The Penang Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has begun an inquiry into the RM66 million e-Tanah facility, a computerised land administration and management system, as only four of the nine programme modules are up and running.
State PAC chairman Wong Hon Wai said the federal funded pilot project started in 2005 but only the revenue, strata title, registration and consent modules were working.
He said problems encountered with the land development, land disposal, land acquisition, and enforcement and auction modules were highlighted in the 2011 Auditor-General's Report.
"We are duty bound to investigate anything pointed out in the audit report. The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources project did not pass the integrity, economy, effectiveness and efficiency (IEEE) tests which were the terms outlined by the state PAC in conducting their tasks," Wong said after chairing this term's first PAC meeting on Wed
In the meeting, State Land and Mines Office director Datuk Arifin Awang, South and North Seberang Perai district officers Rohani Hassan and Shadah Nawawi were called to give their statements.
According to the e-Tanah portal, the system was to handle the administration and management of land offices, with Penang chosen as the state for the pilot project.
Last updated in 2009, the FAQ portion of the portal stated that there were 72,160 transactions and some RM385 million in revenue collected.
Wong said the PAC will be tabling a report and the recommended solutions on the matter in a future session of the state legislative assembly.
"Some of the issues we are looking for are possible leakages in the procurement process as well as loopholes," he said.
- TheSundaily
