PUTRAJAYA: Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said weaknesses in the government’s procurement process were largely due to non-compliance with established procedures, despite the flexibility introduced by the Finance Ministry to facilitate procurement. "The Finance Ministry has provided considerable flexibility in the procurement process, but it is still imperative that every procedure is strictly adhered to. Also present were Prime Minister’s Department (JPM) senior deputy secretary-general Datuk Abd Shukor Mahmood; deputy secretary-general (Finance and Development) Datuk Ikmalrudin Ishak; and deputy secretary-general (Management) Nasaruddin Abdul Muttalib. Also in attendance were Communications Ministry secretary-general Datuk Abdul Halim Hamzah and Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj. Therefore, he said the Finance Ministry would further tighten procurement guidelines for all ministries and statutory bodies to prevent leakages.

Source: The Star January 18, 2026 09:47 UTC