00:00Now, it is in this spirit that the Madani government has pursued Malaysia's reforms.
00:16Our ambition is to move the nation closer to high-income status and to build one of the world's most competitive economies.
00:23But ambition cannot endure without confidence in our institutions.
00:30Auditors in both public and private sectors are central to safeguarding that confidence.
00:38This is precisely the reason why we have to strengthen the mandate of the National Audit Department,
00:46led by, of course, the Auditor General, a tough lady, you see, of steel.
00:52And through the First Amendment to the Audit Act in 33 years, it may not have been a glamorous reform, but it was an essential one.
01:07We also established a serious irregularities committee to deal swiftly with critical breaches.
01:17Again, it did not make front-page news, but it goes to the heart of the matter, holding offenders to account and protecting public funds.
01:27Since 2024, follow-up audits have already recovered and safeguarded RM159 million.
01:38Now, earlier this year, I launched four new auditing guidelines, extending the department's authority to any entity receiving public funds.
01:48This was not the case in the past, government, laying companies, foundations, whatever.
01:56But once you receive public funds, you follow the public money approach, they would help curb leakages and corruption.
02:07We have seen in the past, for example, foundations, civil society, welfare organisations, getting full support of the government,
02:19but in the process, abuse the position to enrich the board members.
02:26And probably 10%, 20% goes to the welfare work.
02:31So, again, the issue of good governance remains, to me, a central pillar, even when we announced,
02:43we introduced the 13th Malaysia Plan, our latest five-year economic strategy for 2030.
02:50Our obsession has always been with growth, investments, and economic success.
03:02But that cannot and would not happen if we do not consider the issue of accountability, transparency.
03:13And again, here comes the role of internal auditors.
03:18I always emphasise the need for integrity because, with due respect to you all, we have seen excesses,
03:28political leaders, civil servants, even auditors.
03:34So, the issue of integrity, accountability, must be, again, at the core in our work.
03:42So, what I'm trying to emphasise is the need to create that awareness.
03:54They call it, in my younger days, popularised by the Latin American philosopher-thinker,
04:02conscientisation, conscientisation, to get more, more conscientious, to be more conscious and have that dictate of our conscience.
04:14And therefore, I commend the Institute of Internal Auditors to continue this work and the launch of the Statement of Risk Management and Internal Control,
04:27SOMIC Guide 2025, with Bursa Malaysia.
04:31It's, of course, a remarkable first step, because it also provides firms with a blueprint for embedding risk awareness,
04:43strengthening investor confidence, and preparing for ESG and other emerging risks.
Be the first to comment