Council man under probe

PETALING JAYA: A Selangor DAP municipal councillor, with close ties to the state party leadership, has obtained contracts for his cronies and even a family member by writing his own letters of support using a state exco member’s letterhead.

Exco member Ronnie Liu confirmed his letterhead had been misused and that the party was investigating the local councillor. However, party members said such an internal action was “not enough”.

An insider said the DAP was now under pressure to lodge a report since the media had become aware of it.

“It is bad enough that he (the local councillor) is making use of such things, he has been re-appointed twice as a councillor,” said the insider.

Investigations revealed that the councillor, a DAP veteran, had obtained several contracts from the same council where he had served since July 2008. He has recently been reappointed for a third term.

Within this council, one of the biggest in the state, he was appointed to sit in several important committees – including the tender board.

The man, in his 50s, had previously stood twice for a state seat in past general elections and was even a member of the state DAP line-up.

Liu, who is the Pandamaran assemblyman, claimed he was not aware that his letterheads were misused at first.

“There have been strong allegations that the councillor used my letterheads to influence the council to obtain contracts, but I’m leaving it to the party to investigate,” he said.

It is learnt that Liu only found out about the councillor’s activities recently and his initial reaction was to sack the man from his party position.

Sources said Liu, who is Selangor DAP deputy chairman, tried to stop the man from being re-appointed as councillor for the third term but failed as “the man had strong backing from other members of the state-level party leadership”.

According to the source, Liu had a tough time convincing the party leadership that the councillor was up to no good but managed to remove him from all other posts within the council.

It is alleged that the businessman had obtained contracts worth more than RM1mil since August 2008 till the middle of this year.

Throughout this period, documents showed that he had supplied “letters of support” for some 30 companies to solicit contracts from the council, including more than 20 that were successful. These companies made about RM70,000 per month.

It is learnt that the councillor not only used Liu’s letterheads but also sometimes signed the documents. Some of these letters carried the ‘BP’ which is a short form for bagi pihak (on behalf of) while others did not bear such a note.

In one letter, directed to the council president and dated Aug 12, 2008, and signed on behalf of Liu, the councillor recommended maintenance contracts for nine companies for jobs around the municipality.

Yesterday, The Star reported that the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan warned civil servants not to give in or be unduly influenced by such letters of support.

DAP veteran used exco man’s letterhead to obtain contracts

BY ELAN PERUMAL
newsdeak@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: A municipal councillor al­­legedly used a state exco member’s official letterhead and seal by writing his own letters of support to obtain contracts for his cronies and a family member.

It is alleged that the councillor, a DAP veteran, had secured contracts worth more than RM1mil for 20 companies from the council where he had been serving since July 2008.

Although the man — who has strong party connections — has no access to the exco member’s office now, he has, however, been reappointed as a councillor for a third term.

The councillor sits on several important committees — including the tender board — at the council, one of the biggest in the state.

Exco member Ronnie Liu has confirmed that his letterhead had been misused and that the local councillor was now being investigated by the party. However, members claimed internal action was “not enough”.

A party insider said the DAP was under pressure to lodge a report with the authorities.

Federal Court 'No' to construction of Mazu, Goddess of the Sea

Federal Court 'No' to construction of Mazu, Goddess of the Sea

PUTRAJAYA, July 26 (Bernama) -- The Federal Court has turned down a request by former Sabah chief minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat to appeal against the state government's decision to reverse the approval for the construction of a 108-feet high Mazu (Goddess of the Sea) statue in coastal Kudat town.

He was also asked to personally pay RM100,000 to incumbent Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman and three others for litigation costs at the Federal Court and lower courts.

Monday's unanimous decision was from a five-man bench led by Court of Appeal President Tan Sri Alauddin Mohd Sheriff. The rest are Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Arifin Zakaria and Federal Court judges Tan Sri Zulkefli Ahmad Makinudin, Tan Sri Mohd Ghazali Mohd Yusof and Tan Sri James Foong Cheng Yuen.

The panel, however, did not give any grounds for the dismissal of the application.

Chong had sued Musa and three others in his capacity as chairman of the Kudat Thean Hou Charitable Foundation after the Kudat Town Board, which approved the statue's construction in February 2006, withdrew its letter of approval on Nov 15, 2007.

