Your duty to explain to the public, civil servants told

14 Mar 2007
Sarban Singh

KUALA LUMPUR: Government servants are duty-bound to provide explanations to the public on queries forwarded to them.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan said civil servants should also justify the decisions made to ensure that people were satisfied.

"It is your responsibility to explain why a certain action had to be taken. You must also be able to justify as well as defend your decision on why you did not act on a matter," he said in a circular (dated March 9) sent to ministry secretaries-general, federal department heads and chief executive officers of statutory bodies.

Sidek said the new provisions of "Guidelines to Enhance the Management and Administration of the Public Sector" were aimed at improving the public delivery system.

"These are important as we want the public to be confident that the government is able to implement all the policies announced as well as enhance accountability."

He said department heads should ensure that their subordinates understood this and abided by it diligently.

Department heads, he said, should show good leadership qualities and be committed in enhancing the public delivery system.

"An effective leader has vision, integrity, strategic thinking and a productive working relationship. He should inform his subordinates on the standards he wished to achieve."

Sidek said every agency should have an effective two-way communication channel to enable the public to give their feedback and rate their performance.

He said every agency should, among others, document:

• the powers and roles of secretaries-general, department heads, executive officers, and board and committee members of statutory bodies;

• the objectives and roles of the administrative committees such as the Procurement Board, Account and Finance Management Committee, Human Resources Development Panel, and the Integrity Management Committee;

• the strategic operational plans to meet the objectives of the agency;

• the internal audits, where the management is responsible for taking measures to address problems; and

• detect and prevent fraud as well as attempts to defraud the agency.

Sidek said the new directive was important as it would ensure that all levels of the government — from the minister to the management staff — carried out their duties responsibly and were accountable for their actions.

"It is also a process to determine how an agency was managed and the responsibilities in carrying out its functions," he said, adding that civil servants should also be cautious when spending public funds.

The new directive will complement the instructions given under the Prime Minister’s Order 1998 as well as the National Integration Plan 2004, which spells out measures to combat graft at all levels of the government.

Sistem PTG diceroboh -- Sindiket palsukan dokumen pendaftaran tanah berkomputer

Oleh UMAVATHI RAMAYAH dan KHAIRUL AZRAN HUSSIN

KUALA LUMPUR 13 Mac – Sistem Pendaftaran Tanah Berkomputer Pejabat Tanah dan Galian (PTG) di beberapa negeri termasuk Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Pulau Pinang dan Johor diceroboh oleh sindiket yang menggunakan ‘orang dalam’ bertujuan untuk memalsukan geran tanah.

Dalam tempoh dua bulan pertama tahun ini sahaja polis telah mengenal pasti 12 kes kegiatan itu sehingga menyebabkan beberapa pemilik tanah dan pembeli mengalami kerugian berjuta-juta ringgit.

Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Komersial Bukit Aman, Datuk Ramli Yusoff memberitahu Utusan Malaysia, modus operandi penceroboh tersebut adalah dengan mendakwa geran tanah milik mereka hilang sebelum mendapatkan semula geran tanah yang telah dipinda melalui bantuan ‘orang dalam’.

‘‘Setelah mendapat geran gantian, suspek terus menjual tanah itu kepada pembeli. Mereka akan memilih lokasi tanah yang mempunyai nilai yang tinggi,’’ kata Ramli ketika ditemui di sini hari ini.

Penipuan itu hanya dikesan selepas pembeli menghadapi masalah untuk memajukan tanah berkenaan ekoran tuntutan pemilik tanah yang sebenar.

Ramli berkata, siasatan awal mendapati sindiket terbabit memalsukan Dokumen Hak Milik Keluaran Komputer bagi sesuatu tanah dengan cara meminda butir-butir tuan punya tanah berdaftar dalam dokumen tersebut.

Bagi mengatasi kelemahan itu, beliau berkata, polis akan mengadakan satu pertemuan dengan wakil Jabatan Tanah dan Galian.

‘‘Dalam pertemuan itu nanti, kita akan memberitahu pihak terbabit tentang kelemahan yang perlu diatasi dengan segera seperti kaedah menyimpan data menggunakan komputer.

