MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong has urged the government to focus on curbing wastage and corruption within the civil service, stressing that mere austerity measures without dealing with these issues will not be enough.

In a statement today, Wee said the government can only achieve the main purpose of austerity measures if they deal with wastage as highlighted in the Auditor General’s report, and corruption, which he said have become “an annual affair”.

“In implementing austerity measures, the main goal of the government should be to correct government mismanagement, unnecessary outflows of public funds,” he said.

“Slashing public spending should be aimed at effectively lowering or stemming corruption, power abuse in order to establish a government of integrity and prestige,” he added.

Wee said that there must be “some accountability” from all the government departments that are prone to wastage, and even called for some civil servants to be sacked if they are found to have committed an offence.

“There must be some form of accountability from the various government departments responsible for these setbacks rather than continuing to sweep the problem under the carpet. There is a need to implement real reform in good faith,” he said.

“Otherwise, these austerity measures will eventually result with only rhetorical  verbal espousals but no concrete action,” said the Ayer Hitam MP and also former deputy education minister.