Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Wishy-washy Ministerial Replies

Among the items raised during my Budget speech earlier in parliament was the issue of the dozens of hanky-panky items brought up by the Auditor-General on an annual basis. One of the "highlights" this year for 2008 is the purchase of pole-platforms worth RM990 by the Miri Industrial Training Centre (ILP) under the purview of the Human Resources Ministry for RM30,000 each. And at the Kepala Batas ILP, a cabinet worth RM1,200 was purchase for RM13,500.

The Minister of Human Resources responded during the budget policy stage winding up debate last Wednesday, by saying a "task force" has been set up and the cases will be investigated (as usual).
Menteri Sumber Manusia [Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam]: Terima kasih Tuan Yang di-Pertua. Terlebih dahulu saya mengucapkan terima kasih kepada Ahli-ahli Yang Berhormat, yang telah memberi perhatian terhadap beberapa isu yang membabitkan Kementerian Sumber Manusia. Yang Berhormat Permatang Pauh dan Yang Berhormat Petaling Jaya Utara telah membangkitkan isu-isu berkenaan dengan Laporan Ketua Audit Negara dan kementerian telah mengambil maklum mengenai teguran Ketua Audit Negara tersebut dan kita akan mengkaji perkara ini melalui mengkaji proses perolehan peralatan dan kelengkapan ILP supaya perkara seperti ini tidak berulang di masa hadapan.

Kementerian pada masa yang sama telah menubuhkan sebuah jawatankuasa siasatan
bagi mengenal pasti sekiranya terdapat unsur-unsur penyelewengan atau kecuaian dalam proses tersebut. Sekiranya terbukti wujud unsur-unsur tersebut, tindakan yang sewajarnya akan diambil oleh mereka yang bertanggungjawab. [...]
I wasn't satisfied, and I stood to ask for more details. Surely if you have set up a task force (note the use of "telah"), the Minister should at least be able to tell us who the members of the task force are. Of course, we wanted to know how long the investigations will take.
Tuan Tony Pua [Petaling Jaya Utara]: Sedikit sahaja soalan. Pasukan bertugas yang akan membuat siasatan itu, siapakah yang akan buat siasatan - the membership, siapa yang akan dipilih dan apakah masa yang akan diambil sebab saya nampak perkara ini bagi kementerian ini agak senang sebab pembelian pole platform harga asal RM990, dia beli RM30. Itu adalah obvious, jadi berapa lama akan diambil? Terima kasih.
But what you get is the "standard" replies once again - errr... "high ranking officials will be appointed" and investigations will be completed "as soon as possible".
Datuk Dr. S. Subramaniam: Ya, saya terima pandangan bahawa apa yang berlaku itu tidak betul tetapi apa yang menjadi isunya ialah mengapa ia berlaku? Adakah ianya kerana sistem yang ada telah membolehkan perkara-perkara itu berlaku supaya kita kaji dan memperbaiki sistem ini supaya tidak berlaku pada masa akan datang, atau ada isu daripada manusia di dalam segi penyelewengan atau ada kecuaian.

Ini ialah apa yang disiasat dan akan dibuat oleh pegawai-pegawai yang tinggi di dalam
kementerian saya sendiri dan kita akan buat di dalam satu jangka masa yang pendek kerana seperti Yang Berhormat beritahu ini bukan satu perkara yang tidak jelas.. Seperti Yang Berhormat maklum, kita mahu mendapat satu penyelesaian kepada isu ini, kerana kita semua mempunyai pandangan yang sama iaitu perkhidmatan di dalam kerajaan memang telus dan terbuka. Okey.
Sigh. I didn't bother pursuing the question this time round, since it was obvious that the Minister was making it up as he goes along.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Its interesting that Najib is letting these idiots mouth nonsense but at the same time, he is actually made moves to change some fundamentals of the rhetorics like removing BTN, setting mediation council for religious matters, more transparency in purchasing.. etc..

Instead of leading the change in rhetorics, his plans to structurally change it and spinning the hell out of those changes. This way, he does not have to face down the rhetorics and he is betting that Malaysian voters are just a generous lot to BN.

At the most optimistic, he makes some gains against the opposition, at the worst, he slows down the opposition gain. In other words, no real fundamental change, just changes at peripherals.

Its to be expected given his mediocrity. Its to be expected given the ENTIRE leadership of BN. Those who yearn for fundamental change e.g., those cotemplating migration, can forget it.

Unknown said...

In fact these Topsy-turvy high prices mark-upping reported by AG audit was happening long time ago when new economic policy was implemented as constitutional law provides specification financial privileges to Malay ethnic.
But past is past, harm and hurt was done, it's no necessary to bring it back again to debate it importunately.
Whereby, after so many years have passed by, these fishy donkey marking up the purchases of prices shouldn't be allowed to happen again. Government should concern about these unhealthy practices must immediately take appropriate action to cease it going on happening again and again. It is too obvious that people are conspicuously exposed to be dunce and boor. What for we elected those opposition lawmakers to seat in parliament to check on the government conducted its duties? This is to balance its improper management that government will be careful enough to run this country not going into the sea of trouble and problem again and again. We people pay for the expenses to uplift the government running its operation with good care. We wish those elected representatives from either party should behave themselves and work properly with accordance and conscience.
In our country, we have monarchies, we have parliament lawmakers as well as superb fitted law to set rules and regulations, we are not supposed to go right ahead to darkness of backwardness with under development that makes people live under miserable poverty and lack contentment. With full of expectation, these are what we do not want to see. We want to see the endorsed government does its works tactfully upright the wrong perception of embezzling national wealth by some crooked officials sucking their personal beneficiary gain to hurt the national financial stability.
We cannot see those elected representatives getting richer and richer and the people get poorer and poorer. The gap between rich and poor will get wider. Society will be unease and looming to instability. Rate of criminal will definitely increase to its intolerable level.
Do we want to see this? Of course, we don't want it.

dheep said...

actually this is not the first time that BN ministers have wriggled their way out of difficult questions to answer.

Perhaps we should keep a tab and ask them again in the next sitting.

good job you are doing YB Tony~