Something fishy in the air

The headlines at home have been as sensational as news in the US recently, although local news actually have some meat behind it. In the last week alone, we have been deluged by news about Anwar's success in the Permatang Pauh elections, about ACA's sudden zeal in arresting corrupt officials (kudos to ACA), and about the Malaysian Budget for 2009.

But I'm more interested in the Auditor-General's 2008 report. Last year's report highlighted cases where a car jack was purchased by the National Youth Skills Institute for RM5,700, 114 times it's actual cost. Hopefully the car jack was actually put to good use, unlike the two helicopters, purchased by the police air wing for RM117.75 million, which could not be used because it did not meet specifications. Nevertheless, RM15.4 million was spent training pilots to use the birds. Better still, the customs Department spent RM290 million on an IT system, but decided it needed a new one for RM451.3 million despite under-utilizing the first one.

This year, the Auditor-General has continued to showcase the government's mismanagement of funds, including spending RM3.19 million on 1,812 cattle, out of which only nine met the required specifications. In another case, the Health Ministry spent RM33 million on three x-ray machines. I have no clue if that is a fair price to pay for the machines - two PET CT scan machines and one Cyclotron - and the buildings to house them, but the way the contract was awarded - to Glomac, a company not registered with the Contractor Service Center, and one which later sub-contracted the job to another company which did not even have a license to handle radioactive material and X-ray equipment - suggests that something is not quite right with the deal, to put it mildly. Worse, when then-Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek was asked to clarify the issue, he refused to comment, feigning ignorance of the newspaper reports on the issue and claiming that he was no longer with the ministry.

My favourite case, though, is the one with City Hall and the Datuk Keramat Market Complex. Syarikat Pelaras Utara Sdn Bhd was awarded the RM39.12 million contract to build the complex even though the contract evaluation committee knew that the company had financial and employee problems and a history of incomplete work. Seven extensions later, City Hall apparently gave up on Syarikat Pelaras Utara and spent another RM26.56 million for another contractor to finish the job. Add on another RM11.9 million spent on replacing lost or vandalized machinery and equipment as well as hiring a security company, and the total cost of the project comes up to RM77.58 million, almost double the projected cost. City Hall's excuse for extending the deadline a whopping seven times? Helping a bumiputera company. Even the Auditor-General found this a sorry excuse.

When last year's report was made public, there was the usual hue-and-cry, calling for justice to be carried out and for ACA to do it's job. I doubt that the outcome of that was more than a slap on the wrist. This year, the AG's report is in danger of being overshadowed by all the other recent political events. However, with the ACA's sudden show of zeal, perhaps those responsible for all these major gaffes won't be allowed to slip through the cracks.

In other news, Umno division head Datuk Ahmad Ismail was alleged to have said the "Chinese were mere squatters or temporary residents of the nation and therefore, it was impossible to achieve equal rights among races in the country." And this right before the nation's 51st Independence day celebrations. True, this may have been one man's opinion as opposed to the party's sentiments, but it highlights the underlying racial tensions in the country. How many generations will it take before the Chinese and the Indians are seen as Malaysians, not "Chinese" or "Indians"?