Malaysians are quite weary of the annual season of farce of the Audit-General’s Report exposing year-in and year-out corruption, criminal breach of trust and mismanagement of public funds followed by the chorus of responses from the Public Accounts Committee, the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and even from the Prime Minister and the relevant Ministers of investigations and remedial action not only to deal with the errant culprits but to ensure that there could be no more recurrence of such betrayal of public trust — all to taper off into public amnesia after a few days of media banner headlines until the ritual is repeated in the following year.
Last Tuesday (11th September 2007), the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said at the Cabinet meeting the previous week (5th September), he had directed all ministers concerned to explain to the Cabinet why their ministries have been accused of mismanaging funds and other irregularities. He said “each and every matter raised must be explained in detail”.
Three questions immediately come to mind, viz:
- Firstly, why did Abdullah delay for more than two months before raising the subject in the Cabinet when he had first received the 2006 Auditor-General’s Report at the end of June? Even the ACA director-general Datuk Ahmad Said Hamdan had publicly admitted that the ACA had received copies of the 2006 Auditor-General’s Report “sometime ago” and that the ACA had begun investigations into the Auditor-General’s 2006 Report “long before it was tabled in Parliament” on September 7;
- Secondly, will Ministers be required to explain to the Cabinet on Wednesday why their ministries have been accused of mismanaging funds and other irregularities, with each and every matter raised by the Auditor-General to be explained in detail? Will the Prime Minister report to the nation at the end of Wednesday’s meeting of the Ministers who have given satisfactory explanations and those who have failed to do so, and what he proposes to do with the latter? Or there is no real intention whatsoever to hold a Cabinet inquest into the corruption and mismanagement of public funds into the various ministries as exposed in the 2006 Auditor-Gneeral Report?
- Thirdly, why are the Ministers only required to explain to the Cabinet and not to Parliament and the nation?
As all Ministers owe a higher duty to Parliament and the nation to comply with the principles of accountability, probity and integrity, the Cabinet on Wednesday should direct all Ministers whose past or present ministries had been implicated in the 2006 Auditor-General’s Report for mismanagement of funds to appear before the Public Accounts Committee to assume full responsibility and end all the annual “bellyaching” about taking action by various authorities but without any concrete follow-up results.
It is only when the Cabinet is prepared to make such a decision requiring all Ministers to appear before the PAC to explain why their ministries, whether past or present, had been accused of mismanaging funds and other irregularities, with each and every matter raised explained in detail, that Malaysians can believe that the Prime Minister and his Cabinet Ministers are serious about accountability, transparency, financial probity and Mnisterial responsibility.
Otherwise, nothing has changed whatsoever in the past four years of the Abdullah premiership and what we are seeing is another annual season of farce and bellyaching about accountability after the Auditor-General’s Report, but which means absolutely nothing.
YB, good job. However, try and encourage more people to blow the whistle.
Possibly enstablish a public internet poll survey website to put pressure to ” corrupted ” minister.
“why did Abdullah delay for more than two months before raising the subject in the Cabinet when he had first received the 2006 Auditor-General’s Report at the end of June? …..”
Well you know this is quite a tough one, needs more time than usual to figure out where to sweep them under which carpets la..
Go to my blog & read the bus story.
Somehow, after all the investigations, I think the ending would be like this
“Abdullah is satisfied with the explanation given by the ministers..Case closed. Abdullah also hopes that the Opposition will not politicised the issue further.”
Another case of sweeping under the carpet
MALAYSIA BOLEH!!!
this thing if anyone would realize.
It runs across the whole chain, from the initiator –> to the recommender –> to the approver –> to the payer.
I am not surprised that not only one ministry is involved.
For all we know this thing has been happening for long time, maybe it has been covered for too long and it’s beginning to stink.
Friends…no one is going to admit… spin the facts around.
Case closed and everyone will be directed not to bring this up ever again.
Menteri kat Europe will resign if even the newz media caught them, kat sini, The Sun dah bagi fact/figures, menteri tak juga resign, malu, hidung tak mancung, makan duit orang, pipi tersorong2 tersengih2
tapi saya tabik kat PDRM, juga JPJ and MPAJ enforcers, kerana dengan cekap dan cepat beri saya tiket saman kerana parking di yellow lines (Walhal memang tak cukup tempat parking – ini semua kakitangan MPAJ juga PDRM/JPJ tau), walau saya tak obstruct traffic SAMAN TETAP SAMAN, bagi duit kat Gomen, bagus saya tabik!
What is the point in reporting to the Cabinet when every Minister is tainted with corruption. So Hishammuddin reports to Azalina and she report to him.
This is another sandiwara and I will bet not a single Minister will be held responsible for the abuse of funds.
Every time the AG report is out, its the same thing,its all about mismanagement of funds,We are just lying to ourself if we think that action will be taken.
After all most of the contract is stamped under the OSA,Yes since elections are near ,sure Pak Lah will shout “” Heads must roll ”..
After election he will shout “” We have won with a big majority “”
The rakyat trust the BN thats why we won,and all this bull shit will be forgotten. Remember Tun Dr M famous words ..
“”Melayu muda lupe””, It should be “”Rakyat Malaysia muda lupe “”
This is the season for exams. Below is a multiple choice test for the public.