‘‘Kadang-kadang apa yang ada dalam komputer tidak sama dengan apa yang disimpan dalam bilik kebal kerana data senang diubah apabila sudah ada dalam komputer.

‘‘Satu perkara lagi yang perlu dipandang serius dan akan dicadangkan adalah langkah memperketatkan pengeluaran borang berkaitan pindah hak milik tanah,’’ jelasnya.

Menurut Ramli, orang ramai seharusnya lebih berhati-hati dan menyelidik terlebih dahulu sebarang urusan jual beli tanah walaupun urusan tersebut telah diserahkan kepada pihak peguam.

Beliau juga meminta pihak pengurusan bank dan orang ramai lebih berhati-hati agar tidak tertipu dengan pelbagai taktik licik pihak tertentu yang gemar menggunakan nama syarikat-syarikat besar untuk menipu orang ramai.

‘‘Dalam sesetengah kes jual beli tanah, mangsa akan diminta menyediakan buku bank dan wang pendahuluan bagi tujuan bayaran pemprosesan.

‘‘Mereka akan kata tanah mangsa akan dibeli untuk membina pemancar telekomunikasi atau sebarang projek besar dan ketika itulah mangsa perlu menyediakan duit untuk pelbagai urusan,’’ katanya.

Jelas beliau, antara kes penipuan komersial lain yang berlaku baru-baru ini membabitkan sindiket program Akademi Fantasia 4 (AF4), gores dan menang, tiket palsu Sports Toto dan cabutan bertuah.

Sistem PTG diceroboh -- Sindiket palsukan dokumen pendaftaran tanah berkomputer

Oleh UMAVATHI RAMAYAH dan KHAIRUL AZRAN HUSSIN

KUALA LUMPUR 13 Mac – Sistem Pendaftaran Tanah Berkomputer Pejabat Tanah dan Galian (PTG) di beberapa negeri termasuk Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Pulau Pinang dan Johor diceroboh oleh sindiket yang menggunakan ‘orang dalam’ bertujuan untuk memalsukan geran tanah.

Dalam tempoh dua bulan pertama tahun ini sahaja polis telah mengenal pasti 12 kes kegiatan itu sehingga menyebabkan beberapa pemilik tanah dan pembeli mengalami kerugian berjuta-juta ringgit.

Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Komersial Bukit Aman, Datuk Ramli Yusoff memberitahu Utusan Malaysia, modus operandi penceroboh tersebut adalah dengan mendakwa geran tanah milik mereka hilang sebelum mendapatkan semula geran tanah yang telah dipinda melalui bantuan ‘orang dalam’.

‘‘Setelah mendapat geran gantian, suspek terus menjual tanah itu kepada pembeli. Mereka akan memilih lokasi tanah yang mempunyai nilai yang tinggi,’’ kata Ramli ketika ditemui di sini hari ini.

Penipuan itu hanya dikesan selepas pembeli menghadapi masalah untuk memajukan tanah berkenaan ekoran tuntutan pemilik tanah yang sebenar.

Ramli berkata, siasatan awal mendapati sindiket terbabit memalsukan Dokumen Hak Milik Keluaran Komputer bagi sesuatu tanah dengan cara meminda butir-butir tuan punya tanah berdaftar dalam dokumen tersebut.

Bagi mengatasi kelemahan itu, beliau berkata, polis akan mengadakan satu pertemuan dengan wakil Jabatan Tanah dan Galian.

‘‘Dalam pertemuan itu nanti, kita akan memberitahu pihak terbabit tentang kelemahan yang perlu diatasi dengan segera seperti kaedah menyimpan data menggunakan komputer.

‘‘Kadang-kadang apa yang ada dalam komputer tidak sama dengan apa yang disimpan dalam bilik kebal kerana data senang diubah apabila sudah ada dalam komputer.

‘‘Satu perkara lagi yang perlu dipandang serius dan akan dicadangkan adalah langkah memperketatkan pengeluaran borang berkaitan pindah hak milik tanah,’’ jelasnya.

Menurut Ramli, orang ramai seharusnya lebih berhati-hati dan menyelidik terlebih dahulu sebarang urusan jual beli tanah walaupun urusan tersebut telah diserahkan kepada pihak peguam.

