TwoSen

DUE to the recent palm oil-based cooking oil shortage, the authorities talked about curbing the smuggling of controlled items such as sugar, flour, petrol and liquid petroleum gas into neighbouring countries.

It has also been emphasised that subsidies for such commodities are meant for Malaysians. Well and good.

However, it is puzzling why the government has not implemented any action to curb foreign vehicles from topping up their petrol tanks in Malaysia.

Seizing 300kg of palm oil-based cooking oil from Singapore-registered passenger vehicles (as reported last week) is chicken feed compared with the thousands of litres of subsidised petrol being taken out by these vehicles.

I have two suggestions to reduce the massive loss of subsidies on petrol: that petrol stations within 50km of the borders of Singapore and Thailand should not be allowed to sell petrol to foreign-registered vehicles, or petrol stations in or near border towns are not allowed to sell petrol to foreign-registered vehicles during certain hours.

K.S. QUEK, Johor Baru

Source: NST – January 22, 2008

THE Consumers’ Association of Penang’s proposal for a ban on the sale of samsu (”Call for ban on sale of samsu” — NST, Jan 16) should be enforced with immediate effect.

Samsu is a potent drink with varying levels of alcoholic content.

The report says that it has become a trendy drink among those living in urban areas and can be bought in sundry shops.

The biggest victims of samsu are the poor, where samsu consumption is higher.

These drinks are sold in small bottles and packets at incredibly low prices.

Samsu consumption is higher among poor families because it is the cheapest form of alcoholic drink for them.

These drinkers consume large quantities of samsu daily and spend a large percentage of their income on it.

Samsu is a social scourge among the lower-income Indians and is the leading cause of wife battery and child abuse. Samsu ruins families and causes social problems.

Samsu drinking must be stopped. It is the responsibility of the government, the health authorities, the Welfare Department, non-governmental organisations and local communities to stop this scourge.

SAMUEL YESUIAH, Seremban

Source: NST – January 22, 2008

THE advice by the chief secretary to the government to public agencies to drop the “I know what’s good for you” attitude is heartening and long overdue (”Public to get first-class service, says Mohd Sidek” — NST, Jan 17).

There is nothing new in this declaration. What is new, however, is that it is coming from the highest-ranking civil servant, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan. That carries weight in the rank-conscious civil service.

This patronising attitude prevents agencies from seeking citizens’ input on policies, programmes, improvements and changes before committing huge sums of public money. It also hinders learning from others.

Many faltering e-government projects are the product of this mentality.

Their online interface leaves many users cold. It comes as no surprise that people are not often excited about the improvements and do not embrace many of the e-services.

Citizens do not always seek faster service. There is more to be done in the civil service than just speeding up and e-enabling the processes.

Unless the public agencies seek out the real, value drivers of their clients, they will be misdirected in their improvement efforts.

I also hope that Sidek’s counsel, expressed within the context of creating a first-class public service, will not stop at merely improving the quality of public service.

Public agencies should not consider themselves as producers and the citizens as purely customers.

As customers, citizens want good service. As citizens, they want the public agencies to deliver services, implement programmes and enforce the laws in an accountable, transparent, just and participative manner.

Only when both these dimensions are met can the civil service become first class.

When the bureaucrats jettison their “I know what’s good or what you want” attitude, they will discover that the citizen-customer has many, and sometimes complex, needs.

Service quality is an important one. It can be achieved and has been achieved as in the case of e-services without much change in the governance of the agencies.

Accountability, transparency, rule of law and integrity are wanting.

The first-class public service cannot be built merely by hastening and simplifying the processes. New standards must be met as well.

Sidek’s counsel is a good beginning and a launching pad for a wider concept of improvements and excellence in public service.

PROFESSOR HAZMAN SHAH ABDULLAH, Faculty of Administrative Science & Policy StudiesUniversiti Teknologi Mara

Source: NST – January 22, 2008

I REFER to the tussle between Japanese whalers and Australian activists (”Activists vow more disruptions” — NST, Jan 19).

The Japanese argue that it is their inherent right to kill whales. The Australians deem this to be illegal. There is a tug-of-war between the two governments.

The Australian government is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea as its anti-whaling law applies only to Australian territorial waters. Unfortunately, Australia’s claims of sovereignty over the Australian Antarctic Territory are only recognised by four countries, and Japan is not one of them.

So the question of enforcement of Australian policy in these waters does not arise.

The Japanese argue that the relevant territorial waters are not Australian waters. They then fall under the category of “high seas”.

Under the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea, the law applying to the operation of the Yushin Maru ship would be Japanese law. The convention gives a vessel passage free from encumbrances on the high seas.

Ironically, the Australian Federal Court has ruled Japanese whaling in Australian waters as illegal. Should the Australian government order its navy to enforce the decision, the tension may escalate.

The sanest way out of this impasse is for Australia to take the matter to the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea in Hamburg for a decision.

Should the Australians feel unsure of the legal result, why don’t they just boycott Japanese cars until they stop killing whales?