The Federal Court upheld the Court of Appeal's decision in striking out Chong's suit after ruling that Chong did not have the locus standi because the foundation was not a legally registered body.

On April 21, last year, the Kota Kinabalu High Court dismissed the action brought by Musa, former state secretary Datuk K. Y. Mustafa, former permanent secretary of the state housing and local government ministry Datuk Ujang Sulani and the Kudat Town Board, to strike out Chong's suit on the grounds that issues involved in the case could only be determined through evidence.

But they took their case to the Court of Appeal which allowed their appeal on Aug 5.

In his originating suit on Dec 12, 2008, Chong sought a court order to declare that the letter of approval issued by the Kudat Town Board was valid.

Chong also sought a declaration that the fatwa issued by the state mufti on July 7, 2006, against the construction of the statue was unconstitutional because it had infringed Article 11 of the Federal Constitution.

Lawyer Raja Aziz Addruse, representing Chong, argued in the proceedings that there were questions of law requiring the determination of the apex court and that the appellate court erred when it focused only on the issue on whether the foundation was an illegal society.

However, rival counsel Datuk Seri Muhammad Shaffee Abdullah said the case could not succeed because Chong had initiated the action although the foundation was not a registered body.

-- BERNAMA

Non-Muslim religious clubs: Discipline the Little Napoleans

Non-Muslim religious clubs: Discipline the Little Napoleans

Hello Moodyhin , are you trying to undermine 1 Malaysia by not reprimanding your littel Napoleans or Warlords ?

Thomas Lee, MySinchew

It is indeed a relief that Deputy Prime Minister cum Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has given an assurance that non-Muslim religious clubs or societies are not banned in schools.

Muhyiddin has pledged that school clubs and societies related to non-Muslim activities that have been in operation for decades need not be disbanded.

He said the Education Ministry has not issued any directive for such clubs or societies to close.

If such is the case, then disciplinary action must be taken against the officials of the Selangor Education Department and certain school heads who have been flexing their muscles to curb religious activities by the non-Muslim students in the schools.

The recent case of the Klang High School being ordered to close its non-Muslim religious clubs is not an isolate case.

Take the case of the Christian Fellowship (CF) of SMK SS17 Subang Jaya, which has been in existence for more than 10 years before it was banned. It existed even before the 16 December 2000 Surat Pekeliling, compelling any such new non-Muslim religious clubs and societies to obtain approval from the Selangor Education Department before being allowed to operate.

The CF of SMK SS17 Subang Jaya had complied with and met all the conditions as per the 16 December 2000 Surat Pekeliling, but was not officially registered with the Selangor Education Department. In fact, since it was an existing club, there was no requirement for it to be registered. It was a de facto legal entity.

However, in a letter dated 10 March 2009 (ref. JPNS/SPS/PPN/A25080/06/06 Jld. 3), the Pengarah Pelajaran Negeri Selangor, Dr Haji Zahri Aziz, told the SMK SS17 Subang Jaya that the CF and the Buddhist Society were not allowed to be registered (tidak dibenarkan) with the state education department. The new headmistress Puan Zuariah Yusof then ordered the CF and Buddhist Society to cease operation and banned their student members from meeting.

The unilateral decision of the Selangor Education Department to ban the CF and the Buddhist Society is certainly unwarranted and unjustified, a gross violation of the human and consititution rights of the non-Muslim students.

Article 11 of the Federal Constitution on the Freedom of Religion specifically states that:

Every person has the right to profess and practise his religion and, subject to Clause 4, to propagate it.

No person shall be compelled to pay any tax the proceeds of which are specially allocated in whole or in pairs, part for the purpose of a religion other than his own.

Every religious group has the right to manage its own religious affairs, to establish and maintain institutions for religious or charitable purposes, and to aquire and own property and hold and administer it in accordance with the law.

The high-handed manner in which the Selangor Education Department ordered the closure of non-Muslim religious societies in SMK SS17 Subang Jaya, and perhaps other schools in the state, is a direct contradiction of the statement of Deputy Prime Minister cum Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin that no directive has been issued by the ministry to ban the non-Muslim clubs and socities.

That means that the top officials of the Selangor Education Departments had issued the discriminative directive on their own whims and fancies, in violation of Article 11 of the Federal Constitution, without authorisation, and in insubordination and recalcitrance against the federal government policies.

