Whether it was a case of 'guilty conscience' or not, MCA's Tourism minister Ng Yen Yen finally decided to go public with her Australian permanent residency status - an open secret in the political circles for years.
"This is typical of Guan Eng. He ran out of issues and instead dug up something that happened 20 years ago," Yen Yen told a press conference on Monday.
Very proud
She also told reporters she decided to offer the 'clarification' after Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng pointed out during a debate with MCA president Chua Soi Lek that an MCA minister held the PR status of another country. Guan Eng, who is also the DAP sec-gen, did not name her.
"I went to Australia for my son's education. I am very proud of it as my son is a very successful lawyer. I have no regrets," said Yen Yen.
She is likely to face further grilling as DAP Youth leader Anthony Loke, who is also the Rasah MP, is due to hold a press conference at 11am on Tuesday at his party HQ in Jalan Pudu to rebut her latest remarks.
Anthony will also expand on the Utusan newspaper's claim that the DAP was demanding to contest 90 parliamentary seats. He had earlier rubbished the claims.
Money made by practices which are not entirely above board cannot be justified by its mode of usage.The biggest apparition that we face is that taxpayers’ money exists for the full welfare of the state, when in reality it exists so partially and sometimes negligibly. Call it Barisanmania if you will, but, spending of taxpayers money is a colossal waste hoarding statues of oneself is a sign of psychological unrest corruption activist Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen argument that flying economy class while submitting bills for business or first class is justified because the money went to her MCA Cronies and not to her personally can be described as naïve at the best. And facile or hypocritical at the worst.A reimbursement by definition, needs a bill. Bill amounts being less than the reimbursement amount would leave accounts departments with a lot of explaining to do when the time comes for auditing. If ways are devised to bypass those objections, such jugglery of figures is not counted among established tenets of honesty
why is she for corruption by politicians? Just because the amounts involved are astronomical?
We are a nation that has been brainwashed into believing that parliament is sacrosanct. I say brainwashed, since some of the worst shenanigans that ail this nation are played out within the circular walls of that building. I have little doubt that what was finally commented upon and believed by a lot of people was a twisted version. But that did not matter. For those, and that number is very big, who are uncomfortable with Rosma’s meteoric rise, this was an opportunity to browbeat her with. And they made the best of the opportunity.
why is she for corruption by politicians? Just because the amounts involved are astronomical?
We are a nation that has been brainwashed into believing that parliament is sacrosanct. I say brainwashed, since some of the worst shenanigans that ail this nation are played out within the circular walls of that building. I have little doubt that what was finally commented upon and believed by a lot of people was a twisted version. But that did not matter. For those, and that number is very big, who are uncomfortable with Rosma’s meteoric rise, this was an opportunity to browbeat her with. And they made the best of the opportunity.
Corruption and honesty are absolute words. They hardly leave room for explanations and if the person in question has positioned herself as society’s conscience keeper in these matters, then there is an even more acute need for her own conduct to be completely above board.
On the other hand, if the Bill submitted was inflated… is “corrupt” an invalid word to use for it?
Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen denied today that the Tourism Ministry overpaid nearly RM270 million for advertisements last year, despite a finding by the Auditor-General that showed direct negotiations in breach of government rules had contributed to the extra amount.
She provided no explanation, however, as to why the Auditor-General’s report tabled in Parliament this week had singled out her ministry for breaching Treasury rules.
“Ministry of Tourism Malaysia did not overspend, did not spend more… The report says that the amount of direct buy is more but not the total amount of promotion is more, there’s a difference,” Ng told reporters today following the launch of Art Expo Malaysia 2011 here.
The Auditor-General had reported that the ministry had overpaid in advertising fees when it chose to use direct bookings instead of open tenders, to which Ng said, “Direct [negotiations] can be conducted.”
“[With] direct [negotiation,] you deal directly with the media, you do away with intermediary. The prices we paid are never above the market price,” she said.
“However, I have instructed my secretary-general to do a full study of this report and take all necessary steps to fine tune and strengthen the management.”
When asked if the ministry would be opting for open tenders in the future, Ng said the ministry will do “whatever is best for us”.
“When you buy from media directly, a lot of intermediaries are off. Their price is standard,” she said, adding that it was impossible for companies to overcharge the ministry because “we know the price”.
