12 TELLING IT AS IT IS theSun | WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 21 2009

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thesun says

Rakyat must help shape 1Malaysia concept

THE government must be
congratulated for inviting feedback
from the people on how to improve
national unity. On becoming prime
minister six months ago, Datuk Seri
Najib Razak had said he was going to
strengthen national unity through the
1Malaysia concept. Since 1Malaysia
is a cornerstone of his administration,
he and his officials are constantly
making adjustments to it to ensure
that the concept and the process are
acceptable to all Malaysians.
While the concept thus far seems
acceptable to many Malaysians,
thanks to the efforts of the prime
minister and his officials, it cannot
be denied that the people too may
have something to say, something to
add to improve it. Already they are
making their views known through
letters to the newspapers and
through the various media sites of the
Internet. But there is nothing like an
official statement inviting their inputs,
comments and debate for them to
feel better about contributing their
ideas.
After all, they are Malaysians and
have a stake in the progress and
future well-being of the nation and,
thus, for 1Malaysia to be successful
they must be involved in shaping
the concept further and to help in its
implementation so that national unity
is advanced. By being involved, their
hearts will be in it when they say “we
are Malaysians”.
It is not always that a slogan
originated by the government
becomes something the rakyat
want to claim propriety rights over.
And they certainly must be allowed
to claim ownership over it. Allowing
them to help shape it is certainly a
significant way for that to happen.
Thus, it is almost certain that the Gov-
ernment Transformation Programme
led by the Prime Minister’s Perform-
ance Management and Delivery Unit
(Pemandu) seeking and handling the
feedback will be deluged by e-mails
and letters.
Having opened the floodgates
to suggestions and debates, the
government must have certainly been
prepared for all kinds of responses,
including criticism of certain aspects
of the 1Malaysia concept as it stands
today. There will certainly be
comments about the shaping of the
concept being guided by the nation’s
historical reality, the Federal Consti-
tution and the Rukun Negara. Even
Najib’s statement about the
“1Malaysia concept does not digress
from the spirit of the Federal Constitu-
tion as the law of the country, either
written or unwritten.”
Likely to be commented on by the
more cynical citizens would be the
announcement on Monday by Najib
that Sept 16 will be celebrated as
Malaysia Day and will be a national
holiday. Since it is presumably done
to strengthen national unity, national
integration and 1Malaysia, some
would probably ask why have
Merdeka Day as well as Malaysia
Day. Some would also probably ask
whether the country needs to add
another day to the already long list
of national public holidays. Properly
moderated, the debate will be good
– and there is time.