If such is the case, it will certainly be appalling, outrageous and scandalous if no disciplinary action is taken against such irresponsible and ignominious public officers who give the government of the day a bad image.

As Rev Dr Thomas Philips, president of the Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism & Taoism (MCCBCHST), said in the Klang High School case, such a unilateral decision should be opposed with the strongest possible vehemence.

In the SMK SS17 Subang Jaya case, there is no need for its CF to be registered as it has already been existence before 16 December 2000, the date of the Surat Pekeliling.

The school has the log books of the CF meetings during that time. Clause 2 states that CF can be formed after the registrar (Pengarah Pendidikan Negeri) has considered and is satisfied with an application for a school CF. This clause applies only to schools whose CFs have yet to come into existence before 16 December 2000. Clause 3 states that where the school already has a CF, the society can continue to carry on its functions.

Nevertheless, to ensure that all legal requirements are met, the CF of the SMK SS17 Subang Jaya applied to the Selangor Education Department to be registered.

The school then received a letter from the Selangor Education Department that the application to register its CF was rejected.

This case brings to the fore the very significant question of why non-Muslim religious clubs and societies in schools must be approved and registered with the Education Department. Are the other clubs and societies in schools, such as the Art Club, the Speech and Debating Society, the Music and Drama Society, the School Band, etc, required to seek the approval of the Education Department before they are allowed to be formed?

If not, why must the non-Muslim religious clubs and societies in schools be the exception and be forced to apply for approval?

In the SMK SS17 Subang Jaya case, the CF applied for approval but the Selangor Education Department rejected its application. On what ground?

In connection with the directive to get approval for setting up non-Muslim religious clubs in school, I am shocked with the dumbest explanation on this issue made by Deputy Education Minister Datuk Wee Ka Siong.

Wee was quoted by The Star as saying that "schools could not reject such applications", and "a circular signed by the ministry's director-general Datuk Shukor Abdullah in December 2000 did not mention that applications to register such organisations could be rejected".

It is simply flabbergasting that such preposterous and nonsensical explanation could be given by a deputy minister of education. If such application cannot be rejected, why on earth does a non-Muslim religious club has to apply for registration with the state education department?

Deputy Prime Minister cum Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's assurance that the federal government does not ban non-Muslim religious clubs and societies in schools is not the end of the story.

What Muhyiddin should do is to issue a directive lifting all restrictions for the formation of the non-Muslim religious clubs and societies in schools. In other words, make sure the instruction is properly understood and applied by those smart-alec civil servants who should be curbed for flexing their muscles and using bullying tactics.

The freedom to believe, practise and teach one's religious beliefs and faith is a universal God-given right, enshrined in our Federal Constitution and in the international human rights instruments of the United Nations, and no Little Napoleon in the Malaysian civil service should be allowed to violate it.

The federal government needs to show that it is fair and just to all Malaysians, irrespective of colour, creed, culture, or class, by ensuring that those civil servants that thwart, frustrate, and sabotage the multi-racial, multi-religious, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual nation-building process should be brought to book and disciplined.

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Civility in the US, vitriol in Penang

Civility in the US, vitriol in Penang

Tan Siok Choo, The Sun

A CIVIL servant makes a speech. Heavily edited and later publicised, the speech makes the speaker appear racially biased. Journalists and politicians suggest the civil servant should be sacked. After the civil servant resigns, the full speech is published showing its theme of racial reconciliation had been turned into a racist rant.

This incident happened not in Penang but in the US. Nevertheless, last week’s fiasco involving Shirley Sherrod, state director of rural development in Georgia, provides a useful counterpoint to the spat between Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and State Development Officer (SDO) Nik Ali Mat Yunus.

In the US, Sherrod’s speech was edited by a conservative group to suggest she had discriminated against a white farmer. Last Monday, Fox News Channel aired the edited excerpt and host Bill O’Reilly called for Sherrod’s resignation. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack obliged and asked Sherrod to leave.

However, the unedited version of Sherrod’s speech showed the black civil servant had helped the white farmer and was recounting the experience to illustrate that race should never be considered in dealings with others.

Thereafter, President Barack Obama telephoned the US Agriculture Department employee to express his regret over her forced resignation while Vilsack offered Sherrod his apologies and a unique new position in the department.

