The government has allowed a fuel price hike of 30 cents per litre. In the good old days it used to be an increase of a few cents. Not anymore, as it is reported that the government needs the money to improve public transportation and for development projects! I thought maybe it was to offset the billions that was reported wasted on maintaining public buildings.
This increase will trigger increases in many basic necessities. The people who will be hardest hit are the lower income groups who live in the cities. This group also includes the pensioners. I sincerely hope the present government has some concrete plans to control the price of basic necessities. Just look at what is happening inThailand and the Phillipines. We really don't need to reach such a stage to seek fairplay and justice for the citizens.
Please don't compare fuel prices with neighbouring countries without placing all the cards on the table. That will be like comparing an apple to an orange. I heard Brunei citizens don't have to pay taxes! How about comparing that? The good news is that there will be no further hikes for this year!!! If that is not good news I don't know what is!
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Billions Wasted
The headlines in one of our local dailies read 'Billions wasted in repairing public buildings....' - statement made by our Prime Minister. "Due to poor maintenance of buildings and amenities, we have to allocate big sums of money for repairs. This is a loss,” he said.
All he has to do is to get the Works Minister to tweak the Public Works Department to carry out their job. They have the technical expertise and the manpower but due to poor leadership the department is not functioning as it should. As I have commented before it all goes back to management. The managers need to 'prune' their staff. Get rid of the dead wood for the good of the department as a whole. Many times the lazy and good for nothing staff are not reprimanded but instead are promoted so that they can be transfered to another section. The idiot is still an idiot but with a higher rank and more pay.
This also happens in the education ministry. The teachers hardly go to class and do their core business - teaching. They are involved in co-curriculum activities or some beautifying campaign started by some idiot education official higher up.
The Prime Minister also suggested that schools assign teachers to take charge of the management and maintenance of buildings and other facilities, adding that owners of other public buildings and amenities should also do the same. This will give another reason for the teachers not to go to their respective classes and teach.
It is better to flog the Public Works Department who already have the various technical staff to handle such matters throughout the country to start doing their jobs. It is not necessary for any more working paper or new guidelines for this problem to be handled by teachers or other non-technical staff. Just make sure the technicians do their job and make sure the teachers go to their class and teach. Good management, empowerment and enforcement...that's all you need.
All he has to do is to get the Works Minister to tweak the Public Works Department to carry out their job. They have the technical expertise and the manpower but due to poor leadership the department is not functioning as it should. As I have commented before it all goes back to management. The managers need to 'prune' their staff. Get rid of the dead wood for the good of the department as a whole. Many times the lazy and good for nothing staff are not reprimanded but instead are promoted so that they can be transfered to another section. The idiot is still an idiot but with a higher rank and more pay.
This also happens in the education ministry. The teachers hardly go to class and do their core business - teaching. They are involved in co-curriculum activities or some beautifying campaign started by some idiot education official higher up.
The Prime Minister also suggested that schools assign teachers to take charge of the management and maintenance of buildings and other facilities, adding that owners of other public buildings and amenities should also do the same. This will give another reason for the teachers not to go to their respective classes and teach.
It is better to flog the Public Works Department who already have the various technical staff to handle such matters throughout the country to start doing their jobs. It is not necessary for any more working paper or new guidelines for this problem to be handled by teachers or other non-technical staff. Just make sure the technicians do their job and make sure the teachers go to their class and teach. Good management, empowerment and enforcement...that's all you need.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Management Problem
It was reported in one of our local newspapers that 11 men were arrested during their mahjong session on the second day of the Chinese New Year. They were taken to the police lock-up and had their heads shaved! Incidentally most of these men were senior citizens. Their ages ranged between 31- 69. The 31 yr old was the owner of the coffeshop where the mahjong session was held. The police claimed it was standard procedure to shave the detainees in the lock-up. The Prime Minister has ordered the police to investigate the Kajang police to see if they had really followed police procedures as they claimed.
Meanwhile the 11 'bald men' are suing the police over the alleged mistreatment. My question is was it necessary for the police to shave their heads? Do they look like dangerous criminals? Do they pose a threat to the community? Any Malaysian police worth his salt knows that many Chinese play mahjong. Especially during the Chinese New Year. What is the big deal about these 11 old men? The Kajang OCPD must answer for his actions. He doesn't seem mature enough to hold the post.
I believe this is the main problem in our country. Many people are promoted to high posts even though they do not merit it. They haven't gone through the mill which would have moulded them for the tough job and the difficult decisions that need to be made during the course of their work. They get the post through some short cut or some unwritten rule of having only certain people at the top regardless of their calibre. When such things happen we get silly incidences which are blown up in the news.
The latest news is there will be a major shake-up in the top brass of our police force. Of the 14 names given in the paper only 1 is Chinese and the rest are Malays. Not one Indian at the top !
And the government wonders why the non-Malays don't join the police force! The answer is very simple .. nobody wants to be a coolie all their working life. Maybe it is time the government took a closer look at their policy for promotions and the opportunities available to the non-Malays in all sectors. This could make a difference in the way we manage this country. Just take a look at MAS. If the trend is allowed to go on we will be losing many more millions. Do we really need a mat salleh to tell us how to run our business? We can do it on our own. We only need to appoint the right Malaysians who are qualified regardles of their race.
Wake up and trust other races to be managers. We may make it to 2020 a stronger nation financially, fully committed to our multi-racial, multi-religious, tolerent and peaceful society. Anybody agree with me?
Meanwhile the 11 'bald men' are suing the police over the alleged mistreatment. My question is was it necessary for the police to shave their heads? Do they look like dangerous criminals? Do they pose a threat to the community? Any Malaysian police worth his salt knows that many Chinese play mahjong. Especially during the Chinese New Year. What is the big deal about these 11 old men? The Kajang OCPD must answer for his actions. He doesn't seem mature enough to hold the post.
I believe this is the main problem in our country. Many people are promoted to high posts even though they do not merit it. They haven't gone through the mill which would have moulded them for the tough job and the difficult decisions that need to be made during the course of their work. They get the post through some short cut or some unwritten rule of having only certain people at the top regardless of their calibre. When such things happen we get silly incidences which are blown up in the news.
The latest news is there will be a major shake-up in the top brass of our police force. Of the 14 names given in the paper only 1 is Chinese and the rest are Malays. Not one Indian at the top !
And the government wonders why the non-Malays don't join the police force! The answer is very simple .. nobody wants to be a coolie all their working life. Maybe it is time the government took a closer look at their policy for promotions and the opportunities available to the non-Malays in all sectors. This could make a difference in the way we manage this country. Just take a look at MAS. If the trend is allowed to go on we will be losing many more millions. Do we really need a mat salleh to tell us how to run our business? We can do it on our own. We only need to appoint the right Malaysians who are qualified regardles of their race.
Wake up and trust other races to be managers. We may make it to 2020 a stronger nation financially, fully committed to our multi-racial, multi-religious, tolerent and peaceful society. Anybody agree with me?
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