MPs say the position has been left empty for four months now, impeding many national affairs.

The deficiencies were so great that auditors failed to obtain enough evidence to substantiate companies' financial statements, reports say.

The weaknesses in duty collection are attributed to a lack of documentation as well as calculation errors by the assessment officers.

The legally required audit has helped sharpen the Pentagon's systems and controls and has regularly helped the Department of Defence find misplaced inventory, which saves money.

The selection follows a landmark audit deal allowing US regulators to vet accounting firms in mainland China and Hong Kong, potentially ending a dispute that threatened to boot more than 200 Chinese companies from US stock exchanges.

It also found a loss of public funds totalling RM11.45 million and a waste of RM8.87 million to the government in 2020.

The payments amounted to RM500,000 in 2020 and RM1.4 million in 2019.

The auditor-general has submitted 29 recommendations – four for verification of financial statements and 25 for compliance audits of federal ministries and departments.

Beijing's vice health minister says the plan shows 'disrespect' and 'arrogance towards science'.

The debate over the app's data privacy points to lingering trust issues that could undermine the battle against Covid-19.