8/14/2019 TheSun 2009-11-02 Page05 Pm My Right to Appoint
Minister
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newswithout borders5theSun | MONDAY NOVEMBER 2 2009
by Husna [email protected]
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri NajibAbdul Razak said it is his
prerogative asthe premier to appoint a minister andthis right
should not be questioned.
Explaining the reason for appointingGerakan president Tan Sri Dr
Koh TsuKoon as a Minister in the Prime Minis-ters Department, he
said he made thedecision after considering the countrysfuture.
I appointed Koh as a ministerbecause I appreciate Gerakans role.
Iwant the voice of Gerakan members tobe heard by the
government.
I want this appointment to be a partof Gerakans recovery
process. Dontquestion it. Its my right as the PM, hesaid when
opening Gerakans 38th Na-tional Delegates Conference yesterday.
In his speech Najib said he has tomake decisions in the interest
of BarisanNasional (BN) as he is not only Umnopresident but also BN
chairman.
Im not only the PM for the Malaysbut PM for all Malaysians.
Thats why Imade that decision. I see it as a whole, Ilook at the
countrys future, he said.
He said he has entrusted Koh, togeth-er with Datuk Idris Jala,
to be in chargeof the National Key Results Areas andKey Performance
Index because he is aPrinceton graduate, he can think.
Last week, Sri Gading MP back-bencher Datuk Mohamad Aziz called
onKoh and MCA president Datuk Seri OngTee Keat to quit their
ministerial postsas they are not wanted by the people.
Najib said BN accepted the warninggiven by the people in last
years generalelection and was willing to change andcorrect itself
in order to prove the criticswrong and maintain BN as a
relevantparty.
He reminded Gerakan members tohave the courage of conviction,
self-be-lief and resilience so that the party canbe revived and
re-emerge as a dynamicparty.
If you believe in what you do, in
what you stand for, in the struggle, youcan overcome all
challenges and dif-ficulties, he said.
Commenting on the opposition,Najib said people do not trust them
asthey are not truly multi-racial and arefull of problems.
They talk about having a dual partysystem but they dont even
know howto form a shadow cabinet. Who is theirfinance minister or
defence minister?None. They are afraid, he said.
He reminded BN component partiesto put their house in order and
solvetheir internal problems, saying changesmust not only take
place at the front linebut also at party level.
We all must reflect the change. Itis like a moving train. It
cannot be justthe locomotive moving, everybody elsemust move
together. Gerakan, MCA,MIC, PPP and all other parties.
So, if there are internal problems,solve them quickly.
Strengthen the BN.Have the courage of conviction, hesaid.
Gerakan callsfor review of
repressive lawsKUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan has called on thegovernment
to review the Internal Security Act1960 and other laws deemed
repressive suchas the Printing Presses and Publications
Act1984.
The delegates at the partys nationaldelegates conference
yesterday said theselaws need to be revised, overhauled, repealedor
replaced to conform to human rights anddemocratic values.
They also declared that the right to assemblepeacefully should
be granted to the peoplebased on the freedom of assembly and for
theFederal Constitution be upheld, protected anddefended by all
Malaysians.
On education, they called for entry examina-tions for all public
universities to be standardisedto encourage genuine
meritocracy.
Meritocracy should also be practised in
employment and promotion in the public sectorand public
universities, they said in the declara-tion of the resolution which
was unanimouslypassed by the delegates.
The delegates also declared the concept of1Malaysia should be
promoted, realised andused as a guide for formulating
governmentpolicies and programmes and a means to fur-ther
strengthen national unity.
They called for greater efforts by the policeto combat crime and
to improve the forcescapacity and effectiveness.
On economy, delegates called for furtherliberalisation to
improve its competitivenessand resilience, as well as for the
national andministerial Key Results Areas be accorded prior-ity in
the 2010 Budget and 10th Malaysia Plan.
On sustainable development, green tech-nology and related
industries, the delegatessaid they should be promoted and realised
toconserve and preserve the countrys environ-ment.
On Gerakan itself, the delegates called forreform and
rejuvenation within the party to beintensified to ensure it remains
relevant.
Najib beinggreeted byGerakanadviser TunDr Lim KengYaik
(secondfrom right)and Koh(third fromleft) afteropening
theconferenceyesterday asvice-presidentDatukChang KoYoun (right)and
deputypresidentDatuk MahSiew Keong(left) look on.
PM: My right to appoint minister
by Alyaa [email protected]
PETALING JAYA: The governmentsproposal to cut the period of
com-pulsory service for new doctorsin government hospitals from
thepresent three years to two has ironi-cally reopened a sore
point, especiallyamong parents who spent a fortunesending their
children overseas to domedicine.
In fact, the proposal by the HealthMinistry to the Malaysian
MedicalCouncil was made in response to
requests from parents who sacrificeda great deal to fund their
childrensmedical studies, which represent themost expensive further
educationcourse.
As a parent with two children goingthrough their medical degrees
over-seas, Dr Sarjeet Sidhu, 63, a privateobstetrician and
gynaecologist basedin Ipoh, said that while there shouldbe no
argument regarding compul-sory service for students educated
onpublic funds through scholarships, itis unfair to apply the same
conditionsfor those who are self-funded.
