THE newly established investigation committee on governance, procurement and finance will not go on a witch hunt against any government agencies, said chairman Ambrin Buang.

The former auditor-general said the committee’s main tasks were to investigate and recommend improvements to government procurement procedures.

“The objective is to reduce leakages. Don’t think of our committee as only looking at investigation; we are also looking at the improvement side.

“We are going into this with an open mind,” he said, adding that the committee will clear an investigation if there is no discrepancy.

He was speaking to reporters during a press conference attended by other committee members at the Finance Ministry in Putrajaya.

The committee members are former president of Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) Dr Abdul Samad Alias, former secretary-general of the Rural and Regional Development Ministry Dr Mohd Tap Salleh, director-general of National Integrity and Good Governance Department (JITN) Dr Anis Yusal Yusoff, former director of the Audit Department Ong Swee Leng and lawyer Dr Zulqarnain Lukman.

Ambrin said the investigation committee will report directly to the prime minister who, together with the cabinet, will decide if any report should be made public.

The committee is to focus its investigations on questionable deals made by ministries, such as procurement of assets, to look for possible wastage and abuses.

“We will start with Defence Ministry because there is a request from the minister himself,” he said, adding that the investigation committee doesn’t have any enforcement power.

“If there is any abuse that requires further investigation from the legal aspect, we will forward (the report) to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission or the police,” he said.

He refused to divulge details of the number of questionable deals involving the ministry, saying the investigation had only begun today. – July 16, 2018.