Yet another political nonsense: Just Take Action, not another Task Force
October 31, 2009
Comment: Another Task Force has been created by Prime Minister Najib, this time, it is not a super Task Force like the one set up to look at the PKFZ scandal; it is only an ordinary Task Force to look into the findings of the 2008 Auditor-General’s Report. The link between the Super and the Ordinary Task Force is its Chairman, Tan Sri Sidek Hassan, Chief Secretary to the Government.
Once upon a time (al kisah) in the days of old, UMNO-BN Prime Ministers used the Late Tun Raja Mohar bin Raja Badiozaman to head Task Forces to deal with specific issues. The brilliant Cambridge educated and much admired civil servant was overloaded with such work that he could not perform his role as Advisor to the Prime Minister as effectively as he would have liked to.
History repeats itself and Prime Minister Najib is now making a habit of using the Task Force approach to deal with issues that he is not prepared to take on with a firm hand. Like some of his predecessors, especially Mahathir, he has started to overload the present Chief Secretary with duties which are strictly speaking outside the scope of his duty as Head of the Civil Service. Najib is all hype.
The government does not need a Task Force to deal with the Auditor-General’s report; what it needs is the political will to take action quickly to deal with the mismanagement of the various ministries by senior civil servants. The Chief Secretary is ultimately responsible for the proper functioning of the civil service. He should, therefore, haul up the Secretary-Generals of ministries identified by the Auditor-General and ask them to explain their excesses and other departures from the General Orders and Treasury regulations. Then the MACC should be called in to deal with those who have flouted the guidelines and procedures, and there should be no cover-ups.
As for the Prime Minister, he should hold his Ministers personally accountable for abuses in their respective Ministries. Will he do it? To answer this question, I wish to quote Barry Wain, author of Malaysian Maverick: Mahathir Mohamad in Turbulent Times, who had this to say of Najib:
“Najib’s record offer few clues as to how he might approach his prime ministerial assignment, beyond acting cautiously and pragmatically. So light has been his ministerial touch, except in defence, that it is hard to establish where he stands on major issues, or how he would like Malaysia to adapt to the strong currents buffeting the country, from globalization externally to so-called “creeping Islamization” (and if I may add, UMNO racist politics) within. The charitable explanation is that he was long overshadowed by the dominant Mahathir, who involved himself in almost every major policy his administration pursued for 22 years.“
In short, Najib won’t cut his own throat by taking a tough stance on the civil service. Neither would he against his own party, UMNO. On UMNO, Barry adds,” …Najib is unlikely to clean up the party, since that would antagonise the divisional warloads and others who delivered the votes for him and now expect to reap the business rewards. As the close associate of Najib puts it, ‘He won’t cut his throat‘ “*.
Malaysia is a rich country and UMNO leaders and their cronies will continue to put their hands in our national till at the expense of the rest of us. After all, outstanding Auditor-Generals like Tan Sri Ahmad Noordin and Tan Sri Ishak Tadin and others were dispensed with. The same fate may await my good friend, Tan Sri Amrin Buang–Din Merican.
* Barry Wain, Najib’s Challenge: Glory or Oblivion (Far Eastern Economic Review, 2009), reprinted from FEER by Research for Social Advancement (REFSA), 2009, pp 15 and 19.
Yet Another Task Force with the same Task Force Head
The government has set up a high-powered task force, headed by chief secretary to the government Mohd Sidek Hassan, to study the 2008 Auditor-General’s report and initiate appropriate action against those responsible for financial irregularities and abuse of power mentioned in the report.
Prime Minister Najib Razak said the setting-up of the task force had received the green light from the cabinet, which met today, and was in line with the government’s effort to realise a high performance culture in the civil service.
“The cabinet views the report seriously and has decided that a task force be formed to probe financial irregularities mentioned in the report.
The committee will not only look at the abuse of power and initiate action against those found involved in financial irregularities but also take administrative action against those found guilty but could not be charged in court for various reasons,” he told a news conference at his office.
The task force would also include Finance Ministry secretary-general Wan Abdul Aziz Wan Abdullah, Public Service Department director-general Ismail Adam and auditor-general Ambrin Buang himself.
They would have the power to rope in attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission if the need arose.
The Augitor-General’s report has highlighted cases where billions had been lost due to mismanagement of government projects.
This included the Transport Ministry’s RM6 billion Ipoh-Rawang double-tracking project, which due to it being poorly managed, resulting in losses amounting to RM1.14 billion.
