16
speak up!
THIS is how overzealous apple-polishing civil
servants get their superiors into trouble. On
Wednesday, the Petaling Jaya City Council
(MBPJ) declared a surplus budget of over
RM130,000. Not too bad in these dire economic
times.
However, what little achievement the
folk at MBPJ did on balancing the books was
overshadowed by a ridiculous proposal in the
budget by Mayor Datuk Mohd Roslan Saki-
man to buy two high-powered motorcycles
at RM80,000 each – to be used by escorts for
Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim
when he visits Petaling Jaya.
“What? Khir Toyo never had
outriders. If Khalid wants outrid-
ers, ask him to get his own or get
the state to pay for it” was the com-
mon response in the newsroom.
The perception was that Ab-
dul Khalid had requested for the
motorcycles. It took a few phone
calls between Mohd Roslan, coun-
cillor Derek Fernandez, reporter
Llew-Ann Phang, Citizen Nades
and yours truly to set the record Down2Earth
straight – the mentri besar re-
quested for only escorts. However, by Terence Fernandez payers going into the food busi-
this was misinterpreted, perhaps
conveniently so, by the enforce-
ment division and the MBPJ administration
including the mayor as a request for motor-
cycles for outriders.
So a harebrained idea now has resulted in included in Budget 2010?
a PR disaster for the mentri besar and MBPJ
Apple polishers outride
common sense
and perhaps a loss for the coun-
cil’s enforcement division which
may have had a legitimate need
for the big bikes after all. Who
knows? After all, when contacted
later Mohd Roslan said the big
bikes were for “other occasions
as well”. So whose fault is it that
some people can’t put their case
forward succinctly?
Meanwhile, could MBPJ
explain why we need to buy five
chillers for RM2 million? Are rate-
ness now or is MBPJ going into
the bereavement industry since a
certain illegal funeral parlour has since closed
shop? Or do we need one of those chillers for
the RM300,000 “rumah rehat” which has been
A lot of hope has been placed on the
present administration of local councils in
Selangor after five decades of rot and unac-
countability.
Why should the people not vote any dif-
ferently the next time if they have to continue
putting up with officials who are not careful
with people’s money and have their priorities
backwards.
*************
IN ONE of my columns two weeks ago, I
implored that for a change, graft busters go
after the big fish instead of nabbing small fry
as part of their public relations exercise. In my
last column on Tuesday I had also pleaded on
behalf of civil servants forced to do the bidding
of their political masters may now face the rap
for financial abuses exposed in the Auditor-
General’s Report 2008.
While the latest arrest and charging of
former secretary-general to the Science,
Technology and Innovation Ministry Abdul
Hanan Alang Endut on 10 counts of corrup-
tion, may go so far as to earn the Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) a pat
on the back, for widening its net and looking
upwards in its quest to weed out graft; it is
also hoped that this will be extended to the
letters
letters@thesundaily.com
Honours student feels left out
I GRADUATED from University of Malaya in
August with first class honours, majoring in
Genetics and Molecular Biology, and am pursu-
ing my Master of Science in Molecular Oncology
in the same university. The completion of my
undergraduate studies was made possible with
the help of the National Higher Education Fund
Corporation (PTPTN), which provided me with full
loans (RM3,500 a semester) for three years and
for this I am indeed grateful.
When tabling Budget 2010, the prime minister
proposed that PTPTN loans be converted to
scholarships for students who obtain first class
honours degree or equivalent, from next year.
I am happy for the younger generation as this
would definitely entice them to strive harder for
academic excellence. However, I cannot help but
feel dejected and disappointed for myself and
others who are excluded. To my knowledge, the
conversion of the PTPTN loans to scholarships
for outstanding students had been implemented
before July 1, 2005. It is frustrating for many of
us since then, especially for those who started
their undergraduate studies in 2006 like me. I am
not sure on the reasons behind the decision to
discountinue the practice, but as the practice
would now resume, is it really too much to ask for
those students who are affected to be accorded
the same recognition?
