PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The Auditor-General's Report 2015 has revealed that almost a quarter of University Malaysia Sabah's (UMS) closed-circuit television (CCTV) units in its security system do not work.

The first series of the 2015 national audit, carried out from November to December 2015, also revealed that UMS' procurement management was generally unsatisfactory.

The report, which was released on Wednesday (May 18), found that a total of 147 out of 595 CCTV units (24.7 per cent) in its security command centre could not display any images.

It added that 82 of the stated total units were existing CCTVs and the remaining 65 units, or 44.2 per cent, which cost RM247,388 (S$84,500), were newly-supplied.

Another 75 units were not integrated into the security command centre as they were installed after the system had already been put into place.

Other highlighted weaknesses were procurements that were not conducted according to procedure.

It was discovered that two procurements - amounting to RM210,297 - were split into smaller amounts in order to avoid its procedures when obtaining quotations.

An analysis on the purchase price of toner and A4 paper of the same type from 2013 to 2015 showed a "variation between 7.1 per cent to 379.6 per cent".

UMS managed its procurement for works, services and supplies through direct purchase, price quotation, tender and direct negotiation.

The total expenditure on procurement undertaken by UMS from 2013 to 2015 amounted to RM331.49 million.