Najib: It’s not a witch-hunt
“I want to emphasise here that we are not on a witch-hunt of any kind, but we want to ensure that those who have done wrong are not let off the hook.
“We will use the law against those found to be involved in irregularities but if there are cases which we cannot take to court, we will use administrative action like a demotion or a transfer,” said the prime minister.
He said action would be based on fairness and would take into consideration all mitigating factors and circumstances.
“We also have to give these people a fair chance to defend themselves. The task force will have the power to summon anyone it thinks fit to testify to the task force.
“We also want to show that even those in the government administrative system are not let off if they had issued wrong orders to those lower down. The cabinet feels that action must be taken as we do not want mistakes repeated annually and only pointed out in the Auditor-General’s report without any serious action taken against wrongdoers,” said Najib, who is also finance minister.
Najib said the task force would hold its first meeting Monday and look at the report on a case to case basis in stages.
The prime minister stressed that the government wanted to show that it was committed to initiating stern action against those who abuse power while in office.
“I know we cannot achieve zero irregularities but we can reduce its incidence,” he added.
He said that while the government was going after those who committed wrong while in the civil service, it would also reward those who performed their duties well.
“We are not only taking punitive action but also instilling the high performance culture where those who perform well 
get rewarded,” he added.
PM Najib
First, please explain what action has been taken on the Auditor General’s Reports for the past 5 years. Who has been charged in court, sacked, disciplined or demoted?
I bet it’s the ususal tea lady, office boy and jaga who faced the music while all the KSU’s and Chief Sec to the Govt walked free. And if a case should go to court, they will be acquited without their defence being called for want of trying by the Govt prosecutor!
The “Task Force’” and “Action Committee” are all designed to pull the wool over our eyes. They do nothing and waste millions of $ of Taxpayers’ money, thereby compounding the problems year after year.
My suggestion? Give the AG the right to prosecute the fraudsters. Who would know better than those who continuously audit the Govt’s financial statements and Ministries/Departments/Stat Bodies/GLC’s?
dpp
We are all of 1 race, the Human Race
donplaypuks - October 31, 2009 at 10:54 am
the royal commission on the police made some good recommendations . to date none has been endorsed nor implemented and the recommendations are gathering DUST somewhere together with all previous audit reports .
so i guess this committee too will be gathering dust , just like the high powered committee set up to investigate the PKFZ matter.
maybe it is better to attend tean’s birthday party then read and reread news about new committees.
bean are u coming with singh or are u going with salmiah and catherine ?
ilham singh - October 31, 2009 at 11:32 am
” it is not a witch hunt ” – najib
of course not . the witch who got 500 million for 2 subs has gone already.
jim whimpey - October 31, 2009 at 11:38 am
The Parliament, I think, has just approved The Whistleblowers legislation(?). Yes, there will be a lot of whistle blowers, like I used to see on streets when traffic cop were directing traffic. But the traffic one works, but in the case of whistleblowing against those who abuse their authority and power, whistleblowers may end up being hauled up and mauled and traumatised by the MACC.
It is time we introduce a Malaysian Ombudsman. Here is what my colleague Dr Lim Teck Ghee had to say in 2008 on the subject:
“I would like to add my voice to that of others who have argued the need for the establishment of a Malaysian Ombudsman to help heal the deep divides are so clearly splitting our country across race, religious and class lines. Few can deny that we live in unprecedented turbulent times.
The recent controversies over a range of issues covering so many areas of life – economic, education, administration of law and justice, religious, socio-cultural – all tell of an increasing sense of public frustration and of widely held perceptions of a nation that is losing – if it has not already lost – its sense of direction.
There is a grave danger that should we fail to act quickly and decisively, we will not only endanger what we profess to cherish – our unique Malaysian way of life – but also that the country can tip over the brink, and descend into disharmony and harm.
What is common in the dissatisfaction and alienation felt by Malaysians is the sense that there is a lack of redress and absence of recourse for the many troubling disagreements and controversies that are cropping up on an almost daily basis.
Racial and religious issues, in particular, are shunted to the side and ignored or funneled through the normal channels of government and politics that have long proven to be ineffectual or are uninterested in finding remedies.
I believe the establishment of a Malaysia Ombudsman can help to lance the boils of hate and anger erupting all around the country.
Almost 20 years ago, during a time when racial and religious sentiments were less polarized, the first National Economic Consultative Council (Majlis Perundingan Ekonomi Negara) consisting of 150 prominent Malaysians from all walks of life had recommended to the Government the urgency for a paradigm shift in the handling of national unity.