Beliau juga meminta pihak pengurusan bank dan orang ramai lebih berhati-hati agar tidak tertipu dengan pelbagai taktik licik pihak tertentu yang gemar menggunakan nama syarikat-syarikat besar untuk menipu orang ramai.

‘‘Dalam sesetengah kes jual beli tanah, mangsa akan diminta menyediakan buku bank dan wang pendahuluan bagi tujuan bayaran pemprosesan.

‘‘Mereka akan kata tanah mangsa akan dibeli untuk membina pemancar telekomunikasi atau sebarang projek besar dan ketika itulah mangsa perlu menyediakan duit untuk pelbagai urusan,’’ katanya.

Jelas beliau, antara kes penipuan komersial lain yang berlaku baru-baru ini membabitkan sindiket program Akademi Fantasia 4 (AF4), gores dan menang, tiket palsu Sports Toto dan cabutan bertuah.

Sistem PTG diceroboh -- Sindiket palsukan dokumen pendaftaran tanah berkomputer

Oleh UMAVATHI RAMAYAH dan KHAIRUL AZRAN HUSSIN

KUALA LUMPUR 13 Mac – Sistem Pendaftaran Tanah Berkomputer Pejabat Tanah dan Galian (PTG) di beberapa negeri termasuk Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Pulau Pinang dan Johor diceroboh oleh sindiket yang menggunakan ‘orang dalam’ bertujuan untuk memalsukan geran tanah.

Dalam tempoh dua bulan pertama tahun ini sahaja polis telah mengenal pasti 12 kes kegiatan itu sehingga menyebabkan beberapa pemilik tanah dan pembeli mengalami kerugian berjuta-juta ringgit.

Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Komersial Bukit Aman, Datuk Ramli Yusoff memberitahu Utusan Malaysia, modus operandi penceroboh tersebut adalah dengan mendakwa geran tanah milik mereka hilang sebelum mendapatkan semula geran tanah yang telah dipinda melalui bantuan ‘orang dalam’.

‘‘Setelah mendapat geran gantian, suspek terus menjual tanah itu kepada pembeli. Mereka akan memilih lokasi tanah yang mempunyai nilai yang tinggi,’’ kata Ramli ketika ditemui di sini hari ini.

Penipuan itu hanya dikesan selepas pembeli menghadapi masalah untuk memajukan tanah berkenaan ekoran tuntutan pemilik tanah yang sebenar.

Ramli berkata, siasatan awal mendapati sindiket terbabit memalsukan Dokumen Hak Milik Keluaran Komputer bagi sesuatu tanah dengan cara meminda butir-butir tuan punya tanah berdaftar dalam dokumen tersebut.

Bagi mengatasi kelemahan itu, beliau berkata, polis akan mengadakan satu pertemuan dengan wakil Jabatan Tanah dan Galian.

‘‘Dalam pertemuan itu nanti, kita akan memberitahu pihak terbabit tentang kelemahan yang perlu diatasi dengan segera seperti kaedah menyimpan data menggunakan komputer.

‘‘Kadang-kadang apa yang ada dalam komputer tidak sama dengan apa yang disimpan dalam bilik kebal kerana data senang diubah apabila sudah ada dalam komputer.

‘‘Satu perkara lagi yang perlu dipandang serius dan akan dicadangkan adalah langkah memperketatkan pengeluaran borang berkaitan pindah hak milik tanah,’’ jelasnya.

Menurut Ramli, orang ramai seharusnya lebih berhati-hati dan menyelidik terlebih dahulu sebarang urusan jual beli tanah walaupun urusan tersebut telah diserahkan kepada pihak peguam.

Beliau juga meminta pihak pengurusan bank dan orang ramai lebih berhati-hati agar tidak tertipu dengan pelbagai taktik licik pihak tertentu yang gemar menggunakan nama syarikat-syarikat besar untuk menipu orang ramai.

‘‘Dalam sesetengah kes jual beli tanah, mangsa akan diminta menyediakan buku bank dan wang pendahuluan bagi tujuan bayaran pemprosesan.

‘‘Mereka akan kata tanah mangsa akan dibeli untuk membina pemancar telekomunikasi atau sebarang projek besar dan ketika itulah mangsa perlu menyediakan duit untuk pelbagai urusan,’’ katanya.

