Chairman to be principal managing officer
(1) The Chairman shall be the principal managing officer of the Authority and shall be responsible for the preparation of programmes, schemes or projects for the consideration of the Authority, for the issue of policy guidance or of elucidation of decisions of the Authority to the Deputy Chairman and the other officers and servants of the Authority and for the supervision and control over the implementation of such decisions.
(2) All officers and servants of the Authority shall be under the general control of the Chairman.
(3) The Chairman shall perform such other or further duties as the Minister may from time to time determine.
Deputy Chairman to be General Manager
(1) The Deputy Chairman shall be the General Manager of the Authority and shall be responsible for the execution of all programmes, schemes or projects, for the carrying out of the decisions of the Authority and the direction of the Chairman.
(2) The Deputy Chairman shall be responsible to the Chairman.
(3) Subject to the directions of the Chairman, the Deputy Chairman shall have administrative control of the officers and servants of the Authority.
(4) The Deputy Chairman shall perform such other or further duties as the Authority or the Minister may from time to time determine or as the Chairman may from time to time direct.
Temporary members of the Authority
If the Chairman or Deputy Chairman or any other member of the Authority is temporarily absent from Malaysia or temporarily incapacitated through illness or for any other sufficient reason from the performance of his duties, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or
the Minister, as the case may be, may appoint any person to be a temporary Chairman or temporary Deputy Chairman or temporary member of the Authority.
Appointment of other officers and servants
(1) Subject to any regulations made under section 16, the Authority may appoint on such terms and conditions as the Authority may think desirable such other officers and servants as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act.
(2) No person shall be eligible for employment as an officer or servant of the Authority who has, directly or indirectly, by himself or his partner, any share or interest in any contract or proposed contract with, for or on behalf of the Authority.
(3) Any officer or servant of the Authority who has or acquires any such share or interest shall be liable at the discretion of the Authority to summary dismissal without notice.
Discipline of officers and servants
(1) There shall be a Disciplinary Committee of the Authority which shall consist of two members to be elected by and from the members of the Authority, one of whom shall be elected chairman, and the Deputy Chairman appointed under subsection 5(1).
(2) The disciplinary authority in respect of every officer and servant of the Authority other than the Deputy Chairman shall be the Disciplinary Committee of the Authority established under subsection (1).
(3) The disciplinary authority in respect of the Deputy Chairman shall be the Disciplinary Committee which shall consist of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry as chairman and two members to be elected by and from the members of the Authority.
(4) The Deputy Chairman shall not be a member of the Disciplinary Committee in any proceedings before it in which he is the complainant; his place shall be taken by a member to be elected by and from the members of the Authority.
(5) In the exercise of its disciplinary functions, the Disciplinary Committee shall have the power to impose such disciplinary punishment as may be provided for under any regulations that may be made under section 32A.
(6) The Disciplinary Committee may, subject to subsection
(7), delegate any of its disciplinary functions, powers or duties to any committee of officers or servants of the Authority, in respect of any particular officer or servant of the Authority or in respect of any class or category of officers or servants of the Authority, and the committee delegated with such functions, powers or duties shall carry out, exercise or discharge them under the direction and control of the Disciplinary Committee which shall have the power to review, rescind or vary any decision or finding of such committee.
(7) No delegation shall be made under subsection (6) so as to enable an officer or servant of the Authority to be a member of a committee which may exercise any disciplinary authority over an officer or servant who is superior to him in rank.
(8) A decision of the Disciplinary Committee established under subsection (1) shall be appealable to the Disciplinary Appeal Board established under section 15B.
(9) A decision of the Disciplinary Committee established under subsection (3) shall be appealable to the Minister.
(10) The Disciplinary Appeal Board or the Minister, as the case may be, may confirm, reverse or vary the decision of the Disciplinary Committee.
(11) A decision of the Disciplinary Appeal Board or the Minister under subsection (10) shall be final and conclusive.
