IT is déjà vu. The stories are similar but the actors are different. The Auditor General's Report released last week once again exposed irregularities in government finances.
Despite the AG naming and shaming agencies all these years, the public service doesn't learn from its mistakes.
One wonders what good has come out of key performance indicators governing public servants' accountability and the government's oversight mechanisms.
The usual actions will commence. Parliament's Public Accounts Committee will haul up heads of department to account for their misdemeanours.
Excuses will be given and sanctions will be meted out, only for the cycle to repeat itself.
Several reasons explain why mismanagement in government occurs perennially.
ONE reason is the attitude of civil servants that they can get away with their misdeeds.
The errant will probably be transferred to another department or to a "pool" to do punishment-time or until retirement.
Hopefully, the new contractual system of employment will end this culture of impunity and lack of integrity.
The government shouldn't renew the contracts of those sullied by impropriety.
SECOND, while financial rules and regulations are adequate, poor oversight of compliance leads to mismanagement without detection until it comes to the AG's knowledge.
THIRD, despite the threats of transfer or taking early retirement, public servants struggle to prevent funds from being channelled to projects that are either misaligned with public interests or to parties unsuited to implement them.
The damage done by mismanagement goes beyond wasting public resources. It stunts growth, cripples the government and scares off investors.
The funds could have gone to alleviating poverty.
The recurrence of mismanagement also causes the public to lose faith in the government's ability to advance public interests.
Without public trust, the government cannot attract high-quality recruits.
Equally important, corruption and mismanagement stymie the government's efforts to improve its 34th rank in the 2023 World Competiveness Ranking, which puts it behind Thailand and Indonesia.
We must improve our ranking to convince foreign investors that Malaysia is an investment haven.
Here are three strategies.
FIRST, the government must regain citizen trust by being tough on those found guilty of mismanagement of public funds. Its good efforts must be published.
That will not only boost public confidence in government, but will also instil fear in those wanting to engage in shady practices.
In his 2003 mystery thriller, The Da Vinci Code, Dan Brown said: "Men go to far greater lengths to avoid what they fear than to obtain what they desire."
SECOND, the government must become more transparent in its financial activities. Citizens and civil society should monitor these.
The Whistleblower Protection Act must be strengthened to embolden civil servants and the public to report mismanagement in government.
Maybe we should look at how Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland have taken transparency to the next level.
Sweden, for example, opens its official books for everyone to scrutinise.
Politicians are vilified if they display ostentatious behaviour, such as giving up their bicycles for official limousines.
THIRD, the public service should double down on internal audits and energise the ministries' audit units.
These units should conduct risk assessments to pinpoint and mitigate potential areas of mismanagement.
Among the ways to do so will be through data analytics and artificial intelligence.
These reforms may not excite the public, but they will nevertheless help Malaysia improve its Edelman Trust Barometer Index from its rank of seventh among 28 countries.
And we can expect a public service that is honest and efficient.
The writer is a former civil servant, academic and a columnist of this newspaper for over a decade
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times