Tekun pulls the plug

Agency to shut down its failed projects after recording RM209.-28mil in losses in 2015.

PETALING JAYA: Tekun, a financial services agency for micro and small entrepreneurs, will shut down its failed projects after recording RM209.28mil in losses in 2015.

The 2016 Auditor-General’s Report said Tekun had also written off bad debts amounting to RM410.61mil in this same period.

It said that from 1998 to June 2016, Tekun had received a RM1.86bil loan from the Finance Ministry and a RM670mil grant under the Agriculture and Agrobased Industries Ministry to help flood victims as well as for a Young Indian Entrepreneurs Development Scheme.

However, the report found that Tekun’s various programmes failed to achieve its goals due to poor management and lack of research.

“The failure of (programmes) Tekun Entrepreneur Portal, Tekun Entrepreneur Community Card and Cybermall resulted in a loss of RM872,035,” it said.

Other failed schemes were the Tekun Credit Financing Scheme, the Mentor Mentee Programme and the Entrepreneur Development Programme.

“The period and targeted outcome for the six Entrepreneur Development Programmes were not defined,” the report said.

“The Tekun Credit Financing Scheme failed to achieve its target due to the lack of reception from supply companies,” it added.

The report said members of Tekun’s Audit, Integrity, and Risk Committee also did not have accounting backgrounds, adding that its corporate financial management was disorganised.

In its reply, the Agriculture and Agro-based Industries Ministry said Tekun’s failed projects would be shut down.

“There will also be a re-allocation of budget to support high-performing projects,” it said. Tekun comes under the purview of the ministry.

The ministry said Tekun also faced non-performing finance and high write-off rates in its micro-financing schemes because the loans were approved without collateral.

“This is because the scheme’s tar- get groups were from the lowincome group,” it said.

In Johor Baru, the Johor Economic Planning Unit’s (UPENJ) ineffectiveness in monitoring forest plantation operators had caused a loss of RM42.8mil in revenue for the state government.

An audit between August and November last year found that UPENJ did not properly monitor and supervise development of the project, which was aimed at reducing the dependency of wood from native forests.

The missed collection was from operators that had failed to pay for usage permits, tapping rights for palm oil and rubber plantations, and usage rights.