Auditor-General Report lacking details, says Chee How

By Simon Peter

KUCHING, April 7, 2015 - Sarawak PKR vice chairman See Chee How does not think that Auditor-General has done a good job based on the first series of his report 2014.

He said there should be more details in the reports.

"Comparing with the previous series, the findings in the AG Report 2014 series, it appears to be scanty and short of fulfilling its responsibilities," he told reporters today.

See Chee How holding a photostat copy of the AG Report 2014

As regards the Amanah Saham Sarawak Berhad, he said while the AG found its performance as less satisfactory, it should reveal the list of ASSB investments in equities of which the report found it suffered the Net Unrealised Loss of RM38.51 million for the period between June 2011 and June 2014.

"It is also necessary for the report to point out the financial burden on the State Financial Secretary Incorporated and the Sarawak State Government to support the Net Asset Value of ASSAR's Fund," See, who is also Batu Lintang State Assemblyman, said.

ASSB), incorporated on 1 April 1993, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Permodalan ASSAR Sdn. Bhd. (PASB).

The shareholders of PASB consist of four State Government agencies, namely Yayasan Sarawak (20.8%), Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (16.7%), Pelita Holdings Sdn. Bhd. (10.4%), Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation (10.4%) and Lembaga Amanah Kebajikan Masjid Negeri Sarawak (41.7%).

ASSB has been appointed to manage the only unit trust funds of the State based on the Trust Deed dated 20 August 1993. The authorized capital of ASSB is RM10 million and paid up capital is RM10 million.

The main objective of ASSB is to provide opportunities for Bumiputera community in Sarawak to participate in the mainstream economy through collective investment in capital market and money market in Malaysia. ASSB’s main activity is trading and fund management of ASSAR’s unit.

The fund was launched on 25 August 1993 with the allowable fund size of 750 million units. The total number of investors as at end of June 2014 was 71,085 with total investors’ funds totalling RM550.61 million.

ASSB suffered loss after tax of RM1.25 million and accumulated losses of RM2.67 million as at year ended 2013.

An audit carried out between the months of July to August 2014 reveals that overall the financial performance, achievements and investment returns is less satisfactory while the financial management and corporate government is good.

Among the weaknesses which could be improved were as follows:

1.  Amanah Saham Sarawak Berhad suffered accumulated losses after tax amounted to

RM2.67 million as at end of 2013.

2. Amanah Saham Sarawak Trust Fund (ASSAR) had only been able to pay dividends

to investors between 1.5% and 2.0 % for the period June 2011 to June 2014.

3. Investments in equities suffered Net Unrealised Loss of RM38.51 million for the

period June 2011 to June 2014.

4. The minimum price guarantee mechanism of RM1.00 for supporting the Net Asset

Value (NAV) of ASSAR’s fund is a financial burden to both the company and its

holding company, PASB.

On the Special Programme for Minority Bumiputera Groups of Sabah and Sarawak (PKGBM), See said it is pointed out there are weaknesses and implementation deficiencies in its management.

"It is necessary for the report to detail how the management weaknesses and failures in the implementation are affecting the targeted communities and the state as a whole.

"There should be a list of the project development or community activities in rural service centres which are yet to be implemented, with names of the executing agencies.

"It also necessary for the audit report to reveal how much of the RM200 million under this programme has been allocated and spent," he said.

PKGBM is a special programme dedicated to the development and progress of Bumiputeras community in Sabah and Sarawak.

To implement PKGBM, a lab named ‘Sabah and Sarawak Natives Laboratory’ have been established in order to discuss major issues concerning the development of Sabah and Sarawak Bumiputera community such as land problems and natives’ customary rights.

Such laboratory is a result of the decision made through the Sabah and Sarawak Bumiputera Technical Committee Meeting (JKTBSS) on Nov 5, 2009.

The original allocation for this program is RM200 million.

The Audit has found that such performance of the activities/projects via PKGBM is largely in its early implementation stages of which the effectiveness or impact is yet to be measured.

However in terms of management activities, there are several weaknesses that need to be improved on the aspect of its implementation efficiency.

Among the issues that needs room for improvement are as follows:

a. Aquaculture Project in Batang Ai

i. unclear basic selections of participants;

ii. the lead agency has yet to be appointed by the Department of Agriculture (DOA) Sarawak; and

iii. detailed information on approving project aid is not specified.

b. ‘Customary Rights Land’ Measurement Programme

i. target measurement area of 730,000 hectares has yet to be achieved; and

ii. the NCR land proclamation performance has been measured at 52%.

c. Project Development/Community Activities in Rural Service Centre(RSC) - the community activities by executing agencies in RSC has yet to be implemented.

d. ‘Customary Rights Land’ Development Program - four out of  six NCR land development have yet to be implemented.