THE unity government has scrapped flood mitigation projects worth RM15 bil and Jana Wibawa projects valued at RM7 bil which were awarded through direct negotiations.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expects such measures to enable the government to recoup savings of RM3 bil from re-tendering of these projects.
“The savings from this exercise will be used for other projects that will benefit the people,” Anwar who is also the Finance Minister pointed out when tabling the revised Budget 2023 at the Dewan Rakyat today.
On the same note, all government agencies including the Inland Revenue Board (IRB), the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the police force (PDRM) have been instructed to “actively investigate corruption, including the names connected to the Pandora Papers, among others”.
“IRB will also continue to investigate extraordinary wealth in a bid to fight corruption crimes before they worsen.”
Elsewhere, Anwar said the Government also proposed an amendment to the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 to protect whistleblowers in order to combat corruption and wrongdoing.
An allocation of RM10 mil will also be set aside for the National Scam Response Centre (NSRC) to combat rising online fraud as 25,000 cases were recorded in 2022, costing RM850 mil in losses.
“Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) will require all banks to add a ‘kill switch’ that will let account holders freeze their accounts when suspicious activity is detected,” he added. – Feb 24, 2023
