Frankly, they don't care a damn
What was much-touted as a tourist attraction—the Paya Indah Wetlands—is now one of the many standing monuments of lack of foresight, extravagance, and above all, mismanagement.
It joins a long list of other million-ringgit projects which have fallen by the wayside. Our hard-earned money—RM68 million—has gone down the drain, and yet, no one cares a damn. It is a sad reflection of how much the government in office understood the terminology it used three years ago when seeking a fresh mandate from the people.
Didn't we, the people give it a thumping mandate on the promise that it would practise "transparency, accountability and openness"? Didn't we embrace the "New Order" which "sold" good governance as its guiding principle and motto? Shouldn't the former CEO be asked to account for the money?
Let's see what RM68 million would have gotten us:
Upgrading a few dozen klinik desa with modern equipment;
At RM25,000 a piece, we could have bought 2,720 dialysis machines and cut the queues at our public hospitals;
We could have renovated and upgraded hundreds of schools, which are in dire need of repairs;
If that money had been spent on scholarships, by now we would have about 100 qualified doctors;
But then, who cares if individuals and corporations rip us off? Who cares if our army pays RM3.50 for a packet of instant noodles or if it costs RM170 to paint a box for a parking bay? Yes, the Auditor-General has pointed out many of the excesses and the blatant disregard for rules, which border on criminality, but after his reports are tabled in Parliament, what happens? Nothing. Instead, some of those implicated are promoted and given special awards for their "dedication" to the service. Laughable? Yes, but who cares?
During the financial crisis of 1997, I was invited by the university alumni in England to discuss how Malaysian students could be helped, in view of the depreciation of the ringgit. At that meeting, one of the senior lecturers quipped: "Malaysian students don't need help. Just look out of the window and you can see the BMWs and Mercs that belong to them."
Yes, we gave study loans to thousands of Malaysians to further their studies, but we are unable to recoup the money. When you read the names of the defaulters, among them were many who drove around in the fancy cars while we walked in the harsh winter from our rented rooms to campus. Yet, we are unable to compel these students to repay their loans. Can it be done? Yes, the powers-that-be have the power but don't seem to have the will and determination to collect what rightly belongs to the people.
Two years ago, the Transport Ministry set up the Road Safety Department (and with a huge budget) to among other things, carry out safety campaigns. Despite being aware of it, the Treasury disbursed RM2.6 million to the Automobile Association of Malaysia (AAM) to duplicate the department's efforts.
Was it wrong? Yes, but does anyone care? Does anyone in the Treasury want to know how the money was spent? Even if part of the money was used to supposedly buy computers, it would be morally wrong. Can the Treasury check? Yes, but will it?
And RM2.6 million could have been used to replace some of the obsolete equipment at our hospitals.
Yes, the catalogue of shame, deceit and crooked deals has been chronicled in this column previously, but does anyone care? Don't expect any miracles unless you are in a make-belief world.
Then again, RM2.6 million is small change compared to what the sports ministry is paying as "bidding fee" to host a non-significant soccer tournament.
Does anyone care? Yes, but those sitting in their air-conditioned offices do not want to come down from their pedestals to question this colossal waste of public funds. Can the ministry justify such expenditure? Yes. It's part of Visit Malaysia Year! But these days, if you dig a hole in front of your house, fill it with water and throw in a few guppies, it will become a tourist attraction and there'll be a host of VIPs lining up to launch it.
Speaking of tourism, even the local councils and their little Napoleons have wasted no time in riding on the wave and the Klang Municipal Councillor, Alex Thiagarasan is a pioneer.
Residents of houses along Jalan Teluk Gadong in Klang are protesting against having a 14-storey hospital ( yes, it will get mention in that book of records!) in their neighbourhood. Instead of making a rational decision based on the concerns of the residents, Thiagarasan argues that such a project will boost "medical tourism". And his clincher was: "The quality of medical treatment and service proposed by the investors has the potential to put Klang on the world map in terms of medical tourism."
Yes, we all know that the medical profession cannot advertise or promote their services. But when a councillor becomes a spokesman, the less said the better.
The next time a politician or a bureaucrat talks about accountability and transparency, you can do one of the following:
Laugh it off
Take it with a pinch of salt
Ask him what that means
Buy him a good dictionary as his birthday gift
All of the above
If all else fails, you can help those leaders who suffer from short memories by presenting them with a compilation of newspaper reports to remind them of all the wonderful promises they had made to the public.
R. Nadeswaran is deputy editor (special reporting) at theSun. He can be reached at citizen-nades@thesundaily.com
