INTEGRITY is a rare commodity these days

Intergrity, Where Art Thou?
The Prime Minister promotes it as the anchor
to government service delivery. leaders' performance
But too often word and action are too far apart
Consumers and the public are dismayed at heart

The heart of the matter is official redtape
makes corruption and little Napoleons thrive
at Ministry, town and local council levels
So what good is it with the Government's Integrity drive
When officers break the code of ethical practice with impunity?

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Of course YOU -- the public -- must play your role to report cases like the infamous
State Assemblyman "small house only" Zakaria Mat Deros and "Close one eye"
Member of Parliament Said Yusof, and at your district level, any such
cocksure self-appointed Napoleons who think they rule the roost.
Tell trhem, the taxpapyers pay their salaries, get down from your high horse
and earn your daily bread, especially now that another Salary rise is in the offing.


I received an Email from one of my Readers, relating to non-action thus far, though the matter had been also referred to the MB's Office and the ACA Hq. The complaint involved the blatant abuse of public land by a private hardware business near a prominent road intersection into Bandar Sungai Long, and the self-explanatory letter follows, viz:

"Pegawai Daerah Tarikh: 30 hb Sept 2006
Ulu Langat
Yang Di Pertua
Majlis Perbandaran
Kajang

Tuan,
Per: PERNIAGAAN HARDWARE DI TANAH RESERVE SUNGAI / JALAN
BANDAR SUNGAI LONG SECARA HARAM

Dengan segala hormatnya adalah di maklumkan satu kawasan lapang yang merupakan reserve sungai dan jalan di tepi tepi jalanraya masuk Bandar Sungai Long berhampiran persimpangan jalan masuk Bandar Mahkota, telah di duduki oleh perniga yang cukup “garang” untuk sebagai tapak perniagaan hardware secara haram. Perbuatan ini di lakukan di depan mata beribu ribu penduduk setempat yang keluar/masuk kedua dua Bandar tersebut setiap hari. Kini tapak reserve tersebut di penuhi dengan pelbagai
barangan hardware yang mengakhibatkan kawasan yang begitu indah itu semacam kawasan perindustrian yang cukup mejolokkan mata serta mendatangkan gangguan dan bahaya kepada lalulintas di jalanraya tersebut.

Kami penduduk setempat sangat sangat harap kawasan reserve ini dapat di kekalkan sebagai tapak lapang untuk mengelakkan macam macam masaalah. Tindakkan dan perbuatan perniaga ini iatu XUN HUP HARDWARE TRADING, adalah satu cabaran yang terbuka kepada masyarakat setempat dan juga pihak berkuasa, yang mana sekiranya tidak di larangkan akan tentu memberi implikasi bahawa integeriti pihak tertentu telah di kompromi.

Oleh yang demikian adalah di harapkan pihak tuan dapat mengambil tindakan tegas yang betul dalam hal ini. Bersama sama ini di sertakan gambar tempat yang berkenaan.
Sekian. Terima kasih.

Yang Benar,

Penduduk Bandar Mahkota"

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Of course such incidence of the lack of Integrity is becoming prevalent in the business sector as "Vitaman M" or GREED often is the antithesis of Integrity. The lowly-civilised humans want to get rich quick -- to hell with business ethics and the wellbeing of fellowmen.

Case in point:

The NST May 10, 2007, page 13,

'Excellence Holiday
directors on the run'

KUALA LUMPUR: The directors of tour and travel firm Excellence Holidays Sdn Bhd, which went bust recently, are believed to be on the run.

Chan Kean Mun and Chong Suk Yen, who were formerly husband and wife, are believed to have fled the country with at least RM500,000 which were proceeds from the sales of tickets and travel packages during the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) fair in March.Chan is believed to be in hiding in China with his girlfriend, while the whereabouts of Chong could not be confirmed.

Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Donald Lim said the two were believed to have planned the whole thing."I think they are on the run, I tried calling them but could not reach them," he said at a press conference following a meeting with Matta officials on the matter yesterday.

Excellence Holidays, which had a paid-up capital of RM1.3 million, was incorporated in 1985 and recorded RM74 million in turnover in 2005. It was considered one of the major players in the country’s tour and travel industry.However, things began to turn sour after the Matta fair in March.

More than 90 customers, who had bought their tickets and travel packages to Europe at the fair, claimed they were told hours before their scheduled departure that their trips had been cancelled. They were in for a bigger shock when they read in the newspapers that the company had gone bust and that the directors were on the run.

Most of them have lodged police reports and formal complaints with the ministry, Matta and also the Consumers Tribunal. Lim said that the licence given by the Ministry to Excellence Holiday would be immediately revoked under the Travel Agency Act 1992.

Chan and Chong are also blacklisted and banned from operating another travel agency. When the New Straits Times called Chong’s mobile number, a man, who claimed to be her friend, answered the call. Refusing to give his name, he said Chong was still in the country." She is not on the run and she is still in the country.

DESI: Go spend RM1.20 if you want amore, support the MSM a li'l, can? We need a vibrant media environment promote open society, so it is in your interest to make sure MSM thrives. Okay, MSM means mainstream media like The NST and The Star. BTW, it's not too "ethical" to raise weekend prices of the paper (which one, you ask Desi, who do I ask?) by 30sen when thy profits are rising and rising 1/2-year by 1/2-year.