He said over the years, Sedic had been tasked with giving out grants and assistance to Indian NGOs to implement programmes for the community.

“Questions had been raised as to the effectiveness of programmes carried out by these organisations using government money,” he said in a statement today following a briefing by National Audit Department officials on the audit conducted on Sedic yesterday.

Waythamoorthy said the Sedic audit also involves three other agencies parked under the unit, namely the Special Implementation Task Force (SITF), Secretariat of Empowerment of Indian Entrepreneurs (SEED) and Action Plan for the Future of Tamil Schools in Malaysia (PTST).

“According to the previous administration, it appears that over RM2 billion had been disbursed through operating and development expenditures to implement programmes and projects for the Indian community,” he said.

As such, he added the audit would take six to eight months to complete.

“The audit covers all aspects in the running of the unit, including planning, implementation, input, output and impact of programmes carried out by the unit,” he said.

In any event, regardless of the audit, the minister said Sedic is being restructured.

It will announce its new structure, including the incoming director-general and others soon.