Interesting post. I came across this blog by accident, but it was a good accident. I have now bookmarked your blog for future use. Best wishes. Dubai Prevailing Wind Website Team..

as the predicament we r in with regards to corruption the cantonese has this apt saying roughly sounded like this “chook chong yap see fatt ” ,non de-plume way saying ,using an insect to cause u more misery …. bewarn the literal meaning is too undignified in this august forum….but it does convey the message to bodeks that they r destroying the whole fabric of little civility that we have

Anyone know how much is the Wealth of our Ex PM when he “at the end of it he had to tearfully admit FAILURE.” How corrupted he is when he take those drastic action?

It is a clear pic, but no one do anything about it, and now depend on young people to enter politics to change it, by the time we reach up there, we will be more corrupted than them, cause people will change, everyone will change, no matter how you are. Try lower the salary for minister, then he will get other ways to get those money. I even heard that some minister collect fees when they officiated some program or activities, is this the way Malaysia and Fellow Malaysian are going to,

Anyhow, no wind, no wave.

2)…..Today, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues could decide who they wanted to serve them…..

3)….. Today there is also a blurring of the lines between business and politics. In UMNO, for example, the nexus between politics and business is very strong and it would take years to change the system…….

4)….. Is this a good development? Or should we change that? Can our Prime Minister who wants an effective civil service to implement his RMK9 do that? Has he got the stomach to do change things around and do that somewhat drastically?…….

Dear Din Merican,

I believe ever since the well intentioned ‘affirmative action policy’ was implemented after the May 13, 1969 racial riot, we are headed towards the problems you pointed out above. I do not know to what extent the previous top class civil servants of the 60s and 70s have succeeded or done better than the current crop of civil servants but what I can see is that by the 1980s, to put in your own words….

“……a very determined, brilliant and visionary leader with strong convictions and the best of intentions. Unfortunatelly, he would not tolerate anyone who could be standing in the way of his Vision. As a result, the civil service was “reformed” to serve the CEO of our country. That would be fine if the best and of strong character, not the politically adept, were chosen to head key ministeries…….”

……saw it necessary to change the system.

This brilliant visionary has what you termed, “the stomach to change things around and do that drastically.” I do not think he intentionally put in the politically adept rather than the best and strong of character. So what went wrong? The answer is simple, ‘power corrupts’. So what makes us think that where TDM has failed, our current PM can do any better.

What drastic action can our PM take to change these deeply ingrained mindsets of political patronage? Can we change the greedy nature of human? Will reversing the civil service back to the days of the 60s and 70s bring about a better delivery system? If the system of the 60s and 70s is successful I believe the brave visionary would not have seen the need to change it.

This is the ‘REALITY’ facing Abdullah Badawi. This was the ‘REALITY’ Mahathir faced during his time. He took drastic actions and at the end of it he had to tearfully admit FAILURE.

IS THERE NO HOPE? I say there is hope and this hope lies within ourselves…..in WISDOM….

BE HUMBLE…..
Don’t praise the worthy, and people won’t compete.
Don’t value material wealth, and no one will steal.
Don’t tempt, and no one will crave.

Therefore, when the Sage leads,
She clears our minds and fills our hearts,
Weakens ambitions and strengthens bones.

When you eliminate greed and excess desire,
There can be no evil.

Go with the flow,
And all will be good.

Obviously the players in the politically connected sectrors will protect their turf……

A better way is for the other sector to thrive and grow despite not being “favoured”….. of course, this is a tall order…. but what choice do we have….. unless…. and unless…somebody here can mobilise everybody (or a critical mass) to demand change….

And that is a very difficult thing to do……..as many of us are far removed from the grass-roots i.e. the masses…… laboureres, farmers…workets….ordinary people etc…..

I would say almost impossible to change…….The problem is that this issue is seen as a non-issue….

Terence Gomez wrote a book about it and nothing happened………

Perhaps…there exist some kind of a Boeke’s dualism in the Malaysian economy…. a highly lucrative politically connected sector….which is the place to be… and the non-connected sector…. the place where small people fight for the crumbs…. crumbs…. as the best parts have been skimmed off by those in the politically connected sector….

That explains why people bodek their butts off…just to be in the lucrative sector….

You forget that I am a co-author of this piece. I have been in our country for a greater part of my life where I studied and worked hard. I have seen it all, as they say, especially the sandiwara politics of UMNO, PAS, KeADILan and Barisan Nasional since 1957.

What Dr. Bakri and I are trying to do in this article is to inform our friends and foes alike that bodekism is now pandemic. There is too much spin, no substance. People who we think we can respect (like I do in the case of my dear friend, Prof. AB Shamsul) have apparently sold out.

I am wondering what is the quid pro co? In the case of Datuk Johan Jaafar, I note that he is now Deputy Chairman of Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka. I do not know what is in store for AB Shamsul. Could there be something for him too soon? As for Kamal Khalid, there could be a big role for him when his close associate, Khairy Jamaluddin becomes the next Prime Minister by the time the latter is 40 years old. Kamal is positioning himself for a key role in our country.

The best way for these guys to survive and “cari makan” is to play along, and wait for the next powerful guy to emerge and then condemn the previous leader with impunity. I am afraid the Prime Minister Badawi will suffer the same fate as his illustrious predecessor, Tun Dr. Mahathir, when he is no longer in power.

In the 1960s and 1970s, we had a cadre of top class civil servants who could stand up to their political masters and administer the country with impartiality. The Heads of Government Ministeries were then known as Permanent Secretaries, not Secretary-Generals, that is, they cannot be removed by the Prime Ministers and Cabinet Ministers. There was an effective and independent Civil Service Commission.

But in 1980s all that changed during the previous administration headed a very determined, brilliant and visionary leader with strong convictions and the best of intentions. Unfortunatelly, he would not tolerate anyone who could be standing in the way of his Vision. As a result, the civil service was “reformed” to serve the CEO of our country. That would be fine if the best and of strong character, not the politically adept, were chosen to head key ministeries.

Today, the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues could decide who they wanted to serve them. The Chief Secretary to the Government became Ketua Setiausaha Negara who is, in reality, a Secretary to The Cabinet, no longer Head of an independent civil service. He served at the pleasure of the Prime Minister. In that tradition, powerful Cabinet Ministers like Rafidah Aziz and Samy Velu could decide who among the top civil servants can be Ketua Setiausahas of their respective Ministries.

Is this a good development? Or should we change that? Can our Prime Minister who wants an effective civil service to implement his RMK9 do that? Has he got the stomach to do change things around and do that somewhat drastically? Change of the governance culture is a difficult task at best.

The same thing is happening in our Colleges and Universities, which lost their academic freedom with the introduction of Colleges and Universities Act in the 1980s. Today there is also a blurring of the lines between business and politics. In UMNO, for example, the nexus between politics and business is very strong and it would take years to change the system.

In many ways, I sympathise with Prime Minister Badawi, but my bone of contention is that knowing the challenges and complexities of change, the Prime Minister is promising us more than he can deliver. It is time for him to get real, and I will certainly support his efforts as outlined in the RMK9.

Let us put an end of this “feel good factor”, face reality, and focus what is required to get our country moving forward in a very competitive global environment.

Thanks.

Welcome to the ‘no spin’ zone.

If you wish to opine, e-mail me at nomeentine nomeentine nomeetine@bakrimusa.com

Do not be truculent, it hurts me.

..and no bloviating! That’s my job.

Remember, the spin stops here!