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KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has found weaknesses in the governance of Education Malaysia Global Services (EMGS), which serves as a one-stop-shop for managing international student visa applications.
PAC Chairman Wong Kah Woh said that among the shortcomings was the absence of a government representative on the board of directors at certain times, including during the appointment of an interim chief executive officer (CEO) on January 17, 2019, and reduction of the appointment period. for the former CEO on February 24 of the same year.
He said the PAC found that the appointment of interim CEO Shahinuddin Shariff was not in line with corporate governance practices because the mandate of the CEO at the time, Datuk Dr. Rujhan Mustafa, was still in effect.
“The PAC also found that EMGS had appointed a senior manager by contract, but had been administratively placed in the office of the Minister of Education as a special officer. EMGS did not receive any benefit from this appointment and had a salary of RM71,500 for the period from November 1, 2018 to April 15, 2019, ”it said today in a statement.
The PAC today presented its report on the management of EMGS based on its investigation that began in September last year, following the 2018 Auditor General’s Report Series 1 that was presented to Parliament on July 15, 2019.
Wong said the PAC also found the Student Application Registration System (STARS) to be weak in terms of data storage, especially the exit memorandum, resulting in a failure to monitor the problem of students staying. more time.
“Furthermore, there was negligence in the security of critical and essential data regarding foreign students in this country that was administered by a private company without supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education,” he said.
Therefore, he said, the PAC recommended that government agencies, statutory bodies and government companies ensure that there is a government representative on their board of directors so that every decision made is in line with the direction of the ministry.
Wong said that STARS should be improved in terms of data storage and that the Ministry of Higher Education should ensure that all data in the system is stored, monitored and owned by EMGS and the ministry, and not released or supervised. by a provider.
He said the ministry also has to outline a new business model for EMGS, as the admission of foreign students to Malaysia must be increased to help public and private higher education institutions, particularly the post-Covid-19 pandemic. – Called
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