Where did the money go?

(The Star) – While they are doing a fine job listing out the need for more money and to improve the social amenities, sadly none of them have touched on the need for the Government to come up with a better system on how to use Government funds to make sure that these money are utilised in the right way, for the right purpose, to benefit the targetted group and how to ensure that these money are spent on time for the intended project.

I HAVE been scanning the local and national newspapers over the past two weeks to find out what our local and national politicians expect from the coming Budget that will be tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in his capacity as Finance Minister 1 in the Dewan Rakyat tomorrow.

Almost all of the elected representatives (YBs) talked about the need for more money for their respective states and the constituencies they represent.

They talked about the specific needs that have to be looked into, especially affordable housing, basic amenities and better public transportations and the likes.

While they are doing a fine job listing out the need for more money and to improve the social amenities, sadly none of them have touched on the need for the Government to come up with a better system on how to use Government funds to make sure that these money are utilised in the right way, for the right purpose, to benefit the targetted group and how to ensure that these money are spent on time for the intended project.

These state assemblymen and Members of Parliament, including those from the Barisan Nasional, seemed to have forgotten that year after year, a lot of money announced during the annual Budget does not seem to benefit the intended group of people because the intended projects did not materialise as stipulated in the Budget.

These projects often got delayed and the funds approved were not used according to the announced purposes.

There were so many examples how the money approved under the annual Budget did not seem to end up accomplishing its intended purposes.

I want to highlight just a few of these “incidents” which, to some extend, have directly or indirectly affected the people of Miri just to prove my point. I am not saying there was any hanky-panky surrounding the use of these money, but these incidents raised much confusion.

In the year 2008, a certain politician took a group of reporters to Bakong Bazaar, about 60km from Miri, to tour the Lapok Road, a vital road link that connects Miri into the interior of Baram and the rest of northern Sarawak.

He wanted to announce that the Government had approved a RM200mil fund to repair the road that was then in a terribly bad shape. The road had not been upgraded since Sarawak gained its independence through Malaysia. During the event, he proudly announced that the fund had been approved by the Federal Treasury for the 40km-long Lapok Road to be resurfaced and that repair works would start immediately.

He even brought along senior officers from the company that had been hired to do the job.

In the year 2010, I had the opportunity to travel pass the road to get into the interior parts of Baram to attend a function by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein, who was then visiting some Penan settlements to distribute MyKads.

Sadly, the road was still in its horrendous condition as in 2008. The politician’s sweet announcement remained just an announcement.

I passed through the same road again in 2011, when I was assigned to attend a function by Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin. Again, there was still no sign of repair works being been done on the road.

Surprisingly, a few months ago, another politician announced that the Government had approved yet another RM150mil to upgrade the same road. The announcement had me perplexed.

What actually is going on? What happened to the initial RM200mil meant for the road upgrading as announced in 2008?

I am not insinuating that there are some hanky-panky going on. But all these turn of events are very confusing and the fact that the Lapok Road upgrading is neither there nor there is indeed a cause of frustration to the people who have to bear with the poor road condition daily.

Another example is the proposed RM120mil Pujut-Permyjaya highway upgrading project.

A politician announced in 2008 that the project would soon start to alleviate the massive traffic jam affecting more than 100,000 people in Kuala Baram district daily.

But until April 2011, there was absolutely no progress to that project. Works only begun after the state elections where SUPP president and Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan lost his Piasau state seat while Andy Chia lost Pujut seat, both to DAP.

The delay in that project’s implementation was part of the reasons that the SUPP lost the two seats and almost lost the Senadin seat as well.

Yet another example is the RM100mil announced in 2011 meant for the improvement of Miri Port.

DAP YB for Piasau Alan Ling asked what had happened to the money and why the funds was not used for the intended project.

Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Michael Manyin explained that the money was “diverted” for some urgent projects in Kuching.

This sort of “diversion of funds” should have been made public before it was diverted.

The intention may sound reasonable, but the manner in which these money were diverted surely raised suspicions.

There are so many examples of these “fund diversions” that I can dig up.

Just a few months ago, I found that certain Class F contractors hired by government authorities and the MP office here in Miri had done a horrible job in carrying out urgent repair works for the needy and the poor in Miri.

They had not only resorted to using low quality materials but also produced shoddy workmanship in order to cut corners to earn bigger profit margins.

In the process, they had fleeced the poor people whom the Government had intended to help.

This is another blatant example of how Government money had been misappropriated and misused and how the intended target groups of people did not fully benefit from the funds meant for their well-being.

The Budget is not just about dishing out money. Equally important is how to make sure that the money allocated do not end up “getting lost” or unaccounted and at the same time failed to benefit the rakyat as it was originally intended for.

Whatever money dispensed from the Federal Treasury to the state treasury or to the individual ministries must be speedily channeled to the proposed project and be used for the purpose it was intended for.

For example, if a RM100mil fund is approved for the construction of School A in Long Panjang, that money must be used to build the particular school worth the amount.

It cannot be “quietly diverted” from Long Panjang and used to build some other things in some other parts of the state.

It is also not fair to the people of Long Panjang if the school built is built but not amounting to the approved budget.

The people of Long Panjang have the right to query where the money had gone to and who is the one who had made the decision in allowing the “divertion” of the money meant to enable the people of Long Panjang.

The MP and state assemblyman for Long Panjang must be held answerable. He must be in the know about the whereabouts of the money and what had transpired.

Whether or not there is any hanky-panky involved in the “diversion” of the money is another thing altogether.

The fact that the money meant to construct School A in Long Panjang was not used for that intended purpose is already an issue by itself and the YBs and state authorities must explain and reveal the truth.

To ensure that these incidents of “missing money” are prevented from happening, the team drawing up the annual Budget must relook at its effectiveness in terms of fund-distribution, the implemen- tation process and the auditing process.

Unless these aspects are looked into and improved, the delivery system will always fall short of performance and the intended group of people who should benefit from these money – the citizens – will continue to suffer from the delays, shoddy workmanship and “fund-diversions”.

I honestly hope that this Friday’s Budget will also see Najib introducing stricter mechanisms to check on how fund that were approved under the annual Budget is being spent throughout every nook and corner of the country, including here in Sarawak.