The Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries secretary-general who had signed off a RM268 million contract for an aquaculture project despite not having the authority to do so, signed in "good faith" to fast track the project, his successor Datuk Arif Abdul Rahman said today.
"I believe the past secretary-general signed it in good faith in order to make the project move faster. There is no element of graft here," Arif told a town hall session on the latest Auditor-General Report in Putrajaya today.
Arif's predecessor was Datuk Seri Mohd Hisham Abdullah, who currently serves as deputy chairman at the Election Commission (EC).
According to regulations, a secretary-general can only sign off a contract with a maximum value of RM100 million.
Arif admitted that the secretary-general should have sought the minister's authority to transfer power to the secretary-general to sign off a contract over RM100 million.
Arif said government agencies are making sure that the transfer of power is in place before such projects are signed in the future.
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