Answer to Oral Question PL209 & PL280

QUESTION

Yang Berhormat Dr. Awang Haji Mahali bin Haji Momin

YANG BERHORMAT DR. AWANG HAJI MAHALI BIN HAJI MOMIN asks MENTERI DI JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI DAN MENTERI KEWANGAN DAN EKONOMI II to state what steps the Ministry is taking to expedite payment for completed government projects to local young entrepreneurs and Malay traders. This is to ensure the continuity, progress and development of these small and medium traders, considering that this issue was raised during a muzakarah session with them.

Yang Berhormat Awang Haji Salleh Bostaman bin Haji Zainal Abidin

YANG BERHORMAT AWANG HAJI SALLEH BOSTAMAN BIN HAJI ZAINAL ABIDIN asks MENTERI DI JABATAN PERDANA MENTERI DAN MENTERI KEWANGAN DAN EKONOMI II to state when the Ministry will implement a Service Level Agreement (for example: payment within 30 days), a real-time digital monitoring mechanism, as well as consideration of late payment interest charges or compensation for delayed contractors, given that there are still issues of delayed payments to local companies through TAFIS 2.0 which burden cash flow and business continuity.

ANSWER

Yang Berhormat Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri dan Menteri Kewangan dan Ekonomi II

Yang Berhormat Yang Di-Pertua,

First, regarding Question PL209, on the Ministry's steps to expedite payment for completed government projects to local young entrepreneurs and Malay traders.

For the information of the Honourable Member, the Ministry of Finance and Economy does not differentiate business payment processes whether they involve local young entrepreneurs or Malay traders.

Regarding the issue of delayed payments caused by TAFIS 2.0, the Ministry of Finance and Economy through the Treasury Department has taken proactive and effective steps since April 2024 such as introducing the Government Vendor Portal which facilitates invoice submission and online monitoring of payment status; and establishing Payment Clinics, User Clinics and Vendor Clinics (GVP Clinic) which provide direct support and training to vendors and government officers, thereby increasing adoption and expediting problem resolution.

Your Honourable Members, allow kaola to continue sharing the latest status of TAFIS 2.0. As of 31 July 2025, the total number of claims/invoices that have been paid since the TAFIS 2.0 system was introduced is 1,478,813 invoices, of which as of July 2025 (Financial Year 2025/2026) there were only 1,363 payments that encountered problems and were still in query status at the Department level.

This issue is, among other things, due to the level of understanding of TAFIS 2.0 system users, whether users in Government Departments or suppliers and the public.

Now, as can be seen, there has been a decrease in the number of vendors visiting the Vendor Clinic (GVP Clinic), namely 232 persons in July 2025 compared to an average of 457 persons in previous months. For this Vendor Clinic (GVP Clinic), most vendors come to the clinic to enquire about the status of their invoice payments, obtain assistance in uploading or submitting invoices, as well as assistance in preparing the Service Entry Sheet and Advance Shipping Notice. Meanwhile, for the Payment Clinic (formerly known as the ICU Payment Clinic), taking into account that the number of vendors coming to ask about the status of their payment arrears has decreased since August 2024, the Clinic has been moved to the Payment Unit Counter for any enquiries from companies. At the same time, the number of Users from Ministries and Departments who come to obtain assistance and guidance from the User Clinic provided has also declined where in June 2025, only 14 Users visited the Clinic to obtain guidance in handling the problems they faced.

In addition, the Treasury Department has also developed the TPOR Report for each Ministry in the TAFIS 2.0 system and carries out continuous monitoring.

Any entrepreneurs, not only local young entrepreneurs or Malay traders, who require any assistance or have any enquiries may contact the Treasury Department directly or attend the clinics provided.

Second, regarding PL280, concerning mechanisms such as moderate interest charges or compensation to address situations where government payments to suppliers are delayed. This matter was raised during the First Legislative Council session of the 21st Meeting Session, year 2025 and kaola had already provided an answer on 10 March 2025. However, allow kaola to add a little further explanation on this matter.

For the information of Your Honourable Members, the payment process can be carried out more quickly if the relevant claims already comply with the financial regulations that have been provided. The Ministry of Finance and Economy through the Treasury Department is and will always strive to ensure that the existing payment process can be carried out in a more orderly and efficient manner, based on financial regulations.

Meanwhile, in relation to the compensation mechanism, it is a mechanism that is commonly included in supplier contracts or claim invoices. However, this compensation clause must be agreed upon by both parties either at the time the contract is signed or upon acceptance of the offer.

In addition, kaola would like to share that the Ministry has also found that some of the issues are not caused by the TAFIS 2.0 system itself, but by a lack of experience and knowledge in using the TAFIS 2.0 system. Therefore, through the clinics that have been provided, most of these issues have been successfully resolved over the past few months. Therefore, the Ministry calls on those who are still facing issues or problems in using the system to also come to the clinics provided, so that the Ministry can help expedite the subsequent payment process.

Insya-Allah the Ministry of Finance and Economy remains committed to improving and expediting the payment process to the relevant parties. In this regard, continuous cooperation from all stakeholders is very much needed to further smooth the approval and payment processes.

Thank you Yang Berhormat Yang Di-Pertua.