A. SOORIAN, Seremban

Source: NST – January 22, 2008

PENSIONERS who seek medical treatment at government hospitals as outpatients are sometimes prescribed drugs which are not available at hospitals and pharmacies. It is puzzling why a proper stock of medicines cannot be maintained. These patients are advised to buy their medicine from other sources.

The procedure for recovering the amount spent on buying the drugs is cumbersome.

One has to travel to an office in Bangunan Mara in Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman with the documents and make the claim.

Almost all who seek reimbursements are aged and sickly. The authorities should devise a simple method of reimbursing those involved in such cases at any post office.

T.S. RAMASAMY, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – January 22, 2008

I WORK in a company where the retirement age for men is 55, and women, 50.

I was aware of this contractual condition when I signed the letter of employment years ago, but like many other women, my only thought then was about putting food on the table for my family.

Many of us are now approaching 50.

Among us are widows, divorcees and single mothers. We have to take care of our parents, children and sick siblings.

We are concerned about what the future holds for us if we have to leave employment.

Such an archaic rule has no place in this modern age.

Why must some companies continue to limit what women can do, when they can harness their strength to advantage?

I know public sector unions have been pushing for the retirement age to be raised. Even some corporations realise the folly of prematurely retiring healthy and productive female employees and are correcting the situation.

But this process is taking too long. By the time it’s accepted as policy by most companies, it’ll be too late for women such as my colleagues and me. We (and our dependents) will have to survive on our bank and Employees’ Provident Fund savings, which won’t last long.

I appeal to the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry to raise this issue with government leaders. Surely, something can be done to encourage companies to have one retirement age for men and women.

M.Z., Kajang

Source: NST – January 22, 2008

ON Sunday, my sister took a taxi to a supermarket. When she arrived there, she realised that her wallet with a substantial amount of money was missing.

Dismayed, she returned home using loose change in her pocket.

She called the taxi company (SW Radio Taxi Service) and mentioned the driver’s name, Abu Talib. She had found out his name in the course of their conversation on the way to the supermarket.

The operator paged the taxi driver, who came to her house with the wallet he had found in the back seat. The money and documents were intact.

Only those who have lost their MyKad and pension card will know the inconvenience and frustration involved in reapplying for them. The loss of money can be a burden to pensioners.

To Abu Talib, a big thank you. The operator’s immediate response to the situation is also appreciated.

Both of you have reinforced faith in our fellow Malaysians. Consideration and honesty will always have a place in society.

K. GANESHAN, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – January 22, 2008

I CHECKED the website of the Election Commission to see if both my children’s names are on the roll. The website was updated up to the third quarter of last year.

My children registered in the last quarter of the year. Does this mean those who registered between October and last month will be left out?

If such registered voters are eligible, their names should appear on the website.

I hope my family members can vote.

H.M., Klang

Source: NST – January 22, 2008

RECENTLY, I bought a packet of mamak mee goreng at a popular stall in Lebuh Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.

As usual, I watched the man preparing the mee and was appalled to see him using his hands to handle it and other ingredients.

Then, while frying the mee, he used his hands to wipe the surface around the kuali with a dirty rag.

Worse still, he grabbed a broom to sweep the floor where he was standing while stirring the mee.

This was when I asked him how he could use his hands to prepare the mee and clean at the same time.

Although I was angry, I cooled down when he admitted his mistake.

I hope he does not repeat it.

A lot depends on the attitude of customers.

They must not hesitate to tell off food vendors who handle raw food like mee with their hands in such an unhygienic manner.

But, more often than not, young adult customers dare not tick off errant food handlers as I did.

S. RAGUNATHAN, Petaling Jaya

Source: NST – January 22, 2008

WE are a group of pensioners who since 2004 have submitted three memorandums, signed by more than 500 pensioners, to the government asking it to help resolve our plight.

We are living on fixed pensions that were calculated 20 to 25 years ago (since retirement is based on a maximum of 25 years of service, although we retired after serving the government for 30 years or more).

Based on the above calculation, more than 70 per cent of us receive less than RM500 a month, which is below the poverty line.

And some of us receive between RM200 and RM300 a month before deduction for housing loans.

In the Pension Ordinance 1951, there was no service limit for the calculation of pensions. The pension and gratuity were calculated based on full service.

In 1995, a gratuity-and-pension calculation scheme without limiting the full period of service was approved by the government and subsequently RM943 million was allocated and approved for pension adjustments.

Although, the gratuity formula was implemented with effect from Jan 1, 1995, the revised pension formula was withheld due to the economic downturn.

Today, more than 13 years later, the revised pension formula has not been implemented, although the economy has improved.

The allocated amount of RM943 million was distributed to serving civil servants for adjustment of their salaries at the expense of pensioners.

On Sept 28, we submitted another appeal letter to the prime minister through the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, to grant us a dialogue to resolve our problem.

We also sent another letter on Jan 9 to Mohd Sidek on the above matter.

We are not asking for anything new. We are asking for what was approved by the government years ago.

We have been waiting for the past 13 years because we have faith in the government.

MOHD JAMIL ISMAIL, S. MYLVAGANAM and S. SANTHANASAMY, Kuala Lumpur

Source: NST – January 22, 2008