KUALA LUMPUR: Sabah and Sarawak are among nine states that the National Audit Department has carried out special audits of forest management and its impact on the environment.
The other states are Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, Selangor and Terengganu.
The Auditor-General’s Report 2021 Series 2 said the audit is to assess whether forests in the states have been managed in accordance with the Sustainable Forest Management Principles (PHSB).
“This is to ensure forest activities deliver economic, social as well as environmental benefits, and balance the various needs of current and future generations,” said the report.
The National Audit Department has also carried out performance audits on activities involving two ministries in Sabah and Sarawak, 31 departments and eight state government agencies.
“Compliance audits were also carried out on two ministries in Sarawak, 25 departments and 10 state government agencies,” the report said.
A total of 214 recommendations were submitted by the Auditor-General, 184 of which were for the state ministries, departments, and agencies to consider, and 30 were for the relevant state government-owned companies.
“Relevant heads of departments have been informed in advance about the issues highlighted in the Auditor General’s Report for verification purposes,” the report said.
Meanwhile, seven performance audits involving a total of RM66.862 billion were carried out on programmes, activities and projects undertaken by seven ministries.
Of the total number of audits, five involved programme and activity categories while the other two were project categories.
Overall, the report said the implementation of federal government activities, projects and programmes had been done according to the set objectives although some weaknesses were found, such as output targets and set outcomes that were not fully achieved.
Some of the weaknesses were due to negligence in complying with the rules or procedures set by the government and lack of proper planning on programmes projects and activities, according to the report released today.
Therefore, the Auditor-General has put forward 21 recommendations to be considered for implementation by the audited ministries, departments and agencies.
The report said the audit on the management of federal government companies focused on the achievement of each company’s establishment objectives by examining three aspects, namely activity management, corporate governance, and the company’s financial position.
“Five companies were found to have achieved the objectives of their establishment, two companies demonstrated good corporate governance practices and three companies had a stable financial position,” the report said.
A total of 35 recommendations had been submitted to the management of the companies for improvements.
The Auditor-General’s Report 2021 Series 2 on the activities of ministries, federal government departments and federal bodies, will be uploaded on the National Audit Department’s website at http://www.audit.gov.my, after the tabling at the Dewan Rakyat.
At the state level, it will only be uploaded to t the National Audit Department’s website after it is tabled at their respective state assembly sittings. – BERNAMA
