p>The Malaysian government has established an official system of procurement which conforms to a certain extent to international standards. However, Auditor General Reports repeatedly highlight cases of procured goods, services and works that are being paid for well above market prices, under-utilised, and substandard. The paper argues that these problems may be caused by inadequate procurement planning and poor drafting of specifications, insufficient use of open competitive tendering and lack of monitoring and evaluation. The paper further argues that by putting more comprehensive transparency measures and addressing problems that have been hampering transparency initiatives such as political interference and continued use of direct negotiation, Malaysia will be able to address those problems and reap full benefit of transparent procurement system.

Among transparency measures specifically recommended by this paper are disclosure of procurement planning and non-performing contractors and suppliers, and allowing outside observers such as representatives from the Auditor General’s Office or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), and relevant business organisations to attend procurement board meetings.