Losses from financial scandals mounting: Musa

KUALA LUMPUR: The amount of money lost in financial scandals in Malaysia since the 1980's is increasing and much more will be lost if the status quo remains, warned former Deputy Prime Minister Tun Musa Hitam.
He said in the past three-and-a-half decades the losses incurred amounted to about RM104 billion, equivalent to nine KLIA2s, and more than one-third of the RM260 billion budget under the 11th Malaysia Plan.
He added the auditor-general's report had also continuously highlighted procurements at grossly inflated rates.
Speaking at the forum, "National Economic Governance: Role of Parliamentary Committees", organised by the Malaysian Economic Association yesterday, Musa said the most recent cases involved much larger numbers than before, with 1Malaysia Development Berhad alone accounting for RM42 billion.
He said financial scandals had happened in the past but there was public confidence that any such incident will be thoroughly investigated by parliamentary committees and those responsible punished.
He said there is a need for strong institutions which practised good governance, accountability, transparency and above all, served parliamentary democracy.
"Good governance and integrity are the keys to economic growth, prosperity and for job creation while strong institutions are the backbone of a strong democracy.
"The top institutions of government have failed good governance and this failure cascades down to all arms of the executive. Some top institutions are still holding on to its integrity, but how long can they last in this environment?"
Restoring public confidence, Musa said, is especially important now as youths are more demanding of good governance by public institutions.
He said MPs must take heed of this as more and more youths will find Malaysia to be less attractive as their ultimate career destination, robbing the country of their talents and potential contributions.
Musa then called for a movement to restore public confidence in government institutions and to end "disrespect of good governance" by restoring the separation of powers of the executive, judiciary and the legislative.
He said this will allow Parliament to perform its role of checks and balances and its committees will be able to investigate public scandals effectively.