According to Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, the government will allocate RM400 billion under the 12MP for development projects, both new and existing ones.

However, citing the World Bank, former Transparency International Malaysia president Akhbar Satar noted that usually around 30% of the government’s budget on public contracts was wasted due to mismanagement and corruption.

“Consider the amount of savings the government would have obtained if it paid 30% less for goods and services the contractors and vendors provided out of the total of RM400 billion in the 12MP,” he said in a statement.

To avoid funds being misused, Akhbar listed several ways to curb corruption and plug leakages in government procurements.

He said the auditor-general’s department should be given the power to conduct spot checks on big government projects, especially if there were signs that the company which had been awarded the project was engaged in false claims or fraudulent activities.

He said government projects should be closely monitored and top officials put on the mat if they are found responsible for any losses incurred.

Due diligence must be done on the contractors before tenders are awarded. They must be reliable, capable, responsible and have a good track record, both technically and financially.

“The existing ‘sick projects’, mostly awarded through direct negotiations, not only undermine the aspirations of the government and people but also cause project costs to increase.

“Modernising government payments and collections through digitisation can help policymakers achieve these goals.

“The finance ministry should introduce a ‘flying squad team’ to check the completed projects before payments are approved to contractors.”

Further, Akhbar questioned the need for costly megaprojects which can lead to unethical public servants abusing their powers and manipulating via direct negotiations and cronyism.