Jelas beliau, antara kes penipuan komersial lain yang berlaku baru-baru ini membabitkan sindiket program Akademi Fantasia 4 (AF4), gores dan menang, tiket palsu Sports Toto dan cabutan bertuah.

Please don’t let Ramli walk alone

Merlin
Mar 12, 07 1:23pm

I refer to the malaysiakini report ACA whistleblower tells all.

Many Malaysians have been screaming loud and clear to end corruption. Here is a man who has the guts to report his superior for alleged unlawful activities. What is his reward for it? Nothing. He stands to lose his rights to his pension and gratuity.

To those who have had written on corruption, just what are we going to do to help this honest civil administrator? He has been ostracised by his own kind and worse, he now has to pay legal fees to fight a disease we as Malaysians hope to be rid off. He has no friends left.

This is the time that we have to do something to show all civil administrators who are honest that they must do the right thing like Ramli did - report your superiors or lower ranks without fearing that you will be left without support.

Let us also not call them ‘whistleblowers’ - a better name would be Malaysian Heroes. Thus I am hoping that all Malaysians wishing to see that our country is rid of this curse step forward and encourage more heroes like Ramli.

Let us not allow him to suffer alone nor lose out on his rights. I say we start a fund to help him and his family out. Let us see how serious Malaysians are in fighting this evil that has been recurring for years in our midst.

For starters, you can put me down for RM50. I will leave the administration and management of this fund-to-be to your kind selves.

Big rush for positions in public sector

Graduates often lack skills for private sector, and govt jobs offer secure employment

By Carolyn Hong
The Straits Times

A RUSH of 30,000 people sent in applications when the Universiti Malaysia Kelantan put up notices for 110 vacancies recently.

'The sackfuls of applications could not fit into the post office and had to be put outside,' the university's vice-chancellor, Professor Zainai Mohamed, said.

These public-sector jobs are highly sought after. Nearly every job listed on the Public Service Commission website receives a mind-boggling number of applications.

For example, 17,484 applied for the 77 positions of assistant information technology officer. For jobs like nurses and technicians, it averages about 10,000 applications.

Ironically, at the same time, the private sector is struggling to fill thousands of vacancies.

Almost 840,000 vacancies were registered last year, according to figures from the Labour Department as cited by Human Resources Minister Fong Chan Onn.

In the first two months of this year, another 62,000 were added.

Yet few people want these jobs, said Datuk Seri Fong.

It is easy to see why.

Less than 5 per cent of these vacancies were for graduates. The bulk was for general workers, factory workers and sales assistants.

But most of the registered job seekers were looking for professional or technical jobs, or administrative positions.

No statistics are available from the private job agencies or private-sector employers, but there is plenty of anecdotal evidence that they find it difficult to get applicants with the desired qualities.

This mixed picture of large numbers queuing up for civil service positions while shunning low-end private-sector jobs is partly related to the phenomenon that received a lot of publicity last year - unemployed graduates.

At one time, there were as many as 60,000 graduates who could not find jobs, but the government has absorbed a large number of them.

There are various reasons why they were unemployed. Some wanted to remain in their home towns where there were no suitable jobs. But by and large, most lack the soft skills sought by the market. Their technical skills frequently also do not fit industry requirements.

'This is particularly noticeable in the information technology sector,' said Mr Shamsuddin Bardan, executive director of the Malaysian Employers Federation.

'There are jobs, in particular on the IT side. But the graduates' skills do not match requirements such as skills in software development,' he told The Straits Times.

Those who have these skills are grabbed quickly.

Malaysian Multimedia University president Gauth Jasmon was quoted in the New Straits Times daily as saying that their graduates secure jobs within six months of graduation.

And 30 per cent of them were snapped up even before their final exams.

Mr Shamsuddin said his organisation has made recommendations to tweak public-sector education for better job prospects.

'But it will take time to see a change in the public universities. The private universities are quicker to adapt,' he said.

In the meantime, graduates who are unable to find private-sector employment but do not want menial jobs are flocking to the public sector.

Besides, public- sector employment can be attractive as it offers job security.

Mr Shamsuddin said many private companies now only offer contract employment, and the lack of job security deters potential employees.