Eighteen out of 23 specially bred horses bought by the National Sports Council (NSC) for equestrian and endurance contests failed to meet criteria set by the Federation Equestre Internationale.
These horses - costing RM3.94 million - were also rejected because they were injured.
The other five horses - named Edenfels Zephyr, Blue Bronco, Amira Alborada, Navidad, Brookleigh Kentara - were fit to be entered in the World Endurance Championship.
The selection was carried out by the World Endurance Championship directorate committee members, headed by the NSC director-general, and including a veterinarian, technical officer and project officer.
The 23 horses had cost RM5.66 million when bought in 2008 via direct negotiations that did not obtain the Finance Ministry’s approval, says the 2010 Auditor-General’s Report which was tabled today in the Dewan Rakyat.
They were bought from the:
• Equine Centre Sdn Bhd (six horses) at RM1.98 million
• El Ranco Country Club (13) at RM2.48 million
• Royal Terengganu Endurance Stable (two) at RM0.58 million
• Toft Endurance Pty Ltd (two) at RM0.62 million
All 23 horses have since been 'assigned' to several government agencies:
- Police horse unit (three horses)
- Kuala Lumpur City Hall mounted unit (three)
- Army equestrian centre (two)
- Universiti Putra Malaysia (three)
- Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (two)
- Terengganu Sports Council (two)
- Royal Terengganu Endurance Stable (eight)
More misdirected spending
The audit report also highlights that the NSC has used a big portion of funds allocated for the development of athletes for other purposes.
Of the RM3.65 allocated, RM2.25 million or 61.6 percent was used for advertising in the electronic and print media to promote the main sports.
“In our opinion, the NSC should use the grant for its main purpose of developing budding athletes and not for advertising,” states the report.
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