With Eyes Wide Open

This morn's NST nudged and winked at Desi like some of my Blogger nuttier friends ---Oouch!
There goes a few more calories from my wastelines! No matter, I'll make it up, like some ladies do.

Nudge, nudge. Wink, wink...

(Nudge1)
Seizure of sawn timber
from Indonesia:
MP asked Malacca Customs
to be 'lenient' with agent and ...

CLOSE
one
eye

(Nudge 2)
Customary corruption:
Top Customs brass are puzzled that not
a single report has been lodged by their
officers. It is as though they have their...

Eyes
wide
SHUT


Customs ignored
MP's request

PUTRAJAYA: A Member of Parliament allegedly asked the Customs and Excise Department to "close one eye" in a case involving the import of sawn timber.

It is learnt that the department has submitted a detailed report on the MP’s alleged interference into the seizure of sawn timber brought in from Indonesia at Sungai Linggi recently.

The MP is said to have gone to the Malacca Customs Office on April 14 to "settle" the matter. He had allegedly requested that the department "close one eye" in handling the case.

However, the Customs officials did not heed his request and went ahead to compound the agent who brought in the timber. The consignment of timber was also seized.

The action was taken because the agent had brought in sawn timber with a cross-section more than 60 inches. The Malaysian Timber Industrial Board only allows the import of sawn timber with a cross-section of less than 60 inches.

The agent of the Malacca-based company is said to have committed at least 14 offences this year alone. He is said to be trading in timber and sugar.

The offences were committed at Sungai Linggi and Sungai Rambai, the State’s only barter trade points.

A source said the MP met the state Customs director and the state preventive unit head sometime in the middle of last month, and asked them to show "leniency" and "close one eye".

However, both replied that to do so would tarnish the integrity of the department and that they had to uphold the law.

The source said a report detailing the sequence of events and what transpired during the meeting between the MP and the Customs officers was sent last month to the Ministry of Finance.

Meanwhile, Malacca Customs director Datuk Hashim Pardi, when contacted, confirmed the seizure of the sawn timber.

However, he refused to comment when asked if any MP had seen him to settle the case.

DESIDERATA: "Syabas" to the Customs officer who decided NOT TO CLOSE ONE EYE.

Let's hope now that all OUR EYES ARE WIDE OPEN, let's see the relevant authorities -- especially the Finance Ministry, Minister in charge of Parliamenetary Affairs -- take some action against the blardy timber agent, YES ~~~ "The agent of the Malacca-based company is said to have committed at least 14 offences this year alone." ~~~ and the blard-ier MP involved.Now you know why some MPs have no time to entertain their own constituents -- No money to be made-lah! You know, I know, but the blardy authorities don't want to know! Yes, EYES WIDE SHUT.

Did the Customs Department care to make a report to the ACA for the MP's alleged visit and interference?

Let's visit the second half of the story:


Non-disclosure of
bribery bids baffling

PUTRAJAYA: Are they keeping their eyes shut or closing an eye? The top men in the Customs and Excise Department are puzzled as to why none of the staff has reported any bribery attempt.

Policemen have reported bribery attempts to their bosses resulting in civilians being charged with trying to bribe the policemen but no Customs officer has lodged such a report.

The Customs Department is the country’s second highest earning department and it is not far-fetched to assume that some civilians dealing with the department might try to bribe their way into paying less in taxes or excise duties.

The department’s deputy director-generals, Datuk Wazir Muaz (management) and Datuk Ibrahim Jafar (operations), are curious about the "non-existence of bribery attempts" and the "silence" of their officers.

Asked about it yesterday, they did not dismiss the possibility that the officers might be tolerating such practices.

"We have been harping on the issue of integrity.

"Our men are constantly reminded to come forward and report bribery attempts... but they don’t respond. If they refuse to, how would we know there are any?" they echoed.

They said the management had even embarked on a "psychological war" against corruption and offered integrity awards to exemplary officers.

