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Standing
on thin ice
pg19
Najib warns BN
men against
political rhetoric
JOHOR BARU: Leaders of the Barisan
Nasional (BN) component parties have been
reminded that political rhetoric could erode
public confidence in the party.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Ra-
zak said the people would be most unhappy
if what had been promised to them were not
fulfilled.
“If we make a certain promise, we must
deliver the promise and our administration
will ensure that the people’s aspirations are
met in the best possible way,” he said.
Najib said this at a dinner with leaders of the
Johor BN component parties, here last night.
He said BN should be helming whatever
transformation that was going on in the coun-
try. As such, he said the BN could no longer
afford to treat the present situation as “busi-
ness as usual”.
The changes that the BN should be carry-
ing out included breaking the wall that divided
the various ethnic groups in the
country and turn the party into
one that fully represented all
the ethnic groups, he said.
“I believe the dividing wall
between the ethnic groups
can be demolished,” he said,
expressing his confidence that
such efforts would be fruitful.
Earlier, Mentri Besar and
state BN chief Datuk Abdul
Ghani Othman expressed the
solid support of the Johor BN
for Najib’s leadership and
pledged to strive to preserve
the state as a BN stronghold.
– Bernama
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Way to a cleaner RTD
TEE KEAT LAUNCHES INTEGRITY PLAN FOR PROBLEM DEPARTMENT
by Giam Say Khoon
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
K
UALA LUMPUR: The Road Transport
Department, an agency long associ-
ated with negative comments related
to service delivery and corruption,
yesterday embarked on a six-year-
long journey to clean itself up and win public
confidence.
Thirty-six programmes have been arranged
based on five strategies in an integrity plan
launched yesterday, and will be implemented
from this year to 2015.
Eight main programmes will be imple-
mented within this year to among other
things, strengthen integrity, service delivery
system, the department’s image, competency,
and partnership with stakeholders.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong
Tee Keat, who launched the integrity plan,
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Tuesday
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admitted that he had received many
complaints from the public and stake–
holders. “It is painful, but it is the fact and
reality that must be handled by the depart-
ment,” he said.
He said the department had been working
on the plan since October to compile feedback
and categorise the weaknesses in the system
and to identify the root causes.
And the outcome is this set of measures:
» Setting up of integrity units in all states
to get daily feedback from the public, so that
complaints can be checked and action taken
immediately;
» Signing of a memorandum of understand-
ing with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC) to prevent corruption;
and
» Implementing online services such as the
renewal of road tax, insurance and transfer of
ownership to reduce the chances for bribery.
Ong said the RTD was
REUTERSPIC
sports
committed to not limiting the online service
provider to only one company to create a level
playing field.
“If we give only to one company, it is a
monopoly and we have decided it should be
liberalised,” he said.
Another important step is the formation
of a monitoring body for Puspakom (vehicle
inspection body) and an RTD stakeholders
committee, which will involve all players
in the transport industry. This will act as a
constant review of the RTD’s effectiveness,
as any area of weaknesses will be brought up
and acted on.
Asked if other agencies like Puspakom
will also launch an integrity plan, Ong said
Puspakom was a separate entity and the
monitoring board will function to keep an eye
on the company.
Asked about Puspakom’s monopoly on
vehicle inspection, he said: “I have said it
before that five years later, the exclusive right
of Puspakom would come to an end.”
On the signing of the MoU with the MACC,
RTD director-general Datuk Solah Hassan
said the cooperation with the commission
was a form of early preventive measure.
For example, officers who were qualified
for promotion must first undergo screening
by the commission to ensure that they were
“clean”.
He said new RTD staff will also undergo
anti-corruption courses prepared by the
commission to raise awareness in fighting
corruption.
“We will also conduct our own
investigation on complaints and we will
forward the complaints to the commission if
the case is a serious one,” he said.
Solah said the RTD had been instructed to
review the inspection list of Puspakom to cut
red tape for commercial vehicle inspection.
“There are some items that we can tolerate
without compromising the safety aspects. A
new standard operating procedure (SOP) will
be used by Puspakom in two weeks.”
Solah also said that 110 SOPs had been
formulated under the integrity plan for
the department’s core business such as
enforcement, vehicle and driver licensing as
well as automotive engineering.