In contrast to the furore in Penang, one aspect of the Sherrod imbroglio stands out. Although the exchanges in the US were heated, they were civilised. Apart from labelling Sherrod a racist, name calling was notably absent. This contrasts with the volleys of verbal vitriol in Penang between Nik Ali and Guan Eng.

This prompts several questions: Is civility now an endangered trait in Malaysia? Why isn’t it possible for two persons to disagree without being disgustingly disagreeable?

Instead of being an intellectual exchange of views, why has public discourse in this country become increasingly foul mouthed? In Parliament, for example, name-calling seldom prompts any serious censure.

One printable epithet used is "monkey". But if news reports are to be believed, one member of Parliament has used the f-word in proceedings and demonstrated his familiarity with lewd gestures.

Admittedly, Nik Ali was provoked by Guan Eng who described him as "incompetent, useless, unprofessional and a coward and should be sacked". Why wasn’t it possible for Nik Ali to respond calmly, forcefully and politely?

Instead, Nik Ali ratcheted up the bile by lambasting the chief minister as biadab (disrespectful) and dayus (coward).

Again, Sherrod’s forced ouster is instructive. By agreeing to resign instead of challenging her political masters over an unjust decision or indulging in invective, Sherrod has proven herself the quintessential civil servant.

What the vituperation in Penang obscures is a major issue of interest to investors, whether local or foreign – the delineation of authority between a state government and the federal government as represented by the SDO.

Guan Eng has criticised Nik Ali’s role in three projects – the arches in the Botanical Gardens that had to be demolished, the Penang Hill funicular train service and the alleged sand mining in Balik Pulau.

While Nik Ali and his defenders claim these issues are not within the SDO’s jurisdiction, no information has been given on which entity is the proper authority.

Furthermore, the timing of the Penang spat is inopportune. Released last Thursday, the World Investment Report 2010 (WIR 2010) showed foreign direct investment (FDI) in Malaysia tumbled by 81.1% to just US$1.38 billion last year, the biggest fall among the Asean nine countries. Brunei’s FDI was not included in WIR 2010.

So precipitate was the slide in US dollar terms, Malaysia’s FDI last year was the third lowest among the Asean nine – surpassing only Laos and Cambodia.

That Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam managed to secure US$4.5 billion to US$6 billion in FDI in a financially challenging global environment underscores their increasing attractiveness to foreign investors. Even the Philippines, despite its multiple problems, managed to secure marginally more FDI than Malaysia.

Furthermore, any attempt by the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) to undermine Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in Selangor and Penang – the two most industrialised states in this country – could be counter-productive, economically and politically.

A fractious relationship between BN and PR in Selangor and Penang could prompt foreign investors to opt for other countries rather than run the risk of being the beefburger in any tussle between Putrajaya and the state government.

Politically, in the next general election, obstruction by the federal government – whether perceived or real – will provide an excellent excuse for PR’s shortcomings in governing Penang and
Selangor.

Chua just an attacker dog for Umno in Guan Eng spat: Pakatan

Chua just an attacker dog for Umno in Guan Eng spat: Pakatan

Wong Choon Mei, Malaysia Chronicle

Back to the wall as Chinese voters flee his sinking ship, scandal-plagued Chua Soi Lek was forced into the offensive, spewing vitriol at his much younger, and many say more dynamic competitor Lim Guang Eng, the DAP chief minister of Penang.

As expected, Chua – who has been keeping a low profile due to public disgust over his sex-DVD scandals – finally emerged to support Prime Minister Najib Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin.

Both Umno leaders had drawn flak for failing to rise above racial lines when they condemned Guan Eng for taking to task federal state development officer, Nik Ali Mat Yunus, for not doing his job well.

“As we have said before, this should never become a race issue but the overtones are there because this is the BN habit. This is how the BN components work – Umno, MCA, MIC. They racialize everything, whereas Pakatan and PAS have stated they will view this issue solely from a professional standpoint,” PAS national unity chairman Mujahid Yusof Rawa told Malaysia Chronicle.

Failing to rise to the occasion


But Chua, the newly-elected MCA president, could not stand up to the pressure heaped on him by his bosses. With eyes wide open, he chose to go against his own community despite its clearly-expressed support for Guan Eng over the issue. Perhaps clutching at straws, Chua accused the DAP secretary-general of behaving like he was still in the opposition. This is what I have been saying all along .

