KLIA incident shameful, unions’ ostrich mentality regrettable

 

From Walter Sandosam

News of recent events at KLIA involving a minister and certain immigration officers is indeed a most shameful and disgraceful episode which has tarnished the reputation of the country. This is irrespective of the outcome of any investigation to be carried out.

It brings us to the forefront again the stain of corruption on the Malaysian environment, despite the country’s leaders repeatedly saying it will not be tolerated.

Malaysia’s standing on the Corruption Perception Index has been moving steadily south. Enforcement agencies and certain government departments, especially those with a high level of interaction with the public, have been identified as hotspots in the fight against corruption.

The immediate reaction of two public sector union heads is most regrettable. It appears that they have succumbed to the ostrich mentality of sticking their heads into the sand.

Corruption in the public sector needs to be addressed — and addressed speedily — given the negative image it casts not only on those who serve in the public sector but also the nation as a whole.

Union leaders should appreciate that they do not have a limited duty to only “protect” their members from allegations.

They also have a duty to the nation to help weed out the small percentage of corrupt civil servants who are tarnishing the image of a sizeable majority of civil servants who are far from corrupt.

This majority are, by all measures, executing their duties with due diligence and care to protect the assets of the nation.

The initial reaction by the unionists was to investigate the other party on “breach of SOPs and not following protocol”. The word “protocol” is the most irritating for the public to contend with.

On protocol, it was suggested to report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), conveniently forgetting that it is reported that the minister was accompanied by officers from the ministry’s integrity unit.

Is truth being sacrificed in the name of protocol and bureaucracy?

The word “protocol” was used some months ago against the MACC, and the attorney-general by default, in relation to an investigation in which these two institutions were involved as part of due process.

What is the crux of the matter here, especially when the transport minister has rubbished the comment that the action by the said minister was a security breach in entering a restricted area?

By virtue of holding a ministerial post, the said person had a “VIP” pass granting such access.

The president of Matta (Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents) and other groups have come out in support to say that “corruption and victimisation” of tourists by immigration officers is not new.

The Matta president has further added that such misconduct had been highlighted to the authorities but “nothing has changed”.

This is “collateral” damage to the economy. Where were the unions? If untrue, action should have been taken on false accusations.

Let’s not abuse the use of the word “protocol” to protect self-interests, especially when it is used by public servants who are remunerated from public funds.

The union president is on record as having stated that “the union would not hesitate to lodge a police report if there was another incident”. Why such arrogance and intimidation by a civil servant — is this the norm?

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Episodes on corruption and reactions by unions of such officers are not new.

This writer had served on the MACC’s operations review panel, an independent oversight body, and has experienced the extent of the pushback on allegations of corruption against a customs officer in 2011.

This is a case of history repeating itself as it appears that the customs department (and the national registration department) is also now on the radar!

It is surprising that an ex-director of the MACC, Bahrin Zin, is quoted as saying that tourism, arts and culture minister Tiong King “Sing should have been arrested for obstructing a public servant from executing his duties”.

This, forgetting that there has been inaction despite industry players highlighting such “corruption” many times before.

One can surely realise that this was a case of alleged abuse of power (defined as corruption). If parties stood idly by, the “independence” of the MACC would have been compromised.

So, let’s cut to the chase and focus on the facts.

Let’s not play the game of flexing muscles when situations like the KLIA incident arise by quoting SOPs and protocols as a smoke screen even before getting to grips with the facts of the incident.

Union heads should feel thoroughly embarrassed and expend efforts to rectify the collateral damage on their image and strive to serve with integrity. If you cannot help, get out of the way of those who can.

The minister, the chief secretary and the MACC should investigate this incident thoroughly and take those involved to task, especially those who attribute this episode to “language misunderstandings”. - FMT

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

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