Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has declared the Youth and Sports Ministry to be guilty of “financial misconduct” for paying up RM1.6 million for a 2012 K-Pop concert, and has recommended that punitive action be taken against those responsible.
The PAC report on the 2012 National Youth Day event also confirms that the National Sports Council (MSN) did not make any payments for three South Korean pop acts commissioned to perform that day, disputing former Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek’s claim that MSN had paid for the artists with RM20 million in funds given to it by corporate sponsors.
“PAC recommends that the government take punitive action against the Youth and Sports Ministry’s controlling officer (‘pegawai pengawal’) and the relevant parties for failing to ensure that the MBM’s (Malaysian Youth Council) payments for the 2012 National Youth Day were done based on proper financial procedures,” said the PAC report.
“The payment for the K-pop groups were done by the Malaysian Youth Council through funds by the Youth and Sports Ministry for the 2012 National Youth Day.
“Besides that, it was found that MBM did not prepare a complete report on HBN (National Youth Day) until the audit was finished,” the report added.
Last year, current Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin admitted his ministry had to pay for the South Korean artists after the Auditor-General’s 2012 report revealed the fact in October.
Khairy however defended his ministry’s initial claim that the concert was sponsored, saying that it had received a pledge from a private entity prior to the event but the sponsorship fell through, necessitating the Youth and Sports Ministry to pay for the event on its own.
The national audit report had also revealed other financial irregularities within his ministry, including duplication of claims for several projects that were paid for by the MBM.
Khairy, who was appointed to head the Youth and Sports Ministry for the first time after the May 5 general election, well after the events of the 2012 National Youth Day celebrations, pledged transparency with government funds for future projects.
Story: The Malay Mail
