Overkill to get Cabinet to propose action in KLIA ruckus

 

From Walter Sandosam

The government should be highly commended for speedy action and remedial measures taken with regard to the unpleasant episode at KLIA recently involving a minister and officers from the immigration department.

Is such a speedy response to the issue, which was also escalated to the level of the Cabinet, a consequence of a minister being involved for purportedly “barging” in to a security area and “interfering” (or obstructing) officers from the civil service in executing their duties, or could it be due to the person involved who was issued a Not To Land (NTL) notice being the personal assistant of a senior executive of a Chinese television station (with its influence). Perhaps it is a combination of both.

Either way, the positive consequence of this unplanned encounter is that it has unleashed a plethora of immediate changes and initiated investigations on possible “corruption” by certain quarters at the country’s main gateway.

Its effects will be felt by a significant number of visitors to our shores, be it as tourists or approved foreign workers; the latter being often subject to abuse due to unfamiliarity with the local language and norms when all they want to do is to contribute their resource (as labour) to help rebuild our economy in sectors the locals continue to shun.

More respect is due to them.

The question that begs asking is “why does one need the Cabinet” to propose such remedial actions. An overkill!

Rightfully, such matters should have been attended to without prompting by the respective minister-in-charge, department director general (DG) and possibly the respective union heads at local and national level.

It is not acceptable in this day and age to harp on about not following “protocol” and SOPs while allowing inefficiency, ineptitude and possibly to a certain extent corruption and/or abuse of power to become embedded into the system.

The tour industry groups apparently have lamented over the years on what ails the immigration at KLIA, including and not limited to corruption (which incidentally only a small percentage of persons in the civil service have an affinity towards).

What changes have been effected?

After this episode, immediately, only higher-grade officers are allowed to issue NTL. Then there is talk of having a cross-section of officers who are multilingual to facilitate the communication issue.

Surely this could have been done at ground level as it does not involve an amendment to the Federal Constitution. Where were those responsible, who can effect such changes, especially when this purported “culture of corruption” is said to have existed for some time.

Aren’t DGs charged to improve systems and procedures, including digitalisation of processes where appropriate, to enhance delivery systems.

Perhaps the crux is that there is not enough “turun padang” (going down to the field) by superiors who are busy attending perhaps countless (some unproductive) meetings and/or training on less important issues at their offices in Putrajaya.

The chief secretary to the government should look into the DGs.

The prime minister has promised to look into salary adjustments for the civil service when the economy improves. It is up to one to judge the merits of this given the cocoon of safety and comfort that the civil service affords to its citizens.

Surprisingly, the company appointed to handle travellers issued with a NTL is also under scrutiny. Who is responsible for monitoring it – the airline associations who set it up?

On the sidelines and not related, scanners used by the customs department at KLIA are suddenly being speedily repaired. This, notwithstanding self-serving comments alluding that customs officers can “identify” possible non-duty paying passengers just by sight. Then why the scanners. Logic?

In this context, union presidents who are quick to pull the trigger on protocol and “unauthorised entry” to security areas, and intimidation as to lodging of police reports, could expend their efforts to work with the DGs to improve their lot in terms of efficiency and work processes (and being squeaky clean) so that the civil service is a credit to the nation.

After all, it is taxpayer’s money and a major portion of the country’s operating budget goes to pay salaries of the civil service.

Syabas again to the government for the speedy action. In perspective, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should not leave any stone unturned as it investigates.

As a member of the public, who had served on one of the oversight panels of MACC, I share the view that it is imperative to instil fear on the small cohort who give the civil service a bad name. - FMT

Walter Sandosam is a former MACC oversight panel member and an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.