not included because there is no mechanism or methodology to check and verify the adequacy of work for each item specified in the contract.
“There are elements that can be subject to disciplinary action,” said the committee.
The PAC also questioned the selection process of the Pahang Tourism and Culture Department when they hosted 12 events at various locations around Raub that only drew 0.4 per cent of tourists to the area.
The committee also took notice of the appointment of a special contractor to carry out public relations services that were incompatible with the functions of the Tourism and Culture Ministry.
“The procurement requirements for implementing the projects and statements were not provided.
“A price comparison also showed that the ministry had valued a contract at 910 per cent or nine times its value,” said the committee.
The PAC said they took seriously the failure of ministry officials to comply with the financial procedures that were set in place.
“More decisive action needs to be taken to ensure that procedures are followed.
“The PAC has also suggested that the time-based contract be scrapped, because it makes it easier for contractors to manipulate the payment,” the committee said in the report.