“So we admit that the report is true, but we did not overspend. In fact our promotion budget was the lowest in 2009 and 2010, but the amount of direct [negotiations were] higher because we wanted to go right on and get as much value for money as possible,” she said.
Ng then pointed out that her ministry had obtained a “Sijil Bersih” in the Auditor-General report, which she described as “very important”.
The Auditor-General Report for 2010 showed the Tourism Ministry overpaid nearly RM270 million for advertisements when it chose to use direct bookings instead of open tenders.
The report noted that in doing so, the ministry had also breached the Treasury’s regulations as laid down in a circular in 2007.
The ministry also spent a whopping RM1.95 million to buy 1,000 racks — RM1,950 per rack — to hold its tourism pamphlets for the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign, the report said, again pointing out the move was done without the treasury’s approval.
Auditor-General Tan Sri Ambrin Buang said the ministry must hold an open tender “so the price offered will be more competitive, transparent and provide better value for money”.
“In addition, this method would have avoided power abuse as well as created internal controls and good governance in booking advertisement space,” he said in the report.
He noted further that if the ministry had held an open tender, its advertising spending would have cost RM75.38 million.
The Auditor-General said it was also unable to confirm the distribution of 22 of the 1,000 racks as the ministry could not supply the note of delivery as proof of claim, while another 127 racks were also not accounted for.
It noted the ministry’s explanation that 622 racks had been distributed to hotels, 127 were “expired” by the contracted company, Leo Communications Sdn Bhd, due to “financial complications” and lack of storage space, and as many as 85 racks were locked in the company’s storage hold.
Pakatan Rakyat leaders slammed as mere rhetoric an announcement by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission that they will start opening files to investigate 36 cases of corruption involving government’s departments and agencies.
“These discrepancies keep repeating every year even though the Auditor-General Report has issued stern warnings. It is very unfortunate that every time the Auditor-General Report is released, we see no further action is taken by MACC against those suspected of corruption,” Lau Weng San, the DAP MP for Kampung Tunku.
Cases from 2006 still unsolved
He pointed out that if the MACC was sincere, it would have solved many corruption cases by now rather than have outstanding files dating back from 2006.
In 2006, among the wrongdoings reported by the Auditor-General were the purchase of a pen worth RM160 for RM1,146, which is RM986 more than the actual retail price.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports had also bought a car-jack that normally would have cost only RM50 but the department paid RM 1,664 instead.
How then can Malaysians depend on the MACC, Lau asked, when cases as far back as five years ago are still unsolved, he asked.
Act sternly without fear or favour
For cases involving over-spending by top government leaders, the MACC’s progress was even worse. “Are we to hope that civil servants at the lower-level are not over-spending?” asked Kampung Tunku state assemblyman.
“MACC must be stern and seen as credible in their duty. If not, civil servants will not feel obliged to follow when the Chief of the Auditor-General issued any warning,” said Lau.
The Auditor’s General Report for 2010 was delayed and finally released for tabling at Parliament only after a 17-day wait. More than 32 ministries and federal departments were found to have mismanaged their finances.
breaking news![]()
The consequences of playing dirty and getting caught at it is starting to seriously hurt MCA president Chua Soi Lek.
Not only has his party banned him from further debates with Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, he is bound to feel further heat from being found out in yet another lie - this time regarding MCA Tourism minister Ng Yen Yen and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Soi Lek accused Guan Eng of using last Sunday's debate to attack other BN leaders, one of whom he said was Yen Yen.
According to Soi Lek, Guan Eng should not have picked on Yen Yen for holding Australian permanent residency as she had no choice due to Anwar's "restrictive" policies that discriminated against Chinese students.
“Because at that time when Anwar was the minister of education, he was very restrictive to the non-Bumiputras and a lot of Chinese cannot get into university. In this country, there are a lot of people who apply for PR for the sake of their children’s education,” said Soi Lek.
Sidestepped questions on Yen Yen
Soi Lek also did not offer any details as to what sort of restrictive policies Anwar had implemented that 'forced' Yen Yen to seek PR in Australia. The MCA president also shied away from giving a direct answer as to whether Yen Yen had told the MCA leadership when they appointed her their Senate representative.
As DAP's Anthony Loke has pointed out, the bone of contention was not the Australian PR per se but why Yen Yen she did not disclose this information to the public, her party and the BN government.
“What is past is past. She has already said very clearly, it’s for the sake of education,” said Soi Lek.
