Sdr. Lim Kit Siang, You might be interested in my experience in Sabah, trying to save Government/Taxpayers’ Money:
When I was serving in Sabah, in 1989 I think it was, and called for quotations to buy ‘Dental Drills’ for use in the field by Nurses, to fill Children’s teeth. You may not know that the Children in Sabah had really very poor Dental Health, and there was an urgent need to do as much as possible, by way of stretching both equipment and personnel available.
The lowest quote I got was for RM 1250/- ber unit. The basic rules in Sabah were as follows: Quotations from Sabah registered Companies get a 10% advantage, and Sabah registered Bumiputera companies get another 5%, over and above the 10%..i.e. a total of 15 % over the price quoted by Companies outside Sabah.
Generally these Sabah Companies contact the bigger suppliers in Semenanjung and, submit bids just under that 10% thresh hold,or just under the 15% thresh hold, as the case may be.
In this situation, I, being a west Malaysian, was aware that a tender had been awarded to a Company in West Malaysia to supply these same units at RM 850/- per unit, and the lowest quotation that I had received locally in Sabah, was way above the 15% thresh hold, some 47% higher!
…so I contacted the West Malaysian Company and asked them if they could Supply the same units deilvered to Sabah for the West Malaysian tender price i.e. I was going to get the item at some considerable savings, which meant that I could buy more units for the same amount, and clearly many more School Children would benefit through such a purchase, directly from the West Malaysian Company.
Having concluded the purchase, and I thought that I was Smart, having saved the Government some RM 400/- per unit….but lo and behold!…the next thing I knew, was that my salary for the following month was withheld!…with a Threat of ‘Surcharging’ me for not puchasing the items from a Sabah Company!!…I had to submit a long explanatory letter to defend my action before my Salary was released a month or so later!
That was my first and only experience in being threatened with ‘Surcharge’ during my 30 years in Government.
The Moral of the Story: DON’T Try to Save Money for Government!…The Children’s Dental Health, that We are Professionaly commited to Improve, doesn’t really count in Our System!…and more important still, don’t disturb the hornets nest!
…Slow Learner!