Wednesday June 10, 2009
WE congratulate Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat for his steadfastness in wanting to keep to his promise that he is all for transparency.
He strongly advocated that the PcW report should be made public. He assured that his ministry was not only committed to getting the report released, but also in ensuring that all the possible remedies within its jurisdiction would be explored to protect public interest.
Admittedly, Ong’s lot is not an enviable one. He has inherited this controversial legacy from his two predecessors and he has been evenhanded and consistent in his personal positioning in dealing with this PKFZ fiasco.
He has exhibited integrity, transparency and accountability. He has commissioned a professional audit. It has been a tedious long-drawn process in the declassification of the government documents and in obtaining the prerequisite Cabinet approvals to release the PcW’s audit report in its entirety.
He has been quoted to have said, “It has been a long journey for me personally. It is one that is fraught with challenges and hurdles from within and without.”
Since taking office as Transport Minister, it must have been a long and treacherous road for him, especially with this PKFZ fiasco on his shoulders. Now the report has finally been released for all to see and examine; it may have taken some time but it is better late than never.
However, it has not helped in undoing the untold damage in public perception. The minister has been incessantly harassed by the stubborn and provocative opposition MP Lim Kit Siang. To me, Kit Siang should be decent enough to admit that Ong has been instrumental and courageous enough to commission a professional audit on the PKFZ and to release the report for public viewing in its entirety.
An MACC report has also been made by PKA. My suggestion to Kit Siang is to be patient. Allow the proper authorities (MACC) and the police the necessary space to examine and investigate the discrepancies (if any). Let the law take its course.
Of course, members of the public and MPs like Lim are at liberty to make further police reports if they deem it fit. They are also at liberty to be the “watch dogs” in monitoring and persuading the authorities to be expeditious in their investigations and to take the necessary actions against the perpetrators of any crime in this fiasco.
Lim should not make BN and its leaders his whipping boys and he cannot be allowed to treat them as garbage bins, merely to collect blame and slander arising from the immoral behaviour of others.
Members of the opposition parties and their supporters are not free from sins. Cer tain ly they cannot be saints. I am mindful of the saying that the first lesson in politics is that your mistakes almost always come back to haunt you.
We have often heard in the last few decades demands by DAP leaders for ministers to take responsibility for failure by resigning. However, the DAP conveniently ignored this very basic principle of leadership responsibi lity. The DAP suffered one of its biggest defeats in the 1995 general elections. The party won only nine parliamentary seats and 11 state seats compared with 20 parliamentary and 46 state seats it had won the 1990 general elections. The party suffered a 31.3% drop in the total number of votes secured. The DAP also suffered another catastrophic defeat in the 1999 general election, including Kit Siang’s personal defeat, but he did not step down.
The DAP leaders were said to continue to purvey the same Jurassic fare, arguing that “we still need him, he can still contribute”. Democracy is about taking responsibility and whether a leader can still contribute is subsidiary.
I can still remember Karpal’s clear statement when Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye resigned in 1990. “Nobody is indispensable,” he said, and yet when it came to Lim taking responsibility for the political defeat of the DAP, we hear the long-drawn chorus: “We still need him, he can still contribute!”
If such extraneous reasons for holding onto office can have currency, then ministers do not need to resign over any political failures, if their party members believe that they “still have much to contribute”.
Now, with Pakatan Rakyat locked in an obvious power struggle and its alliance is at a shaky and fragile level, the DAP adviser may be an angry and insecure man. Especially as the Penang Chief Minister’s seat is shaken by the much publicised mutiny, boycott and shows of open defiance towards the DAP leadership in the state.
It may be prudent for the ageing Kit Siang to focus his energy and to show whether he is still relevant in PR and can still contribute. Do not spend this energy lashing out angry tirades at the Transport Minister and the BN government. Let the MACC do its job!
RONNIE TAN,
Kuala Lumpur.
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