The Need for Intervention

Writing at 2am, don’t expect me to edit the work. It is shared truly from the heart….

Just for illustration purposes

A friendly Pakatan Harapan leader has given his feedback to my post about the state of Selangor now. 

        "I wish I could see who you'll vote," he wrote. 

        Although we have not met in person, I could sense from our "discussions" in the past, that he is friendly. And he is more inclined to listen if it is rational. Therefore, time spent in 'chatting' with him, I hope has not gone to waste.

        My response to him was simple, coming from my own heart: "I want to see improvement in Selangor before next GE especially at the local government level."

        To be honest, who else do we want to vote in Selangor in the coming general election? Azmin Ali? In fact, the rot in Selangor had begun since the later part of his first term. 

        Why do you think he picked Amiruddin as his successor? If Selangor falls into the hands of Azmin Ali again, it is likely that the rakyat will be the ones to suffer. 

        Being the richest state in the country, it is seeking to raise the assessment rates for its people. Where has all the wealth of the state gone to? 

Does Anyone Care Now?

        I shared with him a few of my blogposts, and asked, "Does Selangor even care?"

        Some of the complaints had gone directly to the local Yang Di-Pertua Majlis, the state exco in charge of local government, the local MP or state assemblyman, but after one year, there is still no improvement. 

       Why do I care, even though I only visit the place once every few months? It's because for the past 30 years, whenever I passed by a place and see potholes and illegal dumps, I would pull out my SLR camera in those days and snap photographs. 

        Articles would appear in the Malay Mail. During Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's time, he would query his cabinet ministers some of the bigger complaints he read in the papers or sees himself while going around in an unmarked vehicle, and if they could not provide an answer to the bigger issues, they would feel embarrassed. 

        Unfortunately, this practice has been discontinued, especially during Tun Abdullah Badawi's era.

        Malaysia’s civil service has always adopted a top-down approach, and because Pak Lah was more amiable than that nonagenarian with a penchant for stirring up racial issues, this was interpreted as Pak Lah’s poor leadership. 

        In my opinion, the Madani government has used a different approach. But, caring for the welfare of the civil servants cannot work if the ringleaders are spared the rod. Any management guru will tell you that there is such thing as disciplinary action, redesignation of position, and even removal if the staff continue to underperform. 

        I then elaborated about the need for altruistic leaders. Most of the state excos selected by Menteri Besar Amiruddin Shaari in his current executive committee are not the altruistic type. I could only name a couple of the more altrustic ones in the last state exco line-up, but the present one? Almost zero!

Intervention vs Interference 

        The problem with Selangor state leaders is because of the influence of certain political leaders who cannot differentiate between the need for intervention and when to avoid interfering into the administration of government agencies by the civil servants. 

        As a result, civil servants are empowered to act, but they do not always do what is right; therefore, the need for intervention. Those of us in senior management before know the importance of intervention at some stage. 

        It is unfortunate that in some cases, the little Napoleons in civil service take advantage of the state's weakness and start bullying the rakyat. Cases such as the Uncle Patrick Khoo's altercation with an Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) officer, lead to a lot of unhappiness in the public domain. It is also a sheer waste of the court's time. Early intervention by the state exco would have saved the situation. 

        What we see in the news these days is because Selangor state leaders have failed to intervene. When these little Napoleons openly defy the orders, and if nothing is done to deal with it, they will become emboldened to do it again. A rotten apple will cause the other apples in the basket to rot. That is what the rakyat can see. 

Hot Issues

        We have seen one issue after another cropping out of the MBPJ and of late, the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) as well. By right, the mayors are supposed to be able to control their own staff, but when they fail, and the state exco in charge of the local government also do not intervene, this is where people will lose confidence in the government. 

        To most Malaysians, the government is any government,  regardless of whether it is the federal, state or local government. I have mentioned before that Malaysia cannot expect to be a first world nation, with third world facilities. 

        This is why I am hopeful that the reforms introduced by our Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof will address a lot of these problems we see in our local councils: corruption and huge wastages. 

        The difference between Intervention and Interference has been written before in another blogpost. Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has at one point talked about the need for "Intervensi." 

        When a guy selling non-halal meat in a halal section of the wet market, and the local council closes one eye, politicians need to intervene; but if the council bans the selling of non-halal meat in a night market with customers from all different religious backgrounds, intervention is needed to put a stop to this. 

       Wasn’t this example was also set by His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim the King of Malaysia when a laundrette in Johor tried to only allow halal clothes into the WASHING MACHINE? If the washing machines at the said laundrette cannot do the job, I wonder why people want to still send their laundry there? 

A Good Example

        A good example of intervention is when Datuk Seri Fadillah called both the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (JPS) and the representatives of St Ignatius Church to meet him at the parliament on November 25, 2024. 

        At the meeting, I was told that the Deputy Prime Minister from Sarawak who is an amiable person himself told both sides: "I want both groups to discuss and come out with an amicable solution."

        Then, turning to JPS and the District Officer, he told them to revert to him about any counter-proposals after the meeting.

        However, two days later, the district engineer wrote a letter to the church stating that work has to begin on December 15. This, being done, before any meeting was called is a clear defiance of the DPM's instruction. In short, "ingkar perintah." 

        I was also told that the DPM personally intervened and asked the Selangor JPS director to chair another meeting in which the matter was dealt with amicably. 

        The last I heard from the church representatives is that they were able to have a more meaningful discussion. They have given two counter-proposals, instead of the third proposal which could cost a lot more. Their only major issue is a shortage of car parks especially after their own land was acquired during the construction of the Puchong-Damansara Highway. 

        I hope this becomes a lesson for the Selangor PH leaders. Learn from the example of our Sarawakian leader. It is no wonder that Datuk Seri Fadillah is picked to become the country's first deputy prime minister. The hornbill from Sarawak has risen, and serves as a good example to be emulated. 

Click this to read the blog post

        His consistency in wanting to solve the problems on the ground, regardless of who is involved, is praiseworthy. Read this blog post to see how, when he was the Minister of Works, asked to contact Subang Jaya state assemblywoman, Michelle Ng over the problems faced by the residents of Subang Jaya. 

        A senior minister from the then Perikatan Nasional government wanting to connect with a junior politician from the Opposition to solve the rakyat's headaches. Bravo, Datuk Seri! 

        I believe, if I can summarise his views about politics, it has to be this: "People above politics." 

Will Tengku Zafrul make a good MB?

        This is why I was happy to hear that Amiruddin may be asked to step aside. I have met Tengku Zafrul Aziz when he was with Maybank Investment, but when he was first made a minister of finance, he did not leave behind any strong impressions for me to want to keep him on my radar. 

        If ever he were to take over now as Menteri Besar of Selangor, I would suggest that he appoints a new state exco line-up to support his efforts, calling upon more altruistic state assemblymen and women to join his administration. There are more chances for him to win back the support of Selangoreans than the current leadership. 

        I hope to see a good MB who is prudent in his spending the rakyat's money and Tengku Zafrul will be able to bring the state to the next level. He and his state exco, especially the one appointed to be in charge of local government, has to learn the importance of intervention when issues are not resolved at the local council level.

        At the same time, many of these issues should also be addressed by the local members of parliament and state assemblymen. Forget Tony Pua's Longkang MPs. He lost the court case to Chew Mei Fun, whom in my opinion, was a better MP but unfortunately, she was in a wrong party that left her in the lurch. 

        The state's wealth must be spent on things that will generate more wealth and bring about better comfort for the people, so that the people can be proud of their state government.