PAC chairman calls for independent monitoring in government procurement to prevent public fund losses, moving beyond paper-based integrity pledges.

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia must move beyond paper-based integrity pledges and institutionalise independent, real-time oversight for high-value and high-risk government projects to prevent losses of public funds, said Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin.

She said weaknesses in government procurement were often only uncovered after money had already been spent or losses incurred, exposing the limits of relying on “after-the-fact investigations and enforcement”.

“What is needed is credible monitoring throughout the entire procurement cycle, so risks and non-compliance could be detected early and corrected before they escalate into serious problems,” she said during a parliamentary debate on Jan 27.

Mas Ermieyati, who is also the Masjid Tanah MP, cited a report titled Strengthening Integrity Pacts in Malaysia Through Independent Expert Monitors (IEM), which builds on the Integrity Pacts framework developed by Transparency International in the 1990s and now implemented in more than 30 countries.

Published in July 2025, the report said although Malaysia has adopted Integrity Pacts in public procurement under Treasury Circular PK 1.6, the framework relies largely on self-declaration and retrospective enforcement, with no independent oversight during the procurement process.

It said this leaves major projects exposed to bid manipulation, cost inflation, contract mismanagement and political interference.

Transparency International Malaysia president Raymon Ram proposed that independent oversight be made mandatory for procurements exceeding RM1 billion, projects of significant public interest and complex or technically specialised contracts.

“Malaysia has adopted the Integrity Pacts mechanism but not in accordance with the intended framework, which includes IEM.

“The report highlights the gap and makes recommendations for adopting the framework in its entirety,” he told theSun.

Raymon, who authored the report as a consultant to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said implementation should begin with amendments to Treasury Circular PK 1.6, followed by statutory incorporation under a future Public Procurement Act.

“Monitors should be selected through a transparent, merit-based process, granted full access to procurement documents and financial records and provided with legal protections to ensure their independence.”

He added that prosecuting a handful of officials after scandals erupt would not address systemic weaknesses.

“Meaningful reform would only occur when oversight is built into the system, rather than simply reacting after scandals explode,” he stressed.

Mas Ermieyati said Malaysia had previously committed to strengthening the Integrity Pact mechanism under the National Anti-Corruption Plan, which has since been replaced by the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, but added that the intended outcomes had not materialised in practice.

She said although reforms were marked as completed, they appeared to have been implemented largely as a tick-box exercise, existing on paper rather than functioning as an effective governance mechanism.

“In reality, Integrity Pacts are often reduced to declarations that are signed, while the most important element in international practice has been left out – independent third-party monitoring.”

She also said IEM should be drawn from recognised professional bodies, including the engineering, architectural, surveying and accounting professions, to ensure credibility and competence.

She emphasised that the role of IEM is not to delay projects, but to provide neutral oversight, early detection of warning signs and clear corrective recommendations, particularly for high-value, high-risk and public-interest projects.

“Public confidence cannot be rebuilt through signatures alone,” she said, calling on the Finance Ministry to strengthen procurement policy and implementation so that accountability and integrity are embedded throughout the procurement lifecycle.

The call comes amid persistent concerns over procurement weaknesses and leakages in the Defence Ministry, following a series of high-profile cases involving cost overruns, delays and the non-delivery of assets despite billions of ringgit in allocations.

On Jan 19, Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin and Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng called for renewed scrutiny of Defence Ministry land swap deals that surfaced in 2018 but were never fully addressed.

 The Sun Malaysia