Proud
"This is typical of Guan Eng. He ran out of issues and instead dug up something that happened 20 years ago. I went to Australia for my son's education. I am very proud of it as my son is a very successful lawyer. I have no regrets," said Yen Yen.
She told reporters she decided to offer the 'clarification' after Guan Eng made reference to it during the debate. However Guan Eng, who is also the DAP sec-gen, had not named her.
"Yen Yen should come up with a better reason. Who does she think she’s fooling? Did she disclose her PR status to the prime minister, MCA, and Pahang government which had recommended her for the seat?" Anthony Loke had said.
"I want to ask her, was it morally right and ethically right for her to accept the post as senator, while she was holding PR status in Australia? Instead being proud of it, she should tender a public apology for misleading Malaysians.”
Anthony pointed out that Guan Eng too had studied in Australia but his father Kit Siang had not applied for PR.
Failed maneuver: What goes around comes around
“They feel that I am wasting my time. They feel that Lim is just using the debate to attack others. He does not reply to any questions asked. He planned to come here to do a ceramah, not to participate in a debate," said Soi Lek.
That the MCA president is unhappy over the entire episode is clear to see. But as they say, what goes around comes around.In the run up to the Sunday debate, MCA leaders led by Soi Lek had launched a co-ordinated attack against the Pakatan Rakyat.
The 'assault' was due to culminate with Soi Lek delivering the coup de' grace and 'finishing off' Guan Eng on Sunday so as to claw back some of the massive ground lost to the DAP.
But the planned expose' against the Selangor Pakatan's debt restructuring scheme for ailing property firm Talam went awry. Led by Soi Lek's son, Tee Yong, the ambush backfired and Tee Yong has ended up with mud in his own face after being caught using incorrect figures to build his allegations.
Malacca MCA chief Gan Tian Loo also stirred up a hornet's nest from which the MCA is unlikely to recover from for a long while. Gan and MCA tried to discredit Guan Eng by accusing him of having an affair, but instead of making the allegation directly, they tried to do so through his wife by grilling her in the Malacca state assembly. Guan Eng's wife Betty Chew is the DAP assemblywoman for Kota Laksamana.
When challenged to repeat the allegations outside the assembly, where they would no longer enjoy immunity from being sued, neither Gan, Soi Lek or any other MCA leader dared to do so.
Yet they expected the Chinese to somehow take their side despite the less than honorable behavior. Sad to say, the feedback has so far been overwhelmingly in favour of the DAP, with the MCA and Soi Lek incurring even greater public odium than before.
A disgrace
"It is a most spiteful thing to say - behavior that is not befitting the president of the MCA or any other leader worth his salt. Soi Lek only shames MCA again with his wild comment against Anwar," PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng toldMalaysia Chronicle.
"The MCA may now be at low tide and desperate. But no matter how desperate, one should never tear away at one's face to such an ugly extent. It is a shameful day for the Chinese community not just the MCA to have a member like Soi Lek."
When an ailing Anna Hazare left his fast midway on December 28, many thought that the 74-year-old anti-corruption crusader was down and out. But Anna is back with the same "tevar" (determination).
He has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh raising some valid questions about autonomy of the CBI and the power to investigate vested with the Lokpal. He has asked the Prime Minister to bring a strong Lokpal to check rampant corruption, for which people of India would always remember him.
Anna's letter reminds me of what Manmohan Singh said on January 9, while releasing a study on hunger and malnutrition which stated that 42% of the children in India are underweight. Singh called it a "national shame". Indeed it’s shameful for a country producing a record quantity of foodgrains. But the Prime Minister did not specify who should be ashamed of it -- the "aam admi" or the Congress which has ruled over India for over 50 out of 63 years after Independence. Isn't it true that corruption is responsible for these underweight children because crores pumped into welfare schemes never reached the grassroots?
The Congress-led UPA government is bringing Food Security Bill, which it claims will solve the problem of hunger and malnourishment. Similarly, it has introduced 4.5% sub-quota for minorities (read Muslims) within 27% quota for the other backward class (OBC) category.
