Serious financial lapses, including RM183 million in unreturned research grants at UKM, are exposed in the 2026 Auditor-General’s Report, highlighting systemic governance failures.

KUALA LUMPUR: Serious lapses in financial governance have again come under scrutiny, with the 2026 AG Report highlighting widespread mismanagement across government entities.

The findings underscore persistent weaknesses in oversight and accountability, pointing to systemic challenges in public sector operations.

Among the most glaring cases is at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) – the report flagged RM183.11 million in unreturned research grants involving 7,904 projects.

Overall, the report, which was presented in Parliament in February, recorded 273 cases of financial mismanagement – one of the highest tallies in recent years.

The Higher Education Ministry holds the largest share of the amount, totaling RM110.67 million.

Key findings from the report are as follows:

Unreturned research grants; the RM183.11 million in unreturned grants involved five research universities, with UKM heavily involved.

Unauthorised fee collection; UKM’s cooperative collected RM50.74 million in student fees without proper authorisation.

Unrecorded revenue; RM32.36 million in revenue was not properly recorded as university income.

Irregular expenditures; the audit found RM6.69 million in irregular expenses, including commissions to unauthorised agents and conflicts of interest.

The 273 cases also included over RM28 million spent on the MyDigital ID project without committee approval.

Auditor-General Datuk Seri Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi said all issues are accessible on the Auditor General’s Dashboard (AGD), allowing for continuous monitoring and follow-up by relevant federal and state authorities.

“Between 2024 and Dec 2025, the AGD system has facilitated government recoveries and repayments totalling RM316.68 million.

“From this, RM221.52 million came from federal agencies, including penalty claims, outstanding rents, land leases and duty and tax collections.

”She added that a major audit focus was on the irregularities in UKM’s revenue collection and expenditure.

The irregularities, she said, came from collaboration agreements made without the approval of the Finance Minister, contrary to the university’s constitutional provisions.

She also said some spending did not comply with established financial procedures.

The report also revealed the use of corporate credit cards by unauthorised individuals.

 The Sun Malaysia