Establishment of Disciplinary Appeal Board
(1) There shall be a Disciplinary Appeal Board of the Authority which shall consist of the following members:
(a) the Chairman, who shall be the chairman of the Disciplinary Appeal Board and shall have a casting vote; and
(b) three members of the Authority, not being members of the Disciplinary Committee whose decision is the
subject matter of the appeal, to be appointed by the chairman of the Disciplinary Appeal Board with the approval of the Authority for the purpose of the appeal.
(2) When the Disciplinary Appeal Board considers an appeal made under section 15A , a member of the Disciplinary Committee against whose decision the appeal is made who is also a member of the Authority shall not present or in any way participate in any proceedings relating to the appeal.
Termination in the public interest
(1) Where the Authority finds or where representations are made to the Authority that it is desirable that the service of an officer or a servant be terminated in the public interest, the Authority may call for a full report from the superior officer of the officer or servant against whom the representations are made which shall contain particulars relating to the work and conduct of the officer or servant.
(2) If, after considering the report received under subsection
(1), the Authority is satisfied that, having regard to the conditions of service, the usefulness of the officer or servant, the work and conduct of the officer or servant and all other circumstances of the case, it is desirable in the public interest so to do, the Authority may terminate the service of the officer or servant with effect from such date as the Authority shall specify.
(3) It shall be lawful for the appropriate Disciplinary Committee to recommend to the Authority that the service of an officer or a servant be terminated in the public interest notwithstanding that disciplinary proceedings have not been carried out under this Act and the Authority may so terminate the service of the officer or servant.
(4) Notwithstanding anything in this Act and any other law to the contrary, in terminating the service of an officer or a servant in the public interest under this section, the officer or servant may not be given any opportunity of being heard and an officer or a servant whose service has been terminated in the public interest under this section shall not be regarded as having dismissed, regardless of whether the termination of service of the officer or servant involved an element of punishment or was connected with
conduct in relation to his office which the Authority regards as unsatisfactory or blameworthy.
Regulations governing conditions of service of officers and servants
The Authority may, from time to time, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations governing the conditions of service of its officers and servants.
P ART IV FINANCE
Establishment of the Fund
(1) For the purposes of this Act there is established a fund to be administered and controlled by the Authority.
(2) The Fund shall consist of—
(a) such sums as may be provided from time to time for those purposes by Parliament or the Legislative Assembly of the State;
(b) such sums as may be allocated from time to time to the Authority from loan funds;
(c) moneys earned by the operation of any project, scheme or enterprise financed from the Fund;
(d) moneys earned or arising from any property, investments, mortgages, charges or debentures acquired by or vested in the Authority;
(e) any property, investments, mortgages, charges or debentures acquired by or vested in the Authority;
(f) sums borrowed by the Authority for the purpose of meeting any of its obligations or discharging any of its duties; and
(g) all other sums or property which may in any manner become payable to or vested in the Authority in respect of any matter incidental to its powers and duties.
(3) In this section the expression “loan funds” means such sums as may be made available from time to time to the Government of the Federation by way of loan.
Balancing of revenue account
It shall be the duty of the Authority to conserve the Fund by so exercising and performing its powers, functions and duties under this Act as to secure that the total revenues of the Authority are, subject to any directions given by the Minister under section 8, sufficient to meet all sums properly chargeable to its revenue account, including, without prejudice to the generality of that expression provisions in respect of its obligations under sections 17 and 19 and depreciation and interest on capital, taking one year with another.
Reserve fund
The Authority shall establish and manage a reserve fund within the Fund.
Expenses to be charged on the Fund
The Fund shall be expended for the purpose of—
(a) paying all expenses incurred under section 25;
(b) granting loans under section 27;
(c) paying any expenses lawfully incurred by the Authority, including survey, legal and other fees and costs, and the remuneration of officers and servants appointed and employed by the Authority including superannuation allowances, pensions or gratuities;
(d) paying any other expenses, cost or expenditure properly incurred or accepted by the Authority in the execution of its duty or in the discharge of its functions under section 4;
(e) purchasing or hiring plant, equipment, machinery, stores and any other materials and acquiring land and erecting buildings and carrying out any other works and undertakings in the execution of its duty or in the discharge of its functions under section 4;
(f) repaying any moneys borrowed under this Act and the interest due thereon; and
(g) generally, paying any expenses for carrying into effect the provisions of this Act.
