YOURSAY | Time to go after those who waste public funds

YOURSAY | ’Change to this endemic slackness and corruption will not happen overnight.’

COMMENT | AG’s report continues to be catalogue of shame

Kilimanjaro: We can blame the civil servants, we can blame the ministries, we can blame the contractors, and we can blame the whole world, but this blame should be posted on the door of the prime minister’s office. At the end of the day, "if the head rots, what much can be said of the tail".

This shows that we have been having useless prime ministers who prefer to "close one eye". How irritating can it be and can become when the report card flashes a great score? Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been talking fervently and seriously about the state of corruption and the earnest desire to stop it.

Desire alone will not get the job done. There must be a will and above all, he must "walk the talk". If the past reports and former auditor-general Ambrin Buang’s comments are to be considered seriously, then it does not take a minute to write off past prime ministers as having failed this test - failed to walk the talk.

In a way that reminds us of comedians, the Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Zuki Ali had directed the public services department to take immediate action against the annual leakages and wastage of public funds revealed in the recently published Auditor-General’s Report. This shows a poor and weak leader who seems to rush after the horse after it had bolted. Is he fit for the job?

Heading a civil service that consists of offenders year after year, he should have already in place measures to prevent these recurring. So, when are we going to see the report card from the chief secretary? Based on this latest report, it will not be a good report card for him. Hopefully, he will wake up before the horse bolts again.

Politicians come and go. So I would not hasten to point fingers at politicians. A subservient civil service and one that is far from being professional as incorrectly claimed by the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) president Adnan Mat, the head of the civil service, Mohd Zuki Ali lacks the leadership to head such a large entity.

Blame it on anything and anyone but the buck stops at his doorstep. Essentially, the Auditor-General’s Report is the report card of the chief secretary, and it doesn't look good, isn’t it?

Newday: Is it blind hope to suggest that within five years, the annual Auditor-General’s Report will present a vastly different outcome than currently? Change to this endemic slackness and corruption will not happen overnight. There are many established vested interests involved in the 20 to 30 percent leakage and wastage.

They will fight to retain the gravy train. Anwar has spoken many good words in his short term in office and is hoping that action is louder than his current words. It won’t be easy as heads must roll and accountability for actions or lack of them must be at the forefront. All I know is that if we hadn’t changed government in November 2022, the status quo would have remained.

Kudos to the auditor-general and the department for reporting without fear or favour for many years in what has been until now an extremely thankless task. May your future be a brighter one.

Headhunter: There doesn't seem to be any follow-up after each annual report. That is the cause of the same malady repeating each year with the same apathy shown by those who are bestowed with the power to prosecute. We are talking about, in most cases, corruption by our public institutions. It's the “rakyat's” money. The auditor-general should be given the power to prosecute by parliament.

Koel: Ambrin Buang said that the punitive measures, such as fines, transfers and wage cuts, are no longer realistic as punishment for those who do not respond appropriately to the recommendations in the report.

When will we get civil servants and leaders that say - to quote a former US leader -"The buck stops here!".

Anwar, you have the catalogue of shame. RM 57 million taxpayer money was lost by little Napoleons either through incompetence or corruption. Neither should be tolerated, and such civil servants should be removed immediately from decision-making duties - even if you don't dare to sack them or suspend them.

This yearly news of leakages is abhorrent to citizens who are simply struggling to survive and trying to use funds like the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to do so. Do something. Honour the people's struggles. How much longer do we watch arrogant little Napoleons behaving like this?

PurpleHare0843: So here is the excuse Anwar has been waiting for to trim the civil service. Investigate every “ikan jerung” (sharks and “ikan bilis” (small fry), and get rid of the guilty. Save leakages, reduce civil service costs and improve your credibility at the same time.

There should be no excuses. Not transfer or demote or terminate. Prosecute! As far as I'm concerned, stealing from “rakyat” after you have taken an oath to serve is treason, and they should be hanged! As long as crooked politicians appoint crooked leaders into civil service, the rot will not stop. So, Anwar, we are waiting.

MatTelur: Given the state of the country, and especially its demographic makeup, nothing is going to change. The rot and the cancer are too far deep for there to be any meaningful reform. This is why the upper middle and upper classes will continue sending their kids to private schools and overseas education with the hope they escape the black hole that we're stuck in.

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