Significantly, The Sachar Committee in 2006 and the Rangnath Misra Commission in 2007 had said that the socioeconomic condition of the Muslims had deteriorated after independence and today their status was worse than dalits. The two reports recommended 8-15% Muslim quota. But only 4.5% quota has been introduced and that too after six years. Some announcements have also been made about reservation to dalit entrepreneurs in government contracts, fixed quota for most backward classes (MBCs) in OBC reservation and to divide dalit quota among various dalit sub-castes. Significantly, all these announcements have been made on the eve of assembly elections in five states, particularly UP, which is crucial for Rahul Gandhi's coronation as Prime Minister. All the announcements aim at dalits, Muslims and MBCs. They are among poorest of poor but valuable in terms of votes. Dalits are 20% of the population, Muslims 18% and MBCs 30%. Children of these communities are mostly malnourished. So, is the Prime Minister's concern for real or will it last only till elections?
Further, isn't it a matter of shame that thousands of farmers are committing suicide? Isn't it a matter of shame that Bhopal gas victims are waiting for justice for the past 28 years? Isn't 1984 anti-Sikh riots a matter of shame? Isn't it a matter of shame that because of corruption, the big fish involved in corruption and criminal activities always get away without any punishment? Almost all the other political parties more or less follow the political culture set up by the Congress. Every political party which has been in power in any of the states has given us one reason or another to be ashamed of -- Singur, Dantewada, Bhatta-Parsaul, Lalgarh, Bhanwari Devi, rotting food grains, NRHM scam, army coffin scam, petrol pump allotment scam, Gujarat genocide, loot of natural resources in the name of mining, killing farmers and displacing lakhs of tribal by acquiring land for so-called development -- the list is endless. Just scratch the surface of any department and you will find a scam. And, at the time of elections, promises, sops, reservations, criminals, caste, faith and money -- everything is used to divide people and divert their attention from the real issues. Politicians alone are not responsible. No scam can take place without involvement of bureaucrats and others in the government machinery. Morality, conscience, honesty and integrity have no meaning today.
The conduct of the privileged class is no better. The rot is deep. Top lawyers defend only those who can pay hefty fees. It doesn't matter that client is a criminal and threat to society. Judges get out-of-turn plots. Top doctors are available to those who can afford. People die due to neglect in hospitals. Paid news. Radia tapes. Stock market scams. Spurious drugs, medicines, milk, food products etc. Fake encounters. Human Rights violation. Corporates are "funding" political parties to get out-of-turn favours. In fact, the motto of the privileged class is "Apna kam banta, bhaad mein jaye janta" (Only personal gains matter). No real concern for the country. It was corruption which killed 12 children in a road accident in Ambala recently. The van had space for 10 but 25 children were packed in it. It was a violation of rule but no action was taken. Similar accidents are waiting to happen in other parts of the country. But who cares? Where do people go and complain? And, what is the guarantee that action will be taken? How many of us actually get out of our cars to help accident victims on road or a destitute? Every year, hundreds of homeless people die due to cold during the winter. The Supreme Court had given orders to build night shelters for poor but look around and you will find that very little or nothing has been done in this regard. But is only government responsible?
If India is still alive, it is because the poor continue to work with honesty against all odds. Farmers continue to feed the nation. Weavers and artisans are keeping traditions alive. Tribals, dalits and the marginalised continue to struggle against the feudal elite. The youth from the privileged class can bring change but for that the mad rush for pay packages and comforts of life will have to be replaced with dedication and sacrifice. Our source of inspiration should be Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh who wrote in his jail diary a few days before being hanged to death: "The aim of life is no more to control the mind, but to develop it harmoniously; not to achieve salvation here after, but to make the best use of it here below; and not to realise truth, beauty and good only in contemplation, but also in the actual experience of daily life; social progress depends not upon the ennoblement of the few but on the enrichment of democracy; universal brotherhood can be achieved only when there is an equality of opportunity in social, political and individual life." He also said that a real change takes place only when privileged class makes sacrifices for the underprivileged. He was just 23 years old when he made the supreme sacrifice for the nation. Many like him who could have led a comfortable life sacrificed themselves for India's freedom.
We can do wonders with 10% dedication and sacrifice which our real heroes did. Here I would also like to quote what US President John F Kennedy said in his inaugural address on January 20, 1961: "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." However, the irony in India is that barring some exceptions, the privileged class continues to be selfish, which can be best described in a one-liner from Piyush Mishra in the "Gulaal" movie: "Is mulk ne har shakhs ko jo kaam tha saupa, us shakhs ne us kaam ki maa-ch-is jala ke chhor dee."
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