The MCA chief tried hard to find the jugular. “Look at how Lim Guan Eng handled the issue with the SDO. From there, you can generally conclude that he (Lim) himself is not aware of his own role as an administrator,” said Chua.

Yet, his words stirred only a bitter after-taste, even from his own party members, many of whom are still in shock at how quickly he moved to put his son Tee Yong into the Cabinet although there were more senior choices.

“What right has Chua Soi Lek to talk? He has no spine to stand up to the BN's racialist policies. He is only a hound dog for the Umno elite,” PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

“Civil servants must always be professional and above partisan politics. They must respect the state hierarchy. But Chua prefers to bend the truth. He says Guan Eng is behaving like the opposition when it is actually the BN that is treating Pakatan Rakyat states as opposition states. They are unprofessionally withholding co-operation. But this is Chua for you. It is good for MCA members to see for themselves what sort of leader they have elected."

Leaders for change and reform needed

Indeed, the ferocity of the counter-attacks against Chua and his party - not just by Mujahid or Tian but the man-on-the-street - is the result of years of pent-up frustration.

The anger and disenchantment is felt not just by ordinary Malaysian Chinese, but also the other races including the Malays. All of them are upset at the way they have been deliberately dis-empowered and suppressed from participating in the nation’s political direction.

Pundits have long criticized the BN power-sharing system as a farce. They say while Umno may be guilty of being too domineering, components MCA, MIC and Gerakan have only themselves to blame for not rejecting the elitist policies that the BN as a whole promulgates.

Within the MCA itself, only Chua’s predecessor Ong Tee Keat had dared to stand up against massive government corruption as manifested in the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal. Unsurprisingly, Ong has been dropped as Transport Minister, and less than a week after taking office, the new minister, Kong Cho Ha, announced there would be no further probe into the debacle. While the move disappointed MCA watchers, they also said they expected it because Kong is a well-entrenched Chua loyalist.

“This Nik Ali spat is not a Chinese issue as Najib, Muhyiddin and Chua have tried to make it. In fact, it is now very clear to all Malaysians only Pakatan leaders have the courage to lead the agenda for change and reform without resorting to racial lines,” Pantai Jerejak assemblyman Sim Tze Tsin told Malaysia Chronicle. This is a lie and a great bullshit ..talking cock , ask the ex MPs who are now independents .

“We know what is our direction and we cannot be diverted by civil servants – whatever their race or creed. Why should we hide behind the color of our skin when we are all Malaysians. Pakatan has promised voters a better Malaysia and that includes professionalism and transparency – which are basic values in many other governments but sad to say are rarities in the BN here.”

Chief Secretary says won’t punish Penang SDO

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani

July 22, 2010

Sidek said Nik Ali was entitled to respond the way he did to Lim. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan said today that Penang State Development Officer (SDO) Nik Ali Mat Yunus will not be reprimanded for his criticisms against Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Mohd Sidek told reporters that Nik Ali should not be punished because he was not guilty of any wrongdoing.

“Has he done anything wrong? What did he do wrong? What actions should be taken against him?” he said during a press conference, after launching the National Procurement Guidelines Forum at Istana Hotel here.

The spat between Nik Ali and Lim originated from Pulau Betong assemblyman Muhamad Farid Saad’s claims last week that illegal sand excavation was taking place at a plot in Kampung Kenanga, which had been earmarked for a government polytechnic.

Lim had responded that it would be difficult for the state to probe the matter as he had not received co-operation from Nik Ali.

This in turn escalated to a verbal war between Nik Ali and Lim, where the federal officer lashed out at the Penang CM during an Umno function for accusing him of being “incompetent.”

Mohd Sidek then questioned if it would be wrong for civil servants to attend programmes organised by Lim, as the latter was also DAP secretary-general, following remarks on Nik Ali’s presence at an Umno event.

He stressed that Nik Ali attended the function only as a government officer.

“Would it be wrong if I held a media conference with Datuk Seri Najib Razak? If it is his job as the prime minister and my job as the chief secretary, then it would not be wrong I held a press conference with him,” he explained.

Mohd Sidek also stood by his earlier statement that Lim’s allegations were “excessive” and should not have been made in the open.

He added that Nik Ali was entitled to respond to the accusations hurled by Lim.

