(June 15): The Education Ministry paid RM185,267 for five pieces of equipment that did not meet specifications set in the contract, the second series of the Auditor-General's Report has revealed.

The equipment consisted of four units of Programmable Logic Control sets worth RM19,400 each for Politeknik Jeli, Kelantan, and one Single Cylinder Engine Test Bed worth RM106,677 for Politeknik Nilai, Negri Sembilan.

The report said the Single Cylinder Engine Test Bed should come with an operating manual, tutorial and structured training course ware, but this was not provided. Its exhaust pipe was also not channelled outside the laboratory.

Meanwhile, the Programmable Logic Control Set did not come with a personal computer as stipulated in the contract.

The report said these problems were caused by lack of expertise and unclear or incomplete information regarding the specifications.

"All equipment that is received in the equipment supply contract must be in line with the specifications that have been already been determined, to prevent any losses on the part of the government," said the report.

It said any changes to specifications must receive approval from the Education Ministry, as it might involve changes in quality and cost.

In its response dated March 10, 2015 and April 24, 2015, the Education Ministry said that the Programmable Logic Control Set did not come equipped with a computer, and that it had purchased one separately to remedy this.

The ministry said it had sent a letter to the contractor on April 20, 2015, demanding compensation for the incomplete equipment.

The ministry added it had already received the manuals and training courses that was supposed to come with the Single Cylinder Engine Test Bed.

Meanwhile, the report noted that in December 2013, the ministry had paid RM468,451 for 111 sports and office equipment for Politeknik Sandakan in Sabah.

But as of October 14, 2014, it had received only 53 of the paid items, which were worth RM149,349, said the report.

"The remaining 58 items worth RM319,102 had still not arrived as of auditing time. This means the items were paid for in advance by 300 days," said the report.

In a response this year dated March 10, March 23 and April 24, the Education Ministry said it had received all the items by April 17, 2015.

The ministry said it would carry out checks every three months to ensure items for the polytechnics were acquired according to procedure. – The Malaysian Insider