“There can be no compromise on abuse of power and misuse of public funds. This involves the people’s money and public trust,” he said in winding up the debate for his ministry on the 2026 Auditor-General’s Report Series 1 in Parliament today.
According to the report tabled in Parliament yesterday, the collection of RM50.74 million in student fees by an “unauthorised entity”, Koperasi B-5-1788, for the university’s master of education (SPEND) and postgraduate diploma in education (DPLI) programmes, was deemed invalid.
It said the collaboration agreement signed on June 15, 2023 between UKM and the cooperative for SPEND and DPLI was also invalid because approval from the finance minister had not been obtained, as required under the UKM constitution.
It also said the agreement was only approved at the university management meeting level and signed by a former vice-chancellor of UKM, who did not have the authority under the UKM constitution to approve such agreements.
The report also found that fee revenue amounting to RM32.36 million was not fully accounted for.
The report recorded UKM’s response, acknowledging that its constitution contained no provision allowing it to appoint Koperasi B-5-1788 to collect student fees on the university’s behalf.
It said an investigation was currently under way into the party that granted Koperasi B-5-1788 the authority to collect student fees for SPEND and DPLI.
The university said that Koperasi B-5-1788 would continue overseeing DPLI Cohort 6 and prior intakes as well as SPEND Cohort 9 and earlier batches until the board of directors decided on the future course of the collaboration agreement.
UKM also noted that a proposal had been made to terminate the contract with Koperasi B-5-1788, originally set to expire in 2027.
Adam said immediate corrective measures had been taken, including halting the collection of revenue by unauthorised parties.
“For Cohort 7 in the first semester of the 2025/2026 session, student recruitment and fee collection for the DPLI programme will be fully managed by the university.
“For the SPEND programme, UKMShape has been fully taking over recruitment and fee collection, beginning with Cohort 10 in the second semester of the 2025 session,” he said.