Appointment of new Finas DG not connected to internal audit: Gobind Singh

KUALA LUMPUR: The re-structuring of the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) including the appointment of a new director-general is not connected to an internal audit involving fund leakage of RM25 million, said Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo.
He said the new appointment was to facilitate bringing in a new (board) team which will be announced soon to restructure Finas so that it would perform better in the future.
"The film industry has expanded rapidly, especially the digital world which has taken films to a very different level. The whole industry is changing. The reason for the new board is to give ideas so that Finas remains relevant and is able to assist the film industry.
"The removal of the (old) director-general and deputy director-general is not related to any enquiries. It is an internal restructuring process. I never said they were in any way involved," he told reporters after officiating the E-Commerce Entrepreneurship Summit here today.
Gobind was previously reported to have said that Finas needed a complete overhaul to ensure better management of its funds and internal changes were needed for this.
Finas director-general Datuk Fauzi Ayob and his deputy Datuk Azmir Saifudin Mutalib have reportedly been transferred to the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia while an investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is underway.
Last September, the media reported that eight films with grants of between RM1.2 million and RM5 million each had not been completed for several years up to 2016.
Gobind stressed that among others, the new Finas board would review all the agency's undertakings to be included in the audit.
"If there is anything that needs police or MACC attention, then a report will be lodged," he said.
Commenting on the leakage of RM25 million in funds currently being investigated by the MACC, Gobind said the ministry was in the process of presenting the internal audit which will conducted in detail once all related matters are completed.
"It involves many accounts and takes time. We have started the internal audit because it involves finances and the financial system must be reviewed," he said. — Bernama