The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) sends out a clear signal to the government that decision-makers, and not only civil servants, should also be arrested if they are also involved in the financial mismanagement outlined in the Auditor General's (AG) annual report.

PAC chairperson Shahrir Abdul Samad said the government should not only arrest the subordinates but must ultimately bring the decision-makers to book as well.

"More can be done... those arrested are only civil servants with the least involvement in the scandals as they are people only responsible for receiving the goods," he told reporters after a two-hour meeting with the Agriculture Ministry this afternoon.

"The decision-makers are those the authorities should arrest as they are the key players who made the decisions and ultimately the ones brokering deals with suppliers," he explained.

Last week, eight civil servants were arrested following the release of the report and several quarters have lambasted the move as a 'political stunt' as the real perpetrators - high ranking decision-makers - are not dealt with.

Shahir also said he has proposed the blacklisting of implicated suppliers to the Finance Ministry and he expected a response soon.

"We should not just target the buyers but also the suppliers," said the Johor Baru MP who added that the AG's investigations revealed 11 companies as the culprits.

Reacting to AG's criticism

The PAC chairperson also described the meeting with officials from the Agriculture Ministry as "cordial".

The committee met with the ministry to discuss the progress made by the ministry on the AG's criticism that the RM226 million government subsidy on rice fertilisers intended to attain a 90 percent self-sufficiency level by 2010 is falling off track.

"Currently the country is producing only four tonnes of rice per acre, a growth rate of only five to six percent yearly and this will not suffice to meet the target," he said.

Level of self-sufficiency of rice farmers in this country currently sits at 72 percent.

However, Shahir said the ministry has made progress to address the criticism made in the AG's Report and the PAC will be monitoring the matter.

The Auditor General's Report 2006 released on Budget 2008 presentation day detailed a litany of mismanagement of public funds by a number of ministries.

The Youth and Sports Ministry, in particular, came under intense public glare after it was disclosed that many items and equipment had cost more than triple their market price.