1) Reason why Pak Lah took two months to raise the subject to the Cabinet:
a) he was hoping it would disappear as in years past
b) he was still asleep
c) he was busy travelling
d) all of the above
2) Why are ministers required to explain only to Cabinet:
a) So that they can find out who pocketed the most
b) then they decide how to share the loot equally
c) GE coming
d) all of the above
3) Why nothing has changed in the past 4 years:
a) AAB has explained he is still warming up to his job
b) Difficult to change entrenched corruption
c) Petronas has donated too much petro dollars for spending
d) all of the above.
What ? You want the den of thieves to come together to adopt a resolution that says that they must expose their wrongdoings ?
Isn’t it time for Penangites to send Koh TK to the Sg Dua Old Folks Home?
http://malaysia-today.net/blog2006/index.php?itemid=8234
The site of the project – the present Turf Club- was originally given by the government for a nominal sum and was zoned as ‘Open Space’. This was changed very recently to ‘Mixed Development’, even though public opinion was unanimously against it (judging from the submissions sent in by the public during the 2007 Structure Plan exercise). “By doing so, the State has acted arbitrarily and sacrificed the interests of the community to a group of developers.†the NGOs said in a joint media statement. For once, the press raised a lot of questions after they were shown the miniature cut-out model of the site – with all 37 towers in it.
“……the Cabinet on Wednesday should direct all Ministers whose past or present ministries had been implicated in the 2006 Auditor-General’s Report for mismanagement of funds to appear before the Public Accounts Committee to assume full responsibility and end all the annual “bellyaching†about taking action by various authorities but without any concrete follow-up results……..”
Hey, that’s everybody including the PM. All 32, 33, 34…40 of them. Even previous ministers.
You really think they will all cheerfully and voluntarily want to line up to appear before the PAC when they don’t even attend Parliament?
They will all resolve to forgive and forget each others’ faults and shortcomings as is the BN way. They will account to no one. They are The Sopranos.
In this Muslim holy month of Ramadhan, every thief & bandit will forgive each other and watch sandiwara together.
Year after year you heard the same story, because the present government choose who to prosecute and who not to. Those with political power no matter how corrupted they are will be free. I wonder can we as the tax payers take those corrupted politicians to court for mis-used of the tax payers fund. The present government is getting from bad to worst, those who voted them are to be blamed.
To the Chinese, please wake up, the coming general election probably the last chance to support opposition. As the chinese population is decreasing, in the next 5 or 10 years even if 100% of Chinese supported opposition you can never win.
Any idea if there’s any items from the Works department? c/o Samy Vellu
AAB would not be able to read thru the first couple of pages w/o falling asleep.
I do wonder who wrote his budget for him. Certainly some of the elements do not appear to come from him.
How lah to investicate when all documents stamped OSA.Even local council meetings got this stamp,
Malaysian unwritten law “” Catch the whistle blower first””As long as BN rules you can rest assure the sharks always get away,Remember the last GE Pak Lah said, 13 cases of corruption involving VVIP, What happen it,s the same thing every year.
This election please vote opposition, Give them a change
“In this Muslim holy month of Ramadhan, every thief & bandit will forgive each other and watch sandiwara together.” – devilmaster
Please leave Ramadhan out of this.
Don’t think any of them will bother to reply!
It is our time to make the changes, not only of ourselves, but for our children and grandchildren as well, if we still want to live in Malaysia!
Time for Changes and Vote for Changes!
Devilmaster:
RealWorld is absolutely right. We should leave Ramadhan out of this discussion. The holy month is not a basis for postponing corruption and the stealing continues.
i work in an international fortune 500 company, the whistle blower policy is very transparent and each employee is supposed to know what they must report under the policy. There are three distinct channels a) report to supervisor or b) report to the chief auditor or c) report to the chairman, Report may be anonymous. The underlying motivation is the check and balance and ultimately safeguard reputation of the organisation. Our government need to adopt this best practice.
whistle blower policy works when the top/corporate really whacks the wrongdoers.
Have we seen any example where AAB really whacked anyone? On the contrary so far only observed/remember the wrongdoers getting more rewards after the hoo haa.
Malaysia is far far away from the fortune 500 practices. Reputation? We seem to be losing repute because of the inability of the top to function.
Wish there’s something similar to Tongkat Ali to aid the nearly 70 old geezer to perform better in the government.
Oh, AAB is busy romancing his wife – catching up for loss time in warming up his bed, after his first wife passed away. Too busy doing PR work, with his regular appearance in the news with his new wife. Does he seemed concerned about the ruckus his cabinet ministers is making the country into? No – he is more concerned about portraying a lovey-dover image with Jeanne Abdullah!
Under his leadership, the country is falling into the pits! Not only do we locals know it, the foreign media is also writing about it and many foreigners are aware of it. We should not continue to be blind to all that is happening which is contrary to the interest of the tax-payers. It is about time we dig our heels in and vote for the opposition. Any further landslide victory for the BN in the next GE will make our current half-past 6 ministers even more arrogant, even more half-past 6 and even more flippant as thieves of our national coffers!!!
“The holy month is not a basis for postponing corruption and the stealing continues.” – Godfather
Making reference to the holy month, is this the Msian Malaysia way?