KUALA LUMPUR: The Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas) has called on all state governments to legislate government procurement to ensure that matters of conflict of interest are disclosed during the process of procurement, not after.
The institute said legislation is needed institutionalise transparency in public procurement, including those that are awarded through restricted methods.
The call came after allegations of conflict of interest surfaced in the appointment of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh-linked Asia Mobiliti for the proof of concept (POC) of demand responsive transit (DRT) services in Selangor.
Asia Mobiliti was founded and is run by Yeoh's husband Ramachandran Muniandy.
Ideas acknowledged the various efforts to explain the award, but took issue with the fact that it came after it was awarded.
"The explanation and offer to disclose were provided only after probing questions from the public as to the nature of the appointment and allegations of conflict of interest because Asia Mobiliti's co-founder and chief executive officer, Ramachandran, is the husband of current Minister of Youth and Sports,Hannah Yeoh. These disclosures should be institutionalised to allow for greater openness and public accountability," it said in a statement today.
"This incident emphasises the importance of the Government Procurement Act (GPA), which would provide rules for various government procurement methods to be competitive and transparent, and signal a strengthened commitment to fiscal responsibility," it added.
The GPA is expected to be tabled by the second quarter of this year, as stated by Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan in October 2023.
"Currently, there is no specific legislation on public procurement processes in Malaysia, with government procurement processes largely prescribed by a series of circulars and regulations which translates to instructions from the Ministry of Finance," said Ideas CEO Dr Tricia Yeoh.
Ideas called for state governments to apply high standards in procurement transparency, such as disclosing relevant information at every stage of the procurement process through the publishing of procurement plans, bid invitation details, and details of the winning bids or appointments made at state treasury websites or dedicated online procurement portals.
On the continued calls for open tender, Ideas senior research director Sri Murniati Yusuf said open tender is not the only procurement method that would ensure competition and transparency.
"In fact, it is not suitable for procurement of services and works that require specific expertise or qualifications, and where these expertise are not widely available," she said.
"The UNCITRAL Model Law for Public Procurement, for example, identifies nine other procurement methods to choose from depending on the context of procurement exercises. "However, it is important to note that if open tender is not being used as the procurement method, the procuring authority has to provide justification for choosing other methods. "More importantly, once the selection has been made, the procuring authority must publish the information to the public," she added.