Pak Lah lax over lunch with The Sun...

because he did not get enough exposure?

theSun: It's tough-Lah for a nice guy
Terence Fernandez
(excerpts):
IT IS not everyday that one gets to enjoy the undivided attention of the prime minister for two hours. Citizen Nades and I had that opportunity on Tuesday when we were invited to lunch at Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s home in Jalan Bellamy, Kuala Lumpur.

"It’s okay, you must be candid," he said as I apologised for delivering what was supposed to be a question on reforms to the Attorney-General’s Chambers but evolved into a passionate speech on integrity and public perception.

His remark underscored the tone for the day – a non sugar-coated discussion on various issues including on those who had worked contrary to the promises he had made upon assuming office five years ago. The agenda of the day was his initiatives to reform the judiciary, the police, civil service and the Anti-Corruption Agency. The last is of special interest as it will finally see an institution that is truly independent, subservient only to the people through Parliament. This, the PM hopes will materialise through the tabling of the Malaysian Commission on Anti-Corruption Bill. He hopes all quarters irrespective of political affiliation will help to realise this initiative.

"Then you will see a truly independent ACA. I am passionate about this. This must happen before I go!"

We said this should be no problem as the Opposition had been clamouring for an independent ACA for as long as one can remember, even complaining about the delay in tabling the Bill. The people, we said, will take to task those who refuse to support it without valid reasons.

But he was chatty when we opined that he had not capitalised on the 90% mandate he received in the 2004 polls to push for his reforms. "I should have started these (reforms) earlier," he admitted, but later conceded that "if Umno doesn’t want me, what can the 90% do?"

He also reminded us that as journalists, he had given us the freedom to write, but with that freedom comes responsibility. This is advice that some of those in his administration could take to heart. With the discretion to use their powers they should also do so responsibly so that the public will not accuse the government of selective prosecution. Although many questionable decisions did not come directly from the PM, as the chief executive, the buck stops with him and it is he who has to face the music.

But, the general consensus is that his heart is in the right place though he faces opposition from within his own party and administration. See how the police acted insubordinately when he wanted to introduce the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission; or how the ultras within his own party vehemently opposed his overtures for dialogue among various faiths?

The irony is that it was his loosening of controls, reforming the electoral process and allowing dissenting voices that caused the ruling coalition to perform badly in the last polls.

As we took our leave, we conceded that it is always easy to be on the outside looking in. Yes, Pak Lah has his shortcomings – faults he had admitted to. But he alone cannot be taking the rap for the promises which fell short on delivery. This is especially so when he is dealing with those who don’t subscribe to his vision of a people-centred administration. Worse, he has to cover for them when they mess up.

"He is a nice guy thrown into a bad situation," said a colleague. She’s perhaps right. And as far as politics go, there’s little room for nice guys.

theSun: He's all ears, but who else is listening?
R. Nadeswaran
(excerpts):
You had advocated good governance, more openness and accountability by government departments and civil servants. You even went to the extent of making it policy to call open tenders for all government contracts. To drive home the point, you cajoled the civil servants, encouraged them and even went to the ground to government departments to see for yourself what was happening. You talked to the rakyat at the immigration office and you made it very clear that service to the people must be paramount.

As a result of your pronouncements, some of your colleagues in the cabinet got their chief secretaries to set up task forces and special committees to "study the system" with a view to improve services. Sorry, to say Sir, after more than two years, nothing has changed except for some smart sloganeering. The messages in television commercials, radio and press advertisements give the impression that we have taken giant strides, but sad to say, we have not moved forward much. On the contrary, some government departments have taken several steps backwards. Some have become dictatorial, others have adopted a "what can you do" attitude and your message seems to have fallen on deaf ears."

Why didn’t his "first class mentality" programme on the delivery service materialise? Was it the civil servants who felt their large nest-eggs were about to be destroyed? Who put spokes in his wheels of reform in the area of the public delivery system? What went wrong? A month after he took office, he visited the Immigration Department and almost immediately, there was a transformation of sorts.

At length he spoke on the need for the government to serve the people, the need for sensitivities to be remembered and the need for integrity. "When you talk about corruption, it’s not just the government servants. So much corruption exists in the private sector," the prime minister said. But what was foremost on his mind was his commitment to reform and his compulsion to have all these achieved before he leaves office in March next year.

But the public delivery system was not the only issue he wanted to discuss with Terence Fernandez and I when he invited us to his Jalan Bellamy residence last Tuesday. He talked passionately about the National Integrity Institute, the Malaysian Commission on Anti-Corruption Bill, the judiciary, the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission and an array of subjects, including conduct and qualifications of politicians and public perception.

The institute is ideal for civil servants to attend kursus, collect their allowances and get back to what they were doing before. But when there’s no integrity in their hearts and conscience, no amount of teaching and prodding is going to change. Would the head of a Selangor government company change her mind about buying a RM159,000 watch for her political master if she had attended a course at the institute? Would a similar course have affected the spending habits of a minister who spends millions of taxpayers’ money on projects that bring no benefits to the people? Never, but had these people feared the long arm of the law, such thoughts would have never crossed their minds.

The people must know, he said, that when they have a grievance, the system allows their case to be judged fairly and by the fact before them and hence a need for an independent judiciary.

But while these reforms will be welcomed by every right-thinking Malaysian, what about the Attorney General’s Chambers? Since the AG is also the public prosecutor, he has to sanction all prosecutions and if and should he play ball, the case won’t even come before the courts, however independent they are.