Ibrahim showed a copy of the department’s internal letter, which incorporated the reminder to report attempts at bribery to the Anti-Corruption Agency.

Ibrahim said the department was always on the lookout for officers who lived beyond their means.

Wazir added: "We monitor their lifestyle, the car they drive, their spending habits and compare these to their salary."

Saying they had intensified the watch on the activities of their men, Wazir warned: "We will come down hard on officers who do not report attempts made to offer them bribes."

Asked what action they could take against corrupt officers, they said they would report the matter to the ACA.

"We have no power to act as it is a criminal offence... under the Penal Code," said Wazir.

DESIDERATA:

I don't think members of the public would be "baffled" by non-disclsoure if the "hanky-panky" of bribe-taking is so wide-spread -- some politicians have described it as "endemic", remember? -- you expect the participants or colleagues to rock the boat and report the wayward ones, deputy D-G?



To either of the two Customs deputy directors-general (hey, NOT director-generals, you dumbA...)this question is directed:

Did you NOT detect any of the department's officers "living beyond their means"?

It's no point showing the directives you circulate and warnings given to the staff -- WHAT ACTION HAS BEEN TAKEN AGAINST THE OFFENDERS?
If the answer is "NONE", then it implies two things:
(1) Semuanya OK!
(2) The bosses are indeed having their WIDE EYES SHUT!


Did your Department report about the MP's alleged visit and interference at the Malacca Customs' office.
IF "NO", WHY NOT? Eyes Still Wide SHUT, isIT?
Buying two houses, driving luxury cars, hi- and lo- entertainment?


So many questions, my eyes are getting weary.
I think I'll go and have some SHUT EYES EXERCISE.
My doc says it's healthy, but not this please, especially My Fair Ladies, please note!


"A WOMAN spent RM50,000 to lift
her breasts, remove her eye bags and
do a liposuction but the surgery
failed, leaving her with lumps in her
breasts and bumps in her buttocks.

The woman, identified only as 40-year-old
Madalm Lee, of Butterworth, went under
the knife twice for the breast job, first to
increase her cup size and then to correct
the imbalance in her breasts as a result
of the implants."

Desi ain't gonna provide the glory
-- oops, gory! -- details. Afterwards,
I might be charged with acting as
"accessory to the act" -- you don't
want that, do you?

The accessory act could be encouraging mfl
to go for an Eye-Widening,

OR

It could be lending a last laught to these
pseudo-surgeons. We already do have a surfeit of
deviant sinseh, bomoh,and other spiritual leaders,
don't we?


LUNCHTIME NEWS UPDATE
from The Star online:


Johor Baru MP Shahrir to resign as Backbenchers Club chairman

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club chairman Datuk Shahrir Samad will tender his resignation after the House rejected a motion to probe a newspaper report about an MP who had allegedly asked the Customs Department to "close one eye" in a case involving the import of sawn timber.

He said he would not change his mind even if colleagues tried to dissuade him.

"I will be writing to the Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak," Shahrir, who is also Johor Baru MP, said. Najib is the Barisan chief whip.

A newspaper reported that the MP had gone to the Malacca Customs Office on April 14 to "settle" a case where sawn timber from Indonesia was seized at Sungai Linggi in Malacca recently.

The timber was seized because the logs had a larger diameter than the permitted measurement.

Shahrir walked out of the Dewan Rakyat immediately after the motion was defeated.

DESIDERATA:

That's just Act 1, Scene 1;I'm sure there's Act 1, Scene 2 tomorrow!

This is the MP I have high esteem for; he acts according to his principles.A rare breed in RUMAHSAKITssParlimen, Sharir has a mind of his own, unlike the majority, who swing like monkeys and bend with the wind to safegurad their butts.
Sharir, Way to go!

Now he wants out of the unthinking BBC, let's hope Pak Lah can make use of his "abilities and initiative" in his Cabinet. It's way too long some of the dead wood be removed, unless it's truly a wooden one!