No chance for MPs to debate A-G’s Report
By Patrick Lee, FMT
KUALA LUMPUR: With no sign of the Auditor-General’s (A-G) Report in sight, Pakatan Rakyat MPs will not be able to effectively debate the 2012 Budget.
According to Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, it would be too late for MPs to scrutinise the budget, even if the report were to be tabled in Parliament next Monday.
“Today is the last day that MPs have been given an opportunity to debate the budget, with the winding-up (of the budget) on Monday.”
“Going through the report would require a team to work, analyse and study…We will not have an opportunity with (the winding-up) on Monday at 10am.
“It’s not going to be easy… You must have the report tabled so that the MPs can debate.
“I lost that opportunity because as opposition leader, I was not privy to the report,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here.
Concern over tampering
Reflecting on his years as finance minister, Anwar said that ministries did not know the contents of the A-G Report until it was tabled in Parliament.
He is worried that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s administration may try to tamper with the contents of the report.
“I have no evidence to support that argument, but I have raised some concerns: why the inordinate delay, why there is no explanation,” he said.
In previous years, the A-G’s Report – which details the country’s current economic status – was usually presented before the annual budget was tabled.
The report also highlights the country’s many financial irregularities, which have come as an embarrassment to the government.
However, this year’s report has not been released to MPs and it has been more than one week since Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak unveiled Budget 2012.
Last week, Sungai Petani MP (PKR) Johari Abdul claimed that he had called the A-G’s Office, only to find out that the report had already been sent out.
