HARESH SAYS: Accountability seems to be the hardest word
As published in Malay Mail today. HARESH SAYS By Haresh Deol THIS is an extension of my column last week. In ‘What are we paying for?’ published on April 8, I questioned why taxpayers are not informed about dealings which involve their hard-earned money. The revelations in the annual Auditor-General’s Report add salt to an already deep wound. At the end of the column, I mentioned all we demand is some form of transparency. Sadly, transparency and accountability are strange words to many, especially government agencies. Civil servants tend to behave as though taxpayers’ money belongs to them and that they are entitled to use (or in most cases abuse) as they please. Little do they realise that even those within are tired and frustrated with such malpractices. One of them is Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed. The Pulai MP, who has been training his guns on several ministries, including the Finance Ministry, was q...