Release wildlife probe report
SAHABAT Alam Malaysia (SAM) refers to an
interview with a convicted wildlife smuggler and
the revelation that Malaysia is a “Wildlife hotspot”
some months ago. Following the big splash in the
media the Natural Resources and Environment
Ministry stepped in to investigate allegations of
special permit abuses.
There were also calls to the police and the Ma-
laysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) by
animal conservation groups. There were also calls
by the Penang Government to reveal details of the
special permit. It has been several months since
and much to our dismay there is no response
from the ministry, the police and the MACC.
These three agencies must take a serious
view of the case as Malaysia’s image has been
tarnished by its reputation as a hub for a multi-
billion ringgit global trade in illegal wildlife. Results
of the findings should be revealed.
It is the sole responsibility of the Natural
Resources Ministry and Wildlife Department to
theSun | FRIDAY OCTOBER 30 2009
“unseen hands” forcing the civil servants to
breach the law and code of ethics.
It has been ages since the exposes on a
certain ex-minister and former mentri besar.
So far apart from a director-general, who has
since been acquitted of corruption charges,
no one has been made to face the music for
entering into dubious deals during the tenure
of this minister at various ministries.
At the same time, the former mentri besar
needs to explain the dubious land alienation,
monopolistic deals, overseas trips paid by
state subsidiaries and a multi-million ringgit
house. The public are asking but the MACC
does not seem too intent in asking the same
questions, perhaps only the right ones?
I make no apologies to Datuk Seri Ahmad
Said Hamdan and Datuk Seri Abu Kassim
Mohammed (the MACC commissioner and
deputy respectively) if they feel that no matter
what they do, the likes of Citizen Nades and
myself keep demanding more.
Too much damage has been done – even
before Teoh Beng Hock’s body was found
at the bottom of Plaza Masalam – for the
MACC to earn the public’s trust and respect,
by merely picking up one or two former civil
servants.
Having dealt personally with Abu Kassim,
I know he is earnest in wanting to do his job.
Alas, here is where the misleading notion of
the MACC’s independence lies. For, as long as
political considerations need to be weighed in
getting the MACC to function as it should, it
has to do much more to shake off the percep-
tion that it is a mere lackey. Gee, it’s a job not
even slick PR practitioners could do.
Terence is deputy editor special reports & in-
vestigations and can be reached at terence@
thesundaily.com. He can also be followed on
Twitter @ TerencetheSUN.
Previously, Higher Education Minister Datuk
Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin stated that the
proposal would be considered only when the
financial situation of PTPTN is sustainable. In ad-
dition, PTPTN chief executive officer Yunos Abd
Ghani also said that the corporation was unable
to consider the requests as the amount would be
too much to absorb.
I suspect that one reason for the PTPTN being
unsustainable is the high number of loan default-
ers. They include politicians, celebrities and other
A-listers. Why are no further concrete efforts being
made to retrieve the money other than blacklist-
ing some names (for example, taking court action
against these defaulters)? More importantly, are
we being made to pay for their faults?
I strongly feel that those who achieved first
class honours this year should be entitled to the
benefit of converting our loans to full scholar-
ships as we worked hard for several years
without expecting to be rewarded since the
discontinuation of the practice. On behalf of those
who are affected, I humbly ask the government
to reconsider. We have been disappointed twice
before. Hopefully we would not be disappointed
yet again.
Eugene Phuah
Penang
promote effective wildlife law enforcement.
What is needed is an overhaul of the policing
of the illegal wildlife trade and an urgent need for
monitoring of the traffic of Malaysian wildlife.
The issue of special permit which regulates the
collection of animals and permits the keeping of
totally protected species by zoos, theme parks
and individuals should be examined closely.
There is an absence of a monitoring mecha-
nism of how and where endangered species are
sourced from or how they end up in such animal
establishments. The granting of special permits
to these establishments will only perpetuate the
trade in illegal wildlife.
SAM calls on the ministry, police and the MACC
to release the findings of their investigation which
is long overdue.
S. M. Mohd Idris
President
Sahabat Alam Malaysia