I was a public servant for 32 years in the Diplomatic and Administrative Service (PTD) portion of the public services. I opted out of service because of too much noticeable wrongdoing which became more obvious over time. Therefore, then-minister Rafidah Aziz advised me not to fight from within the public service. So I left willingly […]
I refer to The Sun’s headline announcement, ‘Worrying silence’, published on Monday March 6 about Pastor Raymond’s abduction. Speaker of Selangor YB Hannah Yeoh and civil society colleague Rama Ramanathan wrote a good analysis of the vigil held and attended mainly by Christians and their Malay friends. Those vigils are now spreading nationwide and I believe […]
A large number of senior public servant join the Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam (KGPA), which was originally called Kelab Rekreasi Perkhidmatan Awam or KRPA. Similar privileges were given to selected public servants (read: Gred Jusa and above) to join other private member clubs like the Royal Lake Club, Royal Selangor Golf Club (RSGC) and Kelab […]
When the Federation of Malaya was born, I was in Standard 1 at the Ibrahim Primary School in Sungai Petani, Kedah. In fact, my father was already an elected town councillor. He stood as an Independent and beat the Umno candidate. I was trained in character and discipline at the Royal Military College, and got […]
I do not think Donald Trump was ever a serious sportsman when he was a younger boy. But I am equally sure that he definitely did play baseball when he was young; it is part and parcel of American culture; just like ice cream, apple pie, and motherhood. And mind you, in those days they […]
PETALING JAYA: Frustrated by the lack of action by authorities on potholes in his constituency, Sepanggar MP Azis Jamman took matters into his own hands and spent all night fixing them. In a Facebook post today, Azis said he had received many complaints of damaged roads in his area, adding that viral videos also claimed […]
A comprehensive worldview is one fundamental cognitive orientation of any individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual’s, or society’s knowledge, and/or an individual’s point of view and for convictions in life. It is both positive and normative. It is for the here and now, and it is also for the afterlife. A world […]
KLUANG: It was 80-year-old Choo Liang Sin’s first time taking an interstate bus ride alone from Seremban to Kluang, and whatever could go wrong did go wrong. In his haste to get off the bus, he left behind his wallet containing S$1,000 (RM3,200) and RM600. Things got worse – he then got off at the […]
My last column developed a hypothesis about who should be responsible and accountable for public works, in particular, public service programme failures, of either the enforcement of rules or simply ensuring compliance with existing rules. The alternative is our currently operative “close one eye” culture. While I did compare Malaysian stories to ones from the […]
Two independent and separate events in England and Chicago were very telling; even for Malaysians a world away. Both involved the process of judicial review which found public officials guilty of criminal negligence through a specific demand for accountability by citizens. The first was the Hillsborough football stadium disaster, and the other was the Chicago […]
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