AUDIT REPORT The government dished out RM55 million in extraordinary allowances to Police Volunteer Reserve Corp (Rela) in 2012, largely to facilitate "government activities".

According to the Auditor-General's Report for the third quarter of 2013, Rela gave out a total of RM88.06 million in allowances in 2012, compared with RM33.06 million the year before.

The paramilitary organisation's membership also reached a peak in 2012.

 

Rela, which is under the Home Ministry, had 2.9 million members in 2011. It rose to three million in 2012.  

 

"The RM55 million spending boost in 2012 was due to the involvement of Rela in activities organised by the government, such as Youth Day celebrations," the report, released today, says.

 

Allowance hike

Rela also gave its members a pay hike in 2012.

 

"Rela members were also paid a higher allowance, from RM5.80 an hour to RM7.80 an hour for executives and from RM4 to RM6 for other ranks from Feb 1.”

 

The auditor-general noted that Rela was initially an unpaid volunteer force when it was set up in 1972. Members started receiving allowances from 2006.

 

Tracing up until September 2013, the auditor-general reported that the number of Rela members had eased back to 2.881 million.

 

"The rise in membership in 2012 was because Rela had a large-scale recruitment campaign.

 

“In 2013, membership numbers dropped as the Home Ministry's data division purged Rela of members who had passed away or had suspicious and overlapping data," the report said.

 

From just four states visited, the audit report, data of as many as 72,378 members were purged.

Selangor had the most members, with just over half-a-million, while Perlis had the least, with 36,356 members, according to the report.

 

For the three years under audit, from 2011 to 2013, Rela rarely rejected anyone who applied to join. No applicant failed in 2011 and only one applicant was turned away in 2013.

 

Furthermore, the auditor-general also chided Rela for purchasing some 150,000 pairs of combat boots at not the "best value for money".

The purchase at an average price of RM123 per pair was reportedly not at the lowest possible tendered price.

Poor quality food

Meanwhile, the audit report also gave unsatisfactory rating for the Federal Territory Islamic Council (MAIWP), which it said bought poor quality food for students at its learning institutions and overstated the quantity.

In contracts worth a total of RM6 million from 2010-2013, the Auditor-General's Report singled out poor performance of food contractor Kembara Cekal  Enterprise, which was let off easy even though the company frequently supplied stale fish and rotten fruits and vegetables.

The report also criticised MAIWP for paying RM2.84 million to Kembara Cekal for 1.26 million meals at the Darul Kifayah complex from 2011 to August 2013.

Based on the hostel's population, it needed only 1.15 million meals and it should have cost RM2.65 million.

MAIWP said it ordered more food per head, paying RM190,000 extra, as the students often found the food supplied to be insufficient.