To help achieve the Malaysian Government’s announcement of introducing a new
Procurement Act with extensive consultation and public input, The Center to Combat
Corruption & Cronyism (C4 Center) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
(UNODC) brought together key stakeholders from civil society, the private sector, the Finance
Ministry and Parliament for a three-day introductory procurement dialogue this week.
“Having Finance Ministry representatives engaged in mutual dialogue with procurement
stakeholder is an important step in making the journey of developing the best possible
procurement system based on principles of transparency and integrity for Malaysia
achievable,” said Pushpan Murugiah, Acting CEO of C4 Center.
Participants identified good practices that should be included in a draft Procurement Bill –
Freedom of Information provisions; extensive and diverse consultations; media engagement;
the harmonization between State and Federal procurement processes; effective and robust e-procurement systems, among others.
“Participants can share experiences and policy thinking on the public procurement challenges
and gaps, and how to align reforms with Article 9 (Public procurement and management of
public finances) of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC),” said Ms
Annika Wythes, UNODC Asia and Pacific Anti-Corruption Adviser.
The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism has also been actively engaged with officials
from the Ministry of Finance to look at drafting a comprehensive Procurement Act. The many
inputs that were received during the past three days will provide strong starting points in terms
of identifying baseline core principles in the drafting of a Procurement Bill that takes into account
the views and expectations of the many stakeholders.
C4 Center urges the government to follow through with the tabling of the Procurement Act as announced by the Prime Minister at the next parliamentary sitting and also reiterates its readiness to engage with continuously relevant government agencies such as the Finance Ministry and the Legal Affairs Department of the Prime Minister’s Office in order to assist in drafting a strong Bill that sufficiently
addresses the current loopholes and shortcomings of the public procurement system.
The Malaysian procurement dialogue is part of UNODC’s integrity work under the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Parliamentary–Civic Partnership to Combat Corruption
Project. This is in partnership with East-West Management Institute, Inc. (EWMI) and the
Parliamentary Centre of Asia (PCAsia).
END OF STATEMENT
Issued by:
Center to Combat Corruption & Cronyism (C4 Center)
For further enquiries, please contact:
c4center@gmail.com
019-216 6218 / 016-445 5678
Website: https://c4center.org/
