The Sun shone in Selangor this past week for good governance advocates! A fait accompli project to give an absolute monopoly to a private company was correctly revoked by MTEN, Selangor\’s equivalent of the National Economic Action Council at federal level.

Credit for the decision, I hear, goes both to the Sultan of Selangor and The Sun\’s brilliant and timely revelation. The headline story gave the semua-OK MB an opportunity to reflect fully on the implications of monopoly.

The consequences were reversals of the policy and decision, although the deal had been already approved, based on documents secured by The Sun .

This problem of the privatisation and \’piratisation\’ of public assets and opportunities in this country is still a very serious problem. On Feb 13, I made a formal complaint on a specific issue and problem to the Parliamentary Special Committee on Integrity.

More recently, I filed another formal complaint to the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament. But can we understand and better appreciate the real issues related to such privatisation projects?

The government of the day is authorised to administer the country for a fixed period by the mandate of the people through a general election. In Selangor, the Barisan Nasional (BN) is in power with a solitary opposition member.

But the stewardship of, and trust placed in, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (Pak Lah) and the BN team for good governance at federal level is slowly being called into question. He appointed the Selangor Mentri Besar and those who live and work in the state – like me – are forced to accept his choice. I have no real objections to anyone\’s appointment except when the person is either arrogant or not transparent enough by way of good governance.

Pak Lah was elected with such a huge majority for his promise about better governance of the nation. We can hold the PM to this pledge.

Do things right

This point cannot be lost to most politicians. My best friend calls this the challenge of \”the trial of trusteeship\”. All leaders are given authority by God to lead a group for a period of time, which Ibrahim calls only a \”trial period of trusteeship\”. We are being tested by the Almighty before he takes that power away from us. And when He does, you must not regret the things you did not do right.

Therefore good trusteeship requires \”doing right the first and every time with the right attitude and right processes in place\”. Where this involves public assets, the Federal Financial Procedures Act can and must be invoked. Unfortunately in this particular case, the Selangor MB and his team have shown their lack of knowledge of due process once too often.

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In this column, I have written against a number of poor decisions by the MB and his team but until The Sun\’s report, the light had not dispelled darkness. For instance, Selangor was declared a \”developed state\” by Selangor for Selangor. How can I declare myself a self-righteous man before my own family?

The MB and his team have proven that they do not even understand the basic concept of development. I therefore refer them to an article by Lee Hwok Aun entitled, \’Development in Malaysia: Economics and Politics of an Idea\’ in Akademi 64 (Januuari) 2004: 65-81. Dear MB, please make time to get informed and do not pass judgment without proper knowledge of the subject.

The PM himself has highlighted the problem of the environmental degradation and disregard in Selangor with regard to extensive rape of green belts and lungs. Dear MB, do you need the PM to take you on another helicopter ride and another re-education programme before you avert all the environment-related disasters? How many more innocent people must die before you learn the core and simple lesson of the value of every single God-given life?

The rule of law or the abuse of the rule of law is another issue in Selangor. The case by Taman Desaria residents against then MPPJ was a case in point. Right there in court, it was proven that the MTEN is not a legal body and has no legal basis to exist. Yet it remains in existence because the \’trusteeship\’ is not respected or regarded. Dear MB, do you need the PM to call you or for the Attorney-General to call you before you learn that rule of law is enshrined in our Rukunegara?

Decision questionable

The privatisation of three rivers in Selangor was the \”most obnoxious case of privatisation\” and my fear is that it was also the MTEN which made the same decision. I even enquired with a public service colleague with the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID), and he could not tell me under which law such a privatisation of pubic assets and resources can be made. Maybe the AG or the state legal advisor should advise all citizens on the legal basis of the privatisation of public assets?

My argument against such privatisation is as follows; the privatisation of public space and opportunities must follow the rule of law because the owners of public space are not merely the current occupants but also the future generations of Malaysians for whom the Federal Constitution was also promulgated for posterity. All common space and public space belongs to the Federation of Malaysia and the peoples of Malaysia for eternity. Under the constitution and the federal land law, all matters come under the jurisdiction of the state authorities, as per the Federal-State List.

But no state has absolute authority over land and other related permanent fixtures under the definition of \’land for posterity\’. For instance, it has become obvious after the most recent case, that Johor cannot independently sell sand to Singapore without explicit approval from the federal government. Case-law on such matters has been established.

My next question to the AG is: does Selangor have absolute jurisdiction to \”privatise three rivers in Selangor\” without reference to the federal DID and without the support of the federal cabinet? Who has absolute jurisdictional authority over the three rivers, even if they are located in Selangor?

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Have the environmental and posterity related issues been taken into consideration, in the privatisation of the river? What if the contractors pollute the river, whose responsibility will it be? Or worse, if they mine the river for all mineral deposits and dispose polluted water into the river, whose responsibility would it be if the fish die? How can the DID be held responsible for \’loving the river\’ if some parts are not under its supervision?

My rhetorical question is, \’Can the air we breathe really be privatised?\’. Can public space like that with billboards be blindly privatised for financial gain if it destroys the beauty of our natural environment? What about the physical danger these billboards pose, regardless of the camouflage tactics used? Please drive by Jalan 222, exit to the Federal Highway and notice whether it is legal when the base of the new billboard almost protrudes into the driver\’s lane?

Who defines such laws of good governance in public safety issues? Is it not the federal government\’s responsibility to define good and acceptable practice in such cases? Is it not the Road Transport Department and transport minister who must help the nation define safety and not just MBPJ or even the PWD? Do we need another death before this matter is raised in the cabinet?

The belligerent \’piratisation\’ of public spaces is squeezing citizens like me into a corner when it comes to quality of life in our lived environment. I think it is the MB\’s responsibility to improve the quality of life in the state for the ordinary citizens.

But, as it appears, this MB is more interested to take sides with his contractors (why else give the monopoly to a dormant company?) and slowly but surely deprive citizens of quality of life through the abuse of adequate public-good assets through poor trusteeship of the state or the local authorities.

If reaping from public assets continues, citizens like me have no choice but to predetermine in our minds that, at the next elections, we must consciously choose to give the opposition a chance at governance, especially since the evidence of abuse stares us in the face every day.

Maybe it is time for Pak Lah to choose a new team in Selangor before it is too late for BN. After all, it was his promise of improved governance that made me believe him.