NST Leader: MyEG, e-Jamin cases underscore need to safeguard public money
Lately, questions have been raised over how private firms entrusted with collecting public funds handle government money.
Recent incidents involving MyEG and e-Jamin have sparked discussions about the necessity of safeguarding public funds when private firms handle government money. This scrutiny highlights the need to assess the effectiveness of safeguards in place for contractor arrangements, especially when vast sums are under their control. Two notable cases, involving Zetrix AI Bhd and Dapat Vista Sdn Bhd, shed light on distinct concerns, such as delayed remittance of collected funds and the placement of public money into interest-bearing commercial accounts.
Zetrix AI, functioning for the Road Transport Department, collected RM314 million in various fees but failed to remit them. On the other hand, Dapat Vista, the operator of the e-Jamin court bail payment system, gathered RM193.71 million in deposits as of 2024 without a formal contract with the government. Both cases should not be treated as isolated incidents.
Auditor General and Public Accounts Committee (PAC) investigations indicate weaknesses in government oversight, revealing vulnerabilities in the systems overseeing outsourced collection and management of public funds.
The problem lies not just in individual contractor breaches, but in whether the government's checks-and-balances were sufficiently robust to prevent such failures. These issues underscore the need for the enforcement authorities to scrutinize every ministry, department, and agency involved in external billing contractors. According to the Auditor General's Report 2/2026, the government failed to recover RM68.81 million in advance payments from 24 projects, with nearly 87% of the debt remaining uncollected for over a decade.
The root cause of this issue lies in special administrative exemptions granted to departments, which inexplicably remained even after contractors failed to adhere to Treasury controls meant to prevent operational bottlenecks. However, a new legal tool, the Government Procurement Act 2025, offers a solution by introducing personal liability and strict penalties for unauthorized interference in public fund management. The Act will become enforceable in 2027, providing a grace period for ministries and private contractors.
The Public Accounts Committee recommended that the judiciary develop a proprietary system to eliminate vendor dependency and ensure full data ownership. This advice should be applied across all government arms, particularly agencies sub-contracting critical functions or managing public funds.
Written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
