KUALA LUMPUR: An anti-graft watchdog wants an independent ombudsman to deal with the internal problems of a civil service bleeding taxpayers’ money due to wastage and embezzlement.

The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) said in a statement yesterday that if no action is taken to fix the public sector, corrupt civil servants would continue to get off scot free. C4 director Cynthia Gabriel commented on the findings in the latest Auditor-General’s (A-G) Report, and said countering the problem requires “revolutionary” approaches such as firing staff, indicting corrupt officials and bringing to book those who are guilty.

She urged Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator Paul Low to show political will and take a tough stance on the issue.

“The minister must take a tough stance against corruption, and present a concrete plan of action for punitive action to be taken against wrongdoers in the various ministries involved.

“There must be an independent ombudsman for good governance, a most essential oversight mechanism that can deal with internal and public complaints on public sector performance.”

Gabriel said the ombudsman’s task would be to investigate and “name and shame” the perpetrators.

She said this is different from the role of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which only investigates after a crime has been committed.

“The ombudsman is real-time. Functions will include receiving complaints, investigating and making recommendations for punitive action, even before the audit comes into the picture,” she told The Malaysian Insider. Gabriel said this would then strengthen the work of the A-G in assessing wrongdoing, maladministration and poor governance.

She called for stern action on the latest revelations in the third series of the report for 2013, including that of a low-level public officer who committed fraud and falsified documents involving the loss of unclaimed money amounting to RM995,031.

On the loss of medical supplies and medical-related assets amounting to millions of ringgit, she said this shows there was collusion between public officers and possible corruption.

Gabriel recommended that the A-G reveal its findings in a scorecard system, which she said would help ordinary citizens assess the performance of the public sector and assist in facilitating feedback.

“The scorecard should red mark offenders, and data can be obtained ... to determine compliance. This would be the basis for firing and meting out punitive action.”

She also called for the director-general to be held responsible for ensuring the highest level of accountability, and the PAC to make public all hearings to sensitise public concern over the issues of wastage and corruption. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 13, 2014.