8/14/2019 TheSun 2009-10-16 Page12 Heed the Messages of
Change
1/1
I AGREE with Discretion is the creator of prob-lems
(CitizenNades, Oct 7). When discretionarypowers are given to civil
servants there is alwaysthe risk of abuse.
The way forward is for processes to be simpli-fied and made
transparent and the procedures and
time-lines to be clearly established.Incomprehensibly, the
approving authorities inMalaysia are neither accountable nor
responsiblefor their approvals. If that is the case, I advocatethat
such approvals should be changed to pre-scriptive procedures. All
conditions that needto be complied with should be established
andpublished. The applicants and the relevant pro-fessionals where
necessary should be made todeclare that the submissions complied
with all theprescribed conditions.
A period of say 14 days should be given to theauthorities
accepting the application to respond;if there is no response the
application is deemedapproved. If the application and declarations
arewrong, a re-submission fee should be imposed toensure that the
second declaration is true.
To complement this system, there must be
mechanisms to handle discretionary considera-
tions. This should be deliberated at a senior leveland ideally
be considered by a committee.Furthermore, the authorities have
enforcement
powers and the right to withdraw any licence andapproval if the
conditions are flouted.
This leads to renewals. Licences should berenewed upon payment
of renewal fees. Theauthorities can withdraw the licence later if
thelicensee flouts the conditions of the licence andrefuses to
remedy such transgressions.
There are also situations where a businesslicence has expired
but the renewal is pendingand the operators live in fear of being
harassedand threatened with closure. A perfect recipe
forcorruption.
Zhang CGVia email
[email protected]
t h e s u n s a y s
speak up!12 theSun | FRIDAY OCTOBER 16 2009
Managing Editor: Chong Cheng HaiConsultant Editor: Zainon
AhmadExecutive Editor: Lee Boon SiewDeputy Editor: Patrick
Choo(Production),Editor: R. Nadeswaran (Special Reporting and
Investiga-tions)
General Manager, Advertising and Marketing:Charles PetersSenior
Manager, Production: Thomas KangSenior Manager, Distribution
Channels:Joehari Abdul Jabbar
Tel (Editorial) : 03-7784 6688Fax: 03-7785 2624/5Email:
[email protected]
Tel (Advertising) : 03-7784 8888Fax: 03-7784 4424Email:
[email protected]
TELLING IT AS IT IS
Heed the messages of changeUMNO Youth chief Khairy
Jamaluddinsmaiden speech at the partys generalassembly on Wednesday
is a far cryfrom his rhetoric at last years assem-
bly which seemed to pander to thegallery and alienate Malaysians
whohave had enough of shallow politicianswho thrive on the race
card.
Right-thinking Malaysians shouldembrace the Youth chiefs call
for theaspirations of 1Malaysia to be recog-nised where ones
ethnicity, religionand background must not be a factorin an
individuals success.
Khairy uttered the words whichwere on the tip of the tongue of
manyMalaysians for a long time when hesaid that the national agenda
shouldnot be based on the narrow conceptof Malay dominance but
instead onMalay leadership. However, judgingby the muted response
of the wingsdelegates, the Youth chief seems tobe alone in his call
for Pemuda to re-form and be all-encompassing of thenations
multi-ethnicity. This does notaugur well for the party which is
trying
to gain lost ground following the shockelection results of last
year.In perspective, what is discussed
at the Youth stage could be evenmore important than the
presidentialspeech as it is a peek into what thefuture holds for
the ruling party andMalaysians in general.
As Prime Minister Datuk Seri MohdNajib Abdul Razak stressed in
his own
maiden presidential speech yesterday,Umno embraces Malaysians
irrespec-tive of colour or creed.
That the general assembly is end-
ing a day before Deepavali can beperceived as holding out the
olivebranch to the Hindu community whowere slighted that last years
assemblywas held on the Festival of Lights.
Khairy was spot-on when he saidUmno cannot rely on hollow
rhetoricand methods that only capture mo-mentary media attention
and panderto the emotions of party members.
His developing maturity and ac-ceptance that Umno must change
ordie hopefully stirred something in thehearts of the next
generation of lead-ers which is duty-bound to continuewith the
sound policies of the presentleadership.
But while Malaysians applaud andtake comfort from the softening
stanceemanating from the rostrums of DewanTun Hussein Onn, there is
a restraineddiscomfort that many delegates arefinding it hard to
come to terms with
Umnos perceived new direction.Whether they like it or not,
theyshould take heed of the advice of theirparty president that
Umno must beseen as an inclusive party which putthe peoples
interests at the forefront.Otherwise, with the new political
cli-mate and new breed of voters, fearsthat Umno is on its last lap
may ringtrue.
PKFZ probe must go onCONTINUITYin PKFZ probe crucial
(Down2Earth,
Oct 13) refers. PKFZ is not an MCA issue for DatukSeri Ong Tee
Keat to own and seek justice for allbut is a Malaysian issue where
the peoples moneyhas been siphoned off by corrupt politicians
andbusinessmen; yet, why have the rest of our politicalleaders
chosen to remain silent over the scandaland distance themselves
from it?
The cheerleaders who celebrated MCA EGMsvote of no-confidence on
Ong were probablybehind the third force that ultimately decided
the
outcome of the EGM. After this lesson dished out
to Ong for trying to be gung-ho in trying to exposethe truth
behind the scandal, do you think the nexttransport minister or for
that matter anybody elsein the cabinet would want to deal with
PKFZ?
Will your paper carry on this battle on behalf ofall Malaysians
who want to see justice served andbring the people behind the
scandal to book?
KalaiVia email
Reduce discretionary powers
Right-thinkingMalaysiansshouldembracethe Youthchiefs callfor
theaspirationsof1Malaysiato berecognisedwhereonesethnicity,religion
and
backgroundmust notbe a factorin anindividualssuccess.
