The deputy prime minister said the proposed bill to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat is an extension of the existing Treasury governance and regulations, Bernama reported.

“This is important to avoid leakages and abuse of power. It will also provide guidelines on pricing, deadlines, and the quality of services or goods supplied,” he was quoted as saying in an interview on RTM this morning.

However, he did not mention when the proposed bill will be tabled.

Zahid said having a law on government procurement was crucial to curb leakages due to corruption, excessive profits or other things that occur due to non-compliance with the directives and procedures set for the purpose.

“Currently, such directives and procedures is only in the form of an instruction from the Treasury. Once the new law is enacted, all governance and management will be bound by the law.

“If there are elements of violation (of the contract), leakages and abuse of power, the offenders will be punished,” he said, according to Bernama.

In his Budget 2023 speech yesterday, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said a Government Procurement Act will be tabled in Parliament as soon as possible.

He said in 2019, the then Pakatan Harapan government had proposed the tabling of such a bill but it was postponed.

“The unity government plans to table it as soon as possible to improve transparency,” he told the Dewan Rakyat.