KUALA LUMPUR – Puzzled over the opposition’s decision to boycott today’s Dewan Rakyat session, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman (Muar-Muda) pointed out that the 2021 Auditor-General’s Report was not entirely negative.
After evaluating the report, the Muar MP said that while there are certain matters pertaining to leakages which must be improved, there are positive elements as well.
Syed Saddiq referred to the procurement of Covid-19 vaccines and the implementation of the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.
“In the beginning, the target was to achieve 80% immunity with regards to the adult population by February 2022.
“The targets were exceeded by September 2021, with 97.7% and 89.2% for adults and teens by September 2021.
“Thus, I find it peculiar because if the opposition is here, we can debate to take what is good and improve on what was bad,” Syed Saddiq told Parliament today.
Additionally, he brought up issues related to the MySejahtera application, which was successful in achieving 24 million users by April 2022.
However, weaknesses involving the administration of the application’s backend and data collection process drew negative feedback from users.
“The Auditor-General’s Report mentioned positive aspects of the MySejahtera application, particularly with it registering 25 million users by April 2022.
“But there are weaknesses with the backend, administrators and the registration process.
“Now, with the application under the control of the government fully, what will we do to ensure public confidence?”
Earlier, the Dewan Rakyat erupted in a ruckus after opposition MPs objected to debating the 2021 Auditor-General’s Report.
Lawmakers from Perikatan Nasional (PN) unanimously expressed opposition to holding the debate, deeming it unnecessary.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan (Kota Baru-PN) initiated the discord by stating that the national audit report had never been subject to debate and that it was the responsibility of the Public Accounts Committee to scrutinise audits and draw conclusions.
In response to the fracas, Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul stepped in and called for order, before instructing the lawmakers to share their points in an orderly manner.
Ultimately, Johari mandated that the report be openly discussed, saying that the public had called for it during his time as an MP. – The Vibes, June 6, 2023
