Wednesday 19 September 2007

Three Reasons Why Malaysians Should NOT Vote this UMNO-Led Govt in the Coming General Election

From Malaysiakini: Read here article by KJ John

by

Dr. K.J. John
(Dr. K.J. John was the Vice-President of IT Policy Development of the Malaysian Institute of Microelectronic systems (MIMOS) and headed the National IT Council (NITC) directorate. MIMOS is a government-owned company, which also provides the National Secretariat for ICT policy, strategy and development in Malaysia. Before joining MIMOS, K.J. John was the Director for Industrial Policy with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and undertook the Second Industrial Master Plan for Malaysia. He has worked in public service for 29 years. He was National Director for the Global Knowledge Partnership (GKII) event hosted in Malaysia in March 2000. He served on the Technical Advisory Panel for the World Bank InfoDev program. He holds a doctorate in Organization and Management Theory from the George Washington University in Washington, DC.)

Excerpts: Read HERE for more

" THREE reasons for voting DOWN the Government of the day regardless of whom they put as their representative in my parliamentary and state constituencies are:

  1. The issue of leadership integrity.

    I voted for the Pak Lah government at the last general election and even convinced all my friends to do so, simply because I believed in Pak Lah and all the promises he made.

    He has NOT delivered on many of his promises. Granted, five years is not enough, but surely the political will and intent will be visible by now, if there is any.

    I do not see it yet, having served as a government servant of 32 years.

    Neither UMNO at the highest level nor MCA at the grassroots level (in my constituency) gives me confidence that Pak Lah, given another five years will and can make a difference.

    The gap between his espoused theory and his theory-in-use is far too great for me to give him another chance, at least in this election.

    Maybe the next one: if we can send a clear and unequivocal message about what we think of his “integrity agenda,” through this coming election.

  2. My representatives at the grass-roots level have let me down.
    During the 1999 elections, I brought both the Adun and my then future MCA MP to review the situation of the “rape of the green lung in my neighborhood.”

    Alas, the government cronies did what they wanted to do; they raped our 30-year-old green lung without even a proper hearing.

    In fact, one Adun and state executive councilor who chaired an informal meeting arranged by my friends at the Petaling Jaya land office even made some false and empty promises.

    Today they have destroyed the green lung in the name of development and our children are becoming ‘Mat Rempits’ and we do not understand why.

    Sorry, MCA representatives, even if Mr Ong Ka Ting personally appeals to me, I CANNOT vote one of yours as YOU are part of the problem.

  3. The local governance is at its worst ever.

    How can the government of the day be arbitrary in the “governance of the public spaces of life?”

    While Citizen Nades has been fighting through writing (exercising the power of the pen), it appears to no avail. The funeral parlour continues without fear or favor. The advertisement billboards and the arbitrary ways of setting them clearly smells of corruption and abuse of the rule of law.

    What bothers me is that if Nades dares to write so much, always claiming to have the facts and figures (and he is also a lawyer by training),

    - Why is there lethargy when it comes to “enforcement and investigation?”

    - Why do the enforcement authorities fear to meet with him and take him seriously?

    There may be many things to hide!
For the Future

Finally, having been a Government Officer myself, I would have loved to work with (not for) Pak Lah on the integrity and corruption issues and problems.

Honestly, one does not have to be brilliant to get that simple job done.

Tan Sri JG Daniel, who passed away recently, did that without fanfare, to everyone’s knowledge. Just simply understand the real issues and focus on getting the job done.

But, very few senior government officers appear to have really and fully understood this.

Please use the law to highlight the issues under your charge and take action under the law. Almost every public policy issue is covered by public law.

Even as “controlling officers,” (or, chief financial officers, if you may) you have all the necessary legal authority to do what is right.

In fact, the current Chief Secretary, the Auditor- General and the new ACA chief appear to be rare examples of this model of doing right by the law. They know fully that even ministers are under the law, and therefore can be investigated.

Frankly, I am amused that the Minister of Youth and Sports could direct the secretary-general to “overspend his budget.”

Where in the Financial Procedures Act do we find such provisions assigned to the minister?

Can someone explain?

To my knowledge, only the Parliament has the authority to approve supplementary budgetary allocations, and not even the cabinet.

So, to me it was a breath of fresh air that the ACA chief was quoted as saying he can investigate and take action against ministers, based on the Auditor-General’s Report. That gives me some confidence but let us watch this wayang kulit before believing what has been said.

Consequently, unless I see an independent candidate like Raja Petra Kamarudin or Zaid Ibrahim or even Tunku Aziz standing in my kawasan for issues related to Constitutional integrity, rule of law, greater accountability and transparency, I am sorry, Mr Government, but THIS time YOU do NOT deserve my vote.

I pray that you learn a serious lesson about arrogance of authority and the lack of civility.

Furthermore, this action is also for the future of our children and grand children in Malaysia, and for a longer term sustainable multi-racial Malaysia.

God Bless Malaysia over next 50 years.

Happy 44th Malaysia Day!

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