PUTRAJAYA (Aug 13): The government is seeking to place the National Audit Department under the purview of Parliament, instead of the Prime Minister’s Department presently.  

This was decided at the new government’s third meeting of the Cabinet Select Committee on Anti-Corruption, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. 

“This means that the prime minister and the government will not have the power to dismiss or demote positions under the Auditor General Office,” he said.

Presently, the appointment of Auditor General is done by the Prime Minister on the advice of the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Dr Mahathir said. 

The cabinet has agreed for the Parliament to set up a select committee to oversee the National Audit Department, as well as other agencies involved in anti-corruption matters such as the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), he said.

“Now, we will transfer the selection of the Auditor General to the committee [under] Parliament. The prime minister and the government will not meddle with the appointment,” he added.  

“Furthermore, even the budget allocation for these bodies will be determined not by the government but by the select committee,” he said. 

No timeline was given, but Dr Mahathir said it will be done “as soon as possible”. 

A PMO officer clarified that the setting up of select committee is a directive and does not require any amendment to the Federal Constitution.