letter
letters@thesundaily.com

‘Siege mentality’ label unfair to Malays

I FEEL sad and ashamed after reading your front
page report “Get out of siege mentality” (Oct
15). Even though I agree with most of what the
Umno Youth chief said, I take offence when he
conveniently told the Malays to discard the “siege
mentality”. Khairy Jamaluddin was not being
prudent and totally unfair to the Malay race. It is a
slur on the ability of industrious Malays who have
all this while stood up to stiff competition and
continue to forge ahead in all fields.
Although many concerned Malays agree that
their special rights are under threat, they would
rather look at this issue from a different perspec-
tive. Right-thinking Malays regard the adversaries
may not necessarily be the other communities,
but may be within the community. Otherwise, how
would you explain the situation the Malays are in
now, especially in their economic standing, even
though the New Economic Policy has been imple-
mented for four decades. Surely, some unscrupu-
lous parties are responsible for the failures.
Therefore, it is incumbent on the authorities
to explain to the people the true nature of the
Malay special rights and their significance to the
country. On this account, I think the prime minister
did a brilliant job in his presidential speech at the
60th Umno general assembly recently. Datuk Seri
Najib Razak had categorically said, “Today we see
how these products of affirmative action proudly
proclaim that they no longer need government’s
crutches. These people seem to have forgotten
reality. They may be able to throw away the
crutches that propped them up all this while,
but what about the other Malays who still need
help? Would it be fair to deny help to those who
are eligible to receive it just because those who
have already received help do not depend on it
anymore? The Malays are still behind and need
help”. And the premier conclusively stressed that
the issue was not about aid but rather its manage-
ment and administration.
I am impressed by his pronouncement on this
topic and hope all Malaysians now have a clear
understanding of this contentious issue.
Nevertheless, it is worth noting at this juncture,
that the public generally recognise some of those
calling for the removal of these affirmative actions
are the ones who misused the provision of the
NEP and derailed its implementation, to the detri-
ment of all Malays and other deserving citizens.
Rightfully, these individuals should be penalised
for their misdeeds.
At the same time, those who continue to harp
on the status of the NEP fail to recognise the nega-
tive impact the current income disparity between
the various races will have on the nation’s future
well-being. It is also possible that these parties
are just playing to the gallery or want to score
political points.
Suffice to say, Malaysians will be better off
if they can appreciate the colossal task of na-
tion-building in a multi-racial, multi-religious and
multi-cultural country like ours. With greater
understanding of the current issues, they will be
able to make themselves useful by contributing
positively towards achieving the all-encompassing
aspirations of 1Malaysia.
Zamri Mahmud
Kuala Lumpur
Learning from
the A-G’s report
IT IS that time of the year again for Malay-
sians to read in disbelief the mismanage-
ment of funds. It’s time for them to note the
extravagance of people who are empowered
to spend public money and to take note of the
humongous prices paid by the government
for goods or services. It’s time for taxpayers to
identify the civil servants who had not com-
plied with the financial procedures set by the
government. It’s the Auditor-General’s report,
and on Monday it was tabled in Parliament.
It reflects the incompetence if not the
criminality of certain personalities. It lays
bare the weaknesses in the sys-
tem. It exposes the wheeling and
dealing of some. It shows that
some government departments
are reluctant to impose penalties
for breach of contract. It hints of
a nexus between civil servants
and contractors. In short, it is a
catalogue of shame which no
government servant wants to be
associated with. It damns some
people but will we ever learn from
past mistakes? CitizenNades
But the inevitable question we
all have to ask is: What purpose by R. Nadeswaran
does the report serve when the
perpetrators of such mismanage-
ment which sometimes border on criminal
intent get away without any punishment?
In 2007, after yet another edition of the
A-G’s report was tabled, Chief Secretary to
the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan
announced that government officers and staff
investigated for corruption and mismanage-
ment of public funds under the 2006 A-G’s
report will either be charged in court soon or
face disciplinary action.
He said the government would also make
public the type of disciplinary action taken
against civil servants for various offences,
other than the impending action against those
implicated over the A-G’s report. He said the
Public Service Department would come out
with a “demotion and disciplined” list every
quarter so that the people would know that
action had been taken.
The 2006 report highlighted the National
Youth Skills Institute (under the Youth and
Sports Ministry) project where a car jack that
cost RM50 was bought for RM5,700, a dig-
ital camera that cost RM2,990 was bought for
RM8,254 and RM1,146 paid for a set of techni-
cal pens with a market price of RM160.
The ministry was alleged to have spent
RM8.39mil on equipment for its National
Youth Skills Institutes. Others included the
purchase of two helicopters worth RM117.75
million by the police air wing, which could
not be used, as they did not meet specifica-
tions. Another RM15.4mil was spent to train
pilots to fly these helicopters.
Mohd Sidek added that the government
had also directed the departments and
ministries to reply to the points highlighted
by the A-G and their answer “had better be
credible”. What followed was the prosecution
of 12 civil servants.
Twelve is a starting point. But going
through the same set of reports, there
were definitely more than 12 instances of
mismanagement and misuse of funds.
This time around, the A-G has much more
to say, especially about the maintenance of
schools. He notes that 47 private consult-
ants were engaged for RM22.18 million but
they did not carry out their tasks
satisfactorily. If that compromises
safety of pupils, what about the
equipment that was supplied to
colleges? The A-G notes that the
Higher Education Ministry must
ensure that specialised equipment
bought for colleges were suitable
for the subjects concerned.
“Our audit found certain equip-
ment were either delivered late or
not at all by the supplier; the items
were bought in excess, not used or
unsuitable; or they were paid for
but not tested,” he says.
So, how did this come about?
Who made these crappy decisions?
What action has been taken to penalise the
suppliers? If someone benefited financially
from such transactions, will he or she be
hauled up? The sad part is that the A-G notes
that federal ministries and departments have
not shown much progress in managing their
finances.
Why? Is there interference from political
masters when it comes to purchases and
procuring services? Are civil servants being
cowed into not following the procedures set
out? Politicians (read ministers and their
deputies) are policy-makers. The implement-
ers are the civil servants and they know best.
This time next year, there’ll be another
round of the A-G’s report. There’ll be another
round of excitement. Malaysians will continue
to get disgusted reading the misuse and abuse
of public money. That will last until another
scandal comes along.
The solution to ensure recommendations
of the A-G are complied is the big stick. By
transferring the employee, you are only
transferring the problem. What about hanging
them out to dry, (metaphorically) in full view
of the public. This may be the perfect answer
to all the ills that afflict our civil service.
R. Nadeswaran has lost count the number of
times he had written on the A-G’s report and
insists that for some people, nothing gets into
their head except through a crack. He is editor
(special and investigative reporting) at theSun.
He can be reached at: citizen-nades@thesun-
daily.com.