The Malay Mail Online – 5 hours agoRELATED CONTENT
- Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed says the payments …
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 ― Felcra Bhd made payments in kind totalling RM133,00 to its board of directors for three years since 2010 without the Ministry of Finance's (MoF) consent, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) revealed today.
Its chairman, Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, said the payments were clearly a conflict of interest as it was approved by the board members themselves.
“There is conflict of interests...how can you say your performance is good and so you decide to pay yourself,” Nur Jazlan told reporters after meeting with Felcra representatives in Parliament building here.
The chairman of Felcra Bhd at the time was Datuk Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, the current deputy minister of rural and agro industries.
Nur Jazlan said the PAC was dissatisfied with the explanation given by Felcra and have demanded the state agency present all the necessary documents for further investigation.
“We will see how then,” he said.
He said the current Felcra chairman, Datuk Bung Mukhtar Radin, has offered to co-operate with PAC on the matter.
The Kinabatangan MP was present to testify before the Parliamentary panel this morning.
Nur Jazlan further revealed that the MoF had initially rejected Felcra's plea for the payment to be distributed in 2008 but the state agency proceeded nevertheless.
It was later revealed that Felcra again tried to get MoF’s approval through a letter last year, but this was done only after the payments were made.
"They only wrote the letter after the payment was already made. It is not the right thing to do," he said.
Today's revelation comes on the back of a series of other financial irregularities highlighted by the Auditor General's report this year.
Critics and opposition leaders believe the discrepancies contribute largely to the government’s growing debt burden and ballooning administrative costs.
