The issue isn’t whether the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) should start proceedings against the National Council of Professors (NPC) for allegedly abusing public funds. It is why the NPC has not already been disbanded.

The announcement by the PAC chairman, Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, was made at a press conference in Parliament on 16 July.

She said the proceedings would commence on 1 August and these had been prompted by disquiet amongst parliamentarians and ordinary Malaysians after revelations listed in the Auditor-General’s report in early July.

The AG’s report focuses on the NPC’s activities from 2019 to 2023.

On 11 July, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dr. Zaliha Mustafa said a study would be conducted to evaluate and review the NPC’s status as a company under the government’s purview and at the same time, take into account the goals of the NPC.

Zaliha is wrong. Why throw good money after bad?

Just disband the NPC. Why do we need a study when the AG’s report has exposed many irregularities and excesses? The NPC is another political crony money-making agency which benefits no one.

It is like the many other hastily formed crony agencies which waste public money. It serves no useful purpose for the rakyat and it only benefits the people in it, like its permanent chairman and his deputy, who both receive fixed allowance payments.

The main question on everyone’s lips is: What exactly is the role and function of the NPC? Does Zaliha know? Does any minister know?

First established under the Prime Minister’s Department, the NPC reports to the higher education minister, who also acts as an adviser to it.

Others have also asked, “Who are the men and women in the NPC?” “What is the selection criteria for joining the NPC?” and more importantly, “What justification is there for funding this little-known NPC with taxpayers’ money? The money should be used to help the rakyat especially in these straitened times.”

Auditor-General Wan Suraya Wan Mohd Radzi said the NPC had abused its financial funding and had failed to establish an internal audit committee.

The AG’s report said the government had given the NPC a managing grant of RM35.84 million for the years 2015 to 2018, and for 2022 and 2023.

The absence of an internal audit in an agency established by the government is a serious failing. Taxpayers’ money is used to fund this agency and yet no one has any clue as to how the money has been spent.

How did the NPC benefit the rakyat?

There is little evidence of regular meetings by the Board of Trustees, which the AG report said only met once or twice a year from 2019 to 2023.

The NPC was launched by the convicted felon, Najib Abdul Razak, and had been formed following an “inspiration” from the then higher education minister Khalid Nordin.

The NPC website shows that its chairman since 2019 is Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia anthropologist Shamsul Amri Baharuddin. His deputy is Universiti Utara Malaysia political science lecturer Mohamed Mustafa Ishak.

The AG’s report disclosed that an allowance of RM207,000 had been paid to the permanent chairman and his deputy, and this had been made without the minister’s approval.

In addition, the AG’s report said RM373,516 of the funds meant for the NPC had been used to pay for the operations of two companies owned by members of the board of trustees.

It is inexcusable that none of the members had declared their interest in the companies.

How is it possible that the minister in question had allowed this abuse of power and funds to occur?

Many Malaysians have expressed grave concerns about the NPC because its members are supposed to represent some of the best minds in the world of academia in this country.

However, these professors have shown that they lack principles, have no integrity, no morality and are irresponsible.

Do these professors not know the meaning of conflict of interest? Do they not know that every cent of the government funds received has to be accounted for? Are they too daft to understand that records have to be kept?

They appear to have followed the examples of corrupt politicians of the Umno-Baru/BN era, whereby they took whatever that did not belong to them, and did whatever pleased or suited them with no regard at all for the rakyat.

They did not show any accountability for their actions, nor did they express any remorse for the mismanagement of public funds.

When faced with the serious allegations, the NPC denied that it had abused the funding and denied receiving taxpayers’ money. It said it was sustained by donations and was self-financing.

The NPC tried to downplay any wrongdoing by claiming that the government had dissolved the council in May 2018, and argued that this spelt the end of any form of public patronage.

The Auditor-General has done her job to expose the NPC. There is no need to waste more resources by injecting cash into a study of the failings of the NPC.

The only thing left is to recover the funds, prosecute the chairman, his deputy, and the trustees who failed in their duties, but the most important task is to disband the NPC.

Malaysians have had enough of these leakages.

Sources:

1. Malay Mail: A-G report: National Council of Professors needs ‘thorough overhaul’ after misusing almost RM400,000 to finance private
2. Malaysiakini: Govt to review National Professors Council after audit report
3. Free Malaysia Today: Dissolve National Professors Council, says govt MP
4. Malaysiakini: PAC to launch proceedings against professors council next month
5. Malay Mail: Professors want their council to be revived
6. Malay Mail: Government agrees to reinstate National Professor’s Council

(Mariam Mokhtar is a Freelance Writer.)