Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang (DAP-Ipoh Timor) today questioned the withdrawal of the auditor-general's report on 12 state governments' financial accounts from Parliament.

He pointed out that the 12 reports have been tabled to the Dewan Rakyat and appeared in today's sitting order paper.

"However, all these reports which are ready have all been taken back," he told the House, adding that the rare withdrawal also breached the parliamentary standing order.

The 12 reports include the 2003 state government accounts of Johor, Kedah, Kelantan, Melaka, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Pulau Pinang, Sarawak, Selangor and Terengganu.

Lim also asked why the government had only tabled the reports now when they had been completed much earlier such as the Melaka state account, which was approved in August.

The opposition leader questioned whether the withdrawal was due to the revelation in the Dewan Negara last week that almost seven states in the country were categorised as "almost bankrupt".

Responding to this, deputy speaker Lim Si Cheng admitted that the 12 reports had been withdrawn.

He then asked Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz to explain the matter.

Cabinet approval

The minister said they were withdrawn because the reports must be scrutinised by the cabinet before it is tabled in Parliament.

"All the reports must be approved by the cabinet first," he added.

This prompted Lim to ask if the cabinet had the discretion to amend the auditor-general's report.

Nazri said the cabinet is not empowered to do so and added that the process was a convention that needed to be followed.

Due to the withdrawal, the 2003 reports now can only be tabled in the next parliamentary sitting early next year.

Inefficient cabinet

At a press conference later, Lim said the delay in tabling the reports had set a bad example and showed the cabinet's inefficiency.

He also stressed that the auditor-general's reports should not be subjected to any political influence.

Last week, Deputy Finance Minister Tengku Putera Tengku Awang said the Finance Ministry has categorised seven states as "almost bankrupt" since they were in financial deficit and needed aid from the federal government.

He said Johor topped list with a deficit of RM760.8 million, followed by Kedah (RM533.1 million), Pahang (RM303.7 million), Kelantan (RM261.7 million), Sabah (RM110.9 million), Perlis (RM104.7 million) and Terengganu (RM94.9 million).

However, several state governments, including Johor, have dismissed this.