Foul!

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...

As published in Malay Mail today. Haresh Says By Haresh Deol I WAS all smiles right after I filed my taxes recently. Having paid my dues to the government, I must admit I felt good. It was my version of national service. I reminded myself that my hard-earned contribution would be used to repair a pothole or provide better education to our younger generation. I told myself this repeatedly before I slept that night. That was last month. On Monday, I was heartbroken. In fact, I even felt like a fool — like that Joe who never learns despite being dumped by the same girl over and over again. I started the day sighing, after reading Malay Mail’s back page article “Pathetic state of hockey in Miri”. The report revealed hockey players from SMK St Columba in Miri rely on makeshift shin guards and wooden sticks to train. They modify polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes and glue sponge from old cushions to make the shin guards. Wooden sticks? In today’s hoc...