Auditor General Report 2012

The Auditor General has out! The report for the year of 2012 was made available to public on 1 October 2013. Every time there is a report on how the government spends the tax payers' money, the public will cry and shocked! Why the government never learnt how to take care the people's money? Spending like nobody's business. 

We are sick, dissappointed with all these craps! From the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers, Secretary of the Government until Secretary Generals of the Ministries..all shut their mouths. So far, none of them (except Khairy Jamaluddin, Youth & Sport Minister) came out publicly condemning the wrong doings highlighted in the report. What a "Dayus" leaders Malaysia have!

Following are some of the most stupid things committed by government departments that are mostly related to wastages in procurement activities. 

RTM bought 5 units A3 Scanners for RM20,630.00. The actual price per unit was only RM1,000.00.

The Ministry of Health paid RM320,000.00 to the so called internet experts to train on how to administer social network accounts the Facebook and Twitter.

RTM membeli jam dinding berharga RM3810 berbanding harga pasaran RM100 kerana mahu membantu peniaga-peniaga jam tempatan.

Khazanah Nasional beli 55 lukisan pada harga RM3 juta. Kementerian Belia dan Suka pula bayar K-Pop RM1.6 juta.

More ghosts and rubbish can be found in the Auditor General Report 2012.

What can you say about these? For me, I say "Bodoh dan Dayus"!!!

Interns for Ministers from July 2013

Thursday June, 20 2013

By: Razak Ahmad

PUTRAJAYA: The first batch of interns selected under the Perdana Fellows Programme will start serving as aides to the country’s ministers from July 5.

Under the programme managed by the Youth and Sports Ministry, about 70 participants will be selected soon from a batch of over 400 applicants.

Those selected will be assigned to work for each Cabinet member including the Prime Minister for three to six months.

“The main objective of the programme is to identify and develop young talents who can be groomed into becoming key government leaders in the future,” Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said.

The programme is open to Malaysian undergraduates and recent graduates from local as well as international institutions of higher learning.

Each minister will be assigned two interns to mentor, said Khairy.

The interns will first undergo an orientation programme by the Youth and Sports Ministry to familiarise them with government basics before being assigned to ministers.

They will then be expected to carry out tasks to assist the ministers, ranging from conducting research to being involved with the ministry’s social media programmes.

Those who have undergone the programme will be issued certificates, and those who perform well will be given the option of continuing to serve with ministers or take up suitable positions in the civil service.

Khairy said the programme was the brainchild of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and was set up because the Government felt the best way to nurture future leaders in the administration was to expose them early to the challenges faced when working at the top level of the Government.

The deadline for applications was originally set for today, but Khairy said he was willing to continue accepting applications “for the next few days”.

The programme seeks Malaysians under the age of 30 with a strong academic record and active in extra-curricular activities.

Interested applicants need to submit a 500-word essay to demonstrate their knowledge on public policy and the ability to formulate dynamic ideas to solve problems at the national level. -- The Star Online

More information on the programme can be found at http://www.perdanafellows.com

Youth Communication Package / Pakej Komunikasi Belia

Prime Minister, YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak during his 2013 Budget speech last year announced the Youth Communication Package or Pakej Komunikasi Belia (PKB). The PKB entails that Malaysian youths aged between 21 to 30 and earn below RM3,000.00 a month will qualify for a RM200.00 rebate on the purchases of smartphones.

Several days ago, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) published on its website that the price of smartphone is capped at RM500.00. A selection of smartphone models was also displayed.

The imposition of the cap has attracted many negative comments from country's top politicians including the Youth Head of UMNO and Barisan Nasional, YB Khairy Jamaluddin. He said there shouldn't be any cap on the smartphone price. The oppositions even sarcastically said that the move was to help businesses clear up their old stocks and obselete models.

Responding to the comments, the Government has made a U-turn. Yesterday 2 January 2013, the Cabinet decided to remove the RM500.00 cap. The RM200.00 PKB rebate is now available for any purchase of smartphones irregardless of its price. MCMC in its immediate statement stated that the purchase has to be made at shop Kedai Harga Patut (shops that are selling phones with a reasonable price).

In my personal view, the removal of the RM500.00 is an unwise decision. Even the PKB itself should not have been announced in the first place. I truly understand the aim of the Government is to increase the literacy of internet, information, communication and technology among youths and it is a noble step. But, I am of the opinion that the budget should be channelled to a more effective programs such as improve the broadband access and coverage in rural areas by building more infrastructures. As we are fully aware, most of the rural areas are neglected by profit hungry telcos. Telcos are more aggressive in cities, towns and business areas. This is where government's social obligation comes in. To telcos, rural areas are just their CSR!.

By lifting the cap, it sends a signal that the Government are not spending money on the right group. If youths or youths' parents/families could afford to buy an expensive and rich featured smartphone, why should the Government subsidise it. More over, they payment of rebate will open the flood gate for abuse and exploitative actions if not properly carried out.

The 'first come first serve' basis will actually make the matter more worse. Most of the youths who are staying in the cities and towns are highly ICT literate and always keep up to date with the latest news. But for those youths in the rural areas, they may receive the information and news much later than their counterparts living in the cities. Some maybe do not know what the PKB is all about at all!

As it is still early to do 'things right', I really hope the Government agencies will put in effective ways, means, measures and controls during the implementation to ensure the objectives of PKB are met.

To Malaysian Youths, hurry up to register yourselves. This is a 'life time opportunity' to own a smartphone at a discounted price. Whatever smartphone model of your choice, use the phone with extra 'smart'. Do not be fooled by telcos as internet data price is really expensive. Otherwise you will be forced to revert to your 'dumb phone'!

The 'first come first serve' is available at MCMC website at http://www.skmm.gov.my.

Copy right reserved -- saupee