The Council at that time proposed the establishment of a National Unity Advisory Council which would prepare an annual audit of the state of ethnic relations and national unity, and advice Government and the public in this important sphere. The Chairman of the five man steering committee that prepared the consensus NECC report – which included this recommendation – was our present Prime Minister, Pak Lah.
Today, the country needs another paradigm advance in the way we are managing our racial and religious strife. A Malaysian Ombudsman team consisting of three Malaysians who have earned the respect of fellow Malaysians for their integrity, wisdom and ability to rise above their immediate racial and religious affiliation – two from the Peninsular and one from East Malaysia – can be the vital breakthrough in dealing with the many racial and religious issues that bedevil the country.
The office of a National Ombudsman through its handling of complaints and grievances related to race and religion can provide that avenue of redress and help to heal our badly frayed social cohesion.
I am sure there are many good Malaysians who would be more than ready and willing to serve the country in this noble cause of advancing racial and religious peace and harmony. Zaid Ibrahim, Shad Saleem Farouki, Raja Petra Kamarudin, Ramon Navaratnam, Simon Sipaun, Param Coomarasamy, Marina Mahathir, Raja Aziz Addruse, Tunku Abdul Aziz, Chooi Mun Sou, Ngan Ching Wen, Lee Ban Chen, Sim Kwang Yang, K. Arumugam and other Malaysians are well known for their willingness to rise above the ethnic fray in defense of the national well-being.
Can the Government act quickly and make the right decision on this or will we see it engage in further foot-dragging and business as usual – which is do nothing?”
Lim Teck Ghee
Kuala Lumpur
Director, Centre for Policy Initiatives
January 15, 2008
dinobeano - October 31, 2009 at 11:46 am
See how easy Pinkie Lips solves problems. Just form a task force and presto all his problems are solved. Is the PM’s job for sale? I don’t mind bidding. It’s Najib The Task Force henceforth.
Tok Cik - October 31, 2009 at 11:47 am
“Not a witch hunt” – yeah, and you are just ‘tusking’ us with your good intentions. Babirussa style.
Tok Cik, what does a military Task Force do? Perhaps we can compare the method, means and objectives with that civilian-led tusk force?
Menyalak-er - October 31, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Someone once said that “A donkey is a horse built by a committee” and it looks like this PM (Pinkie Mouth) is fond of forming such committees or task forces. There was 1 for the PKFZ fiasco. Then now he wants one for the Auditor-General’s report 2009. This is all a time-delaying tactic and hopefully by the time the task is done, the people have forgotten. This is all to pull the wool over the eyes of the taxpayers and voters… Pinkie Mouth is just getting bolder by the day sweeping things under the carpet.
p.s. Ilham, I notice you cut and paste the same comments you posted in another thread here? Well, you are not doing you job too good, I must say, maybe thats like the other contractors too from UMNO who “cut and paste” and expected to be paid in full, no? Are u not even ashame that people can see thru yr shoddy work? Don’t u guys have a conscience nor know the meaning of shame?
Sentinel - October 31, 2009 at 2:06 pm
sentinel ,
ilham knows the meaning of ” kemaluan besar ” but not shame or ashamed . so bear with him. he may belong to the wrong camp but all the same he tries.
ilham singh - October 31, 2009 at 5:19 pm
not too long ago there were many corridors launched – northern corridor , southern corridor , eastern corridor and god only knows what else.
now it is a task force for the pkfz issue , task force to handle the audit report and i guess there will be many more to come.
but if the recommendations of the ROYAL COMMISSION is not accept and no good reason is given as to why, then what good will come out of these task forces? maybe they will grow tusks !!!
priya rai - October 31, 2009 at 5:26 pm
We are not alone in this business. France is reported by AFP ( SUN 1st October,2009) to have spent Euro 171 Million to kit out the Grand Palais exhibition hall for one day summit.Euro 194,000 for potted plants. Euro 655,00 for air conditioning.Euro 301,00 for conference podium.Euro1,010,000 for end of sumit dinner @Euro 5,00 per head. Euro 245,000 for state of the art for room of the French Leader. Euro 1.00 equals RM5.00. I think that at atime when we are in a Global Financial Crisis all nations should unleash their respective Government Auditors to ensure that when it comes to taxpayer’s money our RM1.00 should be made to work like RM 2.00
Thumb Logic - November 1, 2009 at 4:31 pm