10
speak up!
Blow to whistle-blowers
FROM Day One, it had
been explicitly stated and
repeated several times
that this columnist will
not touch on race, religion
or politics. Last week, I
sat back, thought about
it, and discussed with
colleagues and friends
whether I should make
the exception. Over the
weekend, there was some CitizenNades
soul-searching to do over
by R. Nadeswaran
three issues – education,
misuse of public funds
and corruption. The course of events
over the past two weeks has been
disturbing indeed. And they related
to politics and race. I was advised
that I would be “acting against na-
tional interests” if I questioned the
education policy. But I support the
affirmative policies to help down-
trodden fellow-citizens and have
always maintained that I do not
have an agenda. If I had chosen to
keep my vows and remain silent as
if they did not exist, the conscience
would say that silence is accept-
ance of the wrongdoing. So, in all
honesty, I have decided to seek your
indulgence to touch on issues that
need to be addressed in a manner
befitting their importance.
Last week, commenting on
the PKFZ fiasco, I wrote: “Never
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Two lanes upgraded to roads
WHILE walking along Jalan Lim Kee
Siong, next to the Seremban Catholic
Church, heading towards the State
Secretariat building recently, I saw
some contractors putting up sign-
boards for Lorong Jawa 1 and 2.
However, the contractors were not
only replacing the old signboards with
new ones, it came with new names
for the two minor roads bordering
in the history of this
country has there been
so much vigour in the
demand from the public
to get to the bottom of a
scandal-ridden project.
The country has never
seen the enthusiasm and
openness of a minister
who is bent on seeing
justice to a problem
which he inherited.
Never has a minister
committed himself to
seeing the cornerstones
of good governance – transparency
and accountability – being prac-
tised.”
Just when you thought the min-
ister’s courage will set a precedent
for not only his cabinet colleagues
but also civil servants to follow suit
when someone drops a clanger
and attempts to destroy one form
of the “whistle-blowing” concept.
All kinds of accusations are levelled
against him in the name of politics
and political donations and even
appointments of key personnel are
questioned. But those making the
accusations are the same people
against whom the special task force
alleged had short-changed the gov-
ernment of between RM500 million
and RM1 billion. While right-think-
ing people will take such claims of
two rows of old houses. The new
signboards had replaced the word
“Lorong” with the word “Jalan”.
Residents in Seremban had always
referred to the roads as Jawa Lane or
Lorong Jawa.
I would like the Seremban Mu-
nicipal Council (MPS) to let the people
know, especially those affected by the
change, as to when did they decide to
parting with RM10 million with a
generous helping of salt, it has put a
premature end to attempts to create
a new culture of “whistle-blowing”
within the higher echelons of our
government.
It has certainly put a dent
on efforts to give civil servants
confidence that they should stand
up to politicians who sometimes
stray from the standard proce-
dures. It also destroys the present
government’s policy of being open
and transparent in all its dealings.
Why should anyone stand up and
expose wrongdoings when false
and unsubstantiated accusations
are made against him or her? Will
the system protect such people or
just sit and watch as one accusation
after another is made?
Faisal Abdullah (Kuala Dimensi
Sdn Bhd deputy CEO) goes to great
lengths to question the legality of the
appointment of the Port Klang Au-
thority chairman, but he should be
looking at his backyard first. Wasn’t
he the Klang municipal councillor
who built his bungalow in Kam-
pung Raja Uda in Port Klang with-
out getting the necessary approvals?
Wasn’t he one of the 24 councillors
who turned a blind eye when Istana
Zakaria was being built? Wasn’t he
one of the councillors whose terms
were not extended?
change “Lorong” to “Jalan”? I do hope
it is not another arbitrary exercise by
the council to do things at its whim
and fancies.
There are a lot of new roads and fly-
overs being constructed in and around
Seremban. After its completion, I hope
the council would start greening up
the surrounding areas as many trees
were chopped to make way for these
projects. Planting shady trees would
help cool the environment.
Michael Ng
Seremban
The minister had been consistent
from the very start when he took of-
fice. He made repeated assurances
that the PKFZ scandal would be in-
vestigated and that the audit reports
would be made public. Even then,
there was no talk of RM10 million
or free plane rides. The question to
ask is: Why now, especially imme-
diately after the reports of over-bill-
ings and high costs. This column
has been consistent on corruption
and wrong-doers. There will be no
sympathy for either. But the key
point is that “whistle blowers” are
being systematically targeted.
Talking about whistle-blow-
ers”, one cannot put in words the
courage of the supposed officials
of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC) against one
of their bosses. What they wrote
will remain mere allegations until
they are proven, but from my
experience, there appears to be
some semblance of issues worth
investigating. It is unfortunate that
I cannot make public what is within
my knowledge lest I am accused of
being judge, jury and executioner.
However, for the sake of justice and
the truth, I am willing to talk to any
competent enforcement author-
ity. Not one which wants to know
where my information came from
but to one who wants to get to the
bottom of it all.
*****
Now, to the issue of education. I
have read and scrutinised the an-
swer scripts of at least 20 wannabe
lawyers which was the subject of
this column last Wednesday. I de-
scribed them in some detail. At least
18 of them will fail the simple test we
have for those wanting to become a
journalist. I wouldn’t even employ
them as our office boy! Malaysians
have a right to be worried. Are these
the qualities of future magistrates
who are going to sit and decide on
our fate? Are these the people you
turn to for justice and fair play? It
is a frightening scenario indeed.
Everyone I talked to washed his
hands by saying: “This involves the
national education policy. No one
can do anything.” But this policy,
although giving priority to sections
of the community, does not encour-
age the setting up of “sure-to-pass”
theSun | MONDAY AUGUST 24 2009
universities. Neither does it specifi-
cally state that incompetent students
must be made to pass by altering
marks or lowering standards. Are
our educationists interpreting this
policy wrongly? I don’t know and
answers must be forthcoming.
****
Last Monday, I wrote about the
Mathematics preparatory examina-
tion paper for Standard Six pupils
and the amount of grammar mis-
takes in it. I did get a response – a
call from the Selangor Education
Department. All the caller wanted
to know was where I got the exami-
nation paper.
“Yang hantar itu guru atau
ibubapa?” (Who sent it to you, a
teacher or a parent?) she asked.
I had to explain to her that it ar-
rived in a brown envelope, sent
anonymously. Is there going to be
an official response? “Itu Pengarah
akan jawab. Saya hanya ditugaskan
untuk mengenal pasti macam mana
kertas soalan boleh dapat diedar-
kan.” (It is for the director to reply.
I have been tasked to establish
how the examination paper was
circulated.”
Thirty-three mistakes were
identified in 40 questions and all
the authorities are worried about
is finding out how it ended up in
the hands of this writer! Someone
should explain how the mistakes
came about; someone should trace
the teachers responsible for the
mistakes and the supervisor who
is responsible for the lapse. All they
are interested in is nabbing the
whistle-blower!
At a time when our leaders are
going on lawatan sambil belajar to
make Malaysia the regional educa-
tion hub, we have subordinate
officers making our standards a
laughing stock.
How many officers do you need
to investigate the source of the
mistakes? A dozen – 11 to find the
source of the leak and one to sign
the disciplinary note against the
whistle-blower. So much for an
integrated learning system!
R. Nadeswaran is editor (special and
investigative reporting) at theSun.
He can be reached at: citizen-nades@
thesundaily.com.