Expenditure and preparation of Estimates
(1) The expenses of the Authority up to such amount as may be authorized by the Minister for any one year shall be defrayed out of the Fund.
(2) Before the beginning of September of each year the Authority shall submit to the Minister an estimate of the expenses (including those for development projects) for the following year in such form and containing such particulars as the Minister may direct; and the Minister shall before the beginning of that following year notify the Authority of the amount authorized for expenses generally or of the amounts authorized for each description of expenditure.
(3) The Authority may, at any time, submit to the Minister a supplementary estimate for any one year and the Minister may allow the whole or any part of the additional expenditure included therein.
(4) The Minister may direct the Authority to submit a copy of the estimate or supplementary estimate, as the case may be, to the Government of the State or to any other person as may be specified in the direction.
Accounts and audit
(1) The Authority shall keep proper accounts and other records in respect of its operation and shall prepare statement of accounts in respect of each financial year.
(2) The accounts of the Authority shall be audited annually by the Auditor General or other auditor appointed by the Authority with the approval of the Minister.
(3) After the end of each financial year, and as soon as the accounts of the Authority have been audited, the Authority shall cause a copy of the statement of accounts to be transmitted to the
Minister or, on being directed so to do by the Minister, to the Government of the State or any other person, together with a copy of any observations made by the Auditor General or other auditor appointed under subsection (2) on any statement or on the accounts of the Authority.
(4) The Minister shall cause a copy of every such statement and observations to be laid before the Dewan Rakyat.
Surcharge
(1) If it appears to the Authority that any person who is or was in the employment of the Authority—
(a) has failed to collect any moneys owing to the Authority for the collection of which he is responsible;
(b) is or was responsible for any payment from the Fund of moneys which ought not to have been made or for any payment of moneys which is not duly vouched;
(c) is or was responsible, directly or indirectly, for any deficiency in, or for the destruction of, any moneys, stamps, securities, stores or other property of the Authority;
(d) being or having been an accounting officer, fails or has failed to keep proper accounts or records;
(e) has failed to make any payment, or is or was responsible for any delay in the payment, of moneys from the Fund to any person to whom such payment is due under any contract, agreement or arrangement entered into between that person and the Authority,
the Authority shall serve on him a written notice calling on him to show cause why he should not be surcharged, and if a satisfactory explanation is not, within fourteen days from the date of service of the notice as aforesaid, furnished to the Authority with regard to the failure to collect, payment which ought not to have been made, payment not duly vouched, deficiency or destruction, or failure to keep proper accounts or records, or failure to make payment, or delay in making payment, the Authority may surcharge against the said person a sum not exceeding the amount of any such amount not collected, such payment, deficiency, or
loss or the value of the property destroyed, as the case may be, and with regard to the failure to keep proper accounts or records, or the failure to make payment, or the delay in making payment, the Authority may surcharge against the said person such sum as the Authority may think fit.
(2) The Chairman shall cause the Deputy Chairman to be notified of any surcharge made under subsection (1) and the Deputy Chairman shall thereupon notify the person surcharged.
(3) The Authority may at any time withdraw any surcharge in respect of which a satisfactory explanation has been received or if it otherwise appears that no surcharge should have been made, and the Chairman shall at once cause the Deputy Chairman to be notified of such withdrawal.
(4) The amount of any surcharge made under subsection (1) and not withdrawn under subsection (3) shall be a debt due to the Authority from the person against whom the surcharge is made and may be sued for and recovered in any court at the suit of the Authority and may also be recovered by deduction—
(a) from the salary of the person surcharged if the Authority so directs;
(b) from the pension of the person surcharged if the Authority so directs, by equal monthly instalments not exceeding one-fourth of the total monthly salary or pension, as the case may be, of the person.
Source: Laws of Malaysia, Attorney General's Chambers of Malaysia (lom.agc.gov.my). Not a copy of the Gazette printed by the Government Printer (Interpretation Acts 1948 and 1967, s 61).