Im actually glad that the MOHis proposing a reduction in the
yearsof compulsory service. Director-gen-eral of Health Tan Sri Dr
Mohd IsmailMerican is on the right track withthis one, said
Sarjeet, whose twodaughters went on a twinning degreeprogramme to
help reduce their cost
of study.The fact that the cost of studying
medicine abroad is an astronomicalamount and a burden for most
isundeniable, he added.
For example, a six-year medicine
course in the United Kingdom will costparents more than RM1
million.
The compulsory service require-ment is on top of the two-year
house-manship that was designed to providefresh graduates with
supervisedpractical training in six medical disci-plines general
medicine, paediatrics,surgery, orthopaedics, obstetrics
andgynaecology, and emergency medicinewith four months in each
posting.
For those who studied abroad,the housemanship period also
servedto familiarise them with local condi-tions.
The compulsory service period,first introduced under the
MedicalAct 1971, on the other hand was toensure that the public
sector hasenough doctors to man their hospitalsand clinics.
Shortage of doctors particularly inthe public sector has been an
ongo-ing concern for the government andit acts as the basis for
implementationof compulsory service.
If the proposal is implemented, thiswould mean all new graduates
wouldhave to serve in the governmentfor a period of four years
instead offive at the present two years as ahouseman and two years
as a medicalofficer.
This is one of the reasons whysome medical graduates refuse
toreturn from overseas. They want thefreedom to choose which
hospitalthey work for to further their medical
career, as well as to make decentincome proportionate to the
amountspent on their course.
Malaysian Medical Association(MMA) president Dr David Quek,
insupporting the MOH proposal, said a
reduced compulsory service periodwill enable more doctors to
choosewhether to venture into privategeneral practice or to
specialise amove that would significantly boosttheir income.
We respect that many parentshave invested heavily into
ensuringthat their children go through therigours of medical
education which ispossibly the most expensive courseworldwide, said
Quek, adding that itwould take another four to eight yearsof
post-graduate studies on top of thebasic six years course if the
doctors
chose to become a specialist.It will be a win-win experience
for all and hopefully the public will bebetter served, he
said.
Although we understand the ra-tionale and necessity of extending
thehousemanship training to two years,we also feel that keeping
them boundto the MOH for too long is also stress-ful for some
doctors, said Quek.
However, Quek said there arearound 2,000 to 2,500 new
doctorsjoining the service every year and itmay soon overwhelm both
the privateand public sector health services.
A serious glut of medical gradu-ates may in the near future
causeunemployment or underemploymentand possibly a lowering of
standardsdue to inability to train or apprenticethese going
graduates, he said.
Working over 90 hours a weekover long stretches without
sleep
and under challenging conditions ashousemen and medical officers
inthe public sector have made the sig-nificant difference in terms
of incomebetween the public and private sectoreven more
apparent.
KUALA LUMPUR: Strategy 11388.Gerakan will capitalise on
thisstrategy, which it formulated twoyears ago and is now updated
withelements of 1Malaysia, to continueto remain relevant.
Party president Tan Sri Dr Koh TsuKoon, who announced this at
Ger-akans annual convention yesterday,outlined the strategy as:1 -
One vision1 - One mission3 - Three core thrusts8 - Eight
strategies8 - Eight main areas
A booklet on the new versionof Strategy 11388 was launched
byPrime Minister Datuk Seri Najib TunRazak at the convention.
Koh said among the approachesGerakan would take were
maintain-ing its multi-racial stance in all itspolicies, acting as
a voice of reason
in the BN and support BN reforms be-sides playing the role of a
proactiveopposition in non-BN ruled states.
Others included reinforcing itspeople-centric policies besides
col-laborating with non-governmentalorganisations in specific areas
likehuman rights, environment andeducation.
Koh, who is also Minister in thePrime Ministers Department,
saidthe party was making concertedefforts to increase its
membership,especially in Sabah and was increas-ing activities at
the grassroots levelto put the party back on a strongfooting.
He thanked Najib for his supportfor him and said it motivated
him towork even harder for the party andall Malaysians.
Some 1,400 delegates attendedthe two-day convention. Bernama
Party leaders defend kohKUALA LUMPUR: Gerakan leadershave come
out in full force to defendtheir president Tan Sri Dr Koh TsuKoon,
who was heavily criticised bySri Gading MP Datuk Mohamad
Azizrecently.
Party vice-president Datuk Dr TengHock Nan said it was
unbecoming ofa Barisan Nasional MP to criticise thepresident of a
component party.
His action amounts to insult-ing Gerakan as he is criticising
ourpresident. I suggest we write tohim to express our objection to
hisstatement and demand an apology,he said in his winding up speech
atGerakans 38th National Delegates
Conference yesterday.Deputy president Datuk Chang Ko
Youn brushed aside allegations thatKoh was a weak and soft
leader.
I have worked with him for over20 years. It is not true that he
is softor weak. When it comes to a matterof principle he will stand
firm on hisprinciple. He is the right person to leadour party to
success.
Gerakan Youth chief Lim Si Pin inhis winding-up criticised the
delegatesfor their poor attendance during its as-sembly on
Saturday. Only 38% of thedelegates were present and severalState
Youth chiefs were absent, hesaid.
Compulsory service a sore point Party to use 11388 to stay
relevant
BERNAMAPIX