“If he does not respond to the criticisms then people may assume that he is guilty. So he has the right to respond. I believe that if we are accused of something false, then there is need for us to give a response,” he said.

Guan Eng-Nik Ali: A gross violation of the civil service code ?

Guan Eng-Nik Ali: A gross violation of the civil service code ?

Thomas Lee

The current spat between Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and the state development officer Nik Ali Mat Yunus highlights a fundamental flaw in the Malaysian civil service.

In the democratic system of government, of which Malaysia professes to practise, the civil service is a politically non-partisan and neutral body, with all its officers supposed to function and operate impartially in the implementations of the policies, programmes, and projects of the elected government.

Artcile 132 of the Federal Constitution states that federal civil servants hold office at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and state civil servants at the pleasure of the respective Sultan. Which means that the civil servants are not beholden to any political party but to His Majesty's government of the day. His Majesty is above politics, and so must all those civil servants appointed under his royal command and name.

As is supposed to be the practice, a change in the government after a general election is not supposed to affect the administration and public service of the nation or a state as the civil service's loyalty is absolutely with His Majesty's elected government of the day.

The fundamental flaw in Malaysia is that civil servants think they are officers of the Barisan Nasional, specifically Umno, and even with a change of government at the state level, they operate as if Umno is the authority and Umno leaders their bosses, taking orders only from Umno.

A dangerous attitude

Such a dangerous attitude borders on sedition, as if it could be interpreted to mean the civil servants are not serving His Majesty's elected government, but taking orders from those not authorised constitutionally to give them.

The very fact that Nik Ali participated at a press conference called by Umno and used it to launch an unwarranted and unjustified verbal attack on the chief minister is a gross violation of his status as a non- partisan and neutral civil servant.

The fundamental integrity and probity of the civil service have been desecrated by Nik Ali's involvement in the political press conference initiated by an Umno state assembly member, something not to be taken lightly by the Cabinet and the Public Service Commission.

Nothing less than an appropriate disciplinary action should be taken against Nik Ali for such a serious case of lese majeste. And he should be made to apologise to His Majesty for exposing the civil service to ridicule and derision, and to the chief minister.

Uncooperative civil servants

Guan Eng, and perhaps also the other Pakatan Rakyat state chief executives like Khalid Ibrahim of Selangor, has been facing a lot of difficulties in the running of the state government due to uncooperative civil servants whose loyalty is apparently to Umno.

In the Nik Ali case, Guan Eng has no choice but to publicly reprimand the federal officer for allegedly not being accountable and responsible for his mistakes which affect the well-being of the state.

“These officials get high pay and do nothing for the people and instead cost losses. We hope he can be more professional,” Guan Eng was quoted as saying by various newspapers.

Guan Eng has also claimed that Nik Ali tried to sabotage the state government openly and blatantly. On this allegation, the very fact that Nik Ali was at an Umno press conference with prepared media statements to lambast the chief minister proves that Guan Eng is telling the truth.

Obviously, Nik Ali has failed as a senior civil servant to exercise his impartiality and neutrality when he allowed himself to be used by Umno to attack Guan Eng, calling the chief minister rude.


Click here to read more at http://www.mysinchew.com/node/42097

Whose problem is this when you have a pack of wolves going in for the kill ? Basically the Cheap Minister has pushed him to a corner when he has to defend himself .

Was these issues brought up in the Penang Exco meeting ? Was there a warning letter issued to him ? Was there any letter sent to the Chief Secretary of the Govt about these issue ? failing which , when no reprimand deemed to have taken against him , LGE should have written to the Najib before making it public and conducting a trial by media . LGE has obviously chosen the last option without expiring the other procedures .

DAP-civil service spat escalates

By Neville Spykerman

July 22, 2010

Kit Siang mocked the Cabinet for failing to speak out against Nik Ali’s reported behaviour. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — A tiff between the Penang chief minister and a federal employee is turning into a full blown row between the DAP and the civil service.

The party’s parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has now accused Chief Secretary Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan of taking sides by defending Penang state development officer (SDO) Nik Ali Mat Yunus, who had been trading barbs in the press with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Mohd Sidek yesterday described the allegations by Guan Eng against Nik Ali as “excessive” and said they should not have been made public.

“It is Sidek who is guilty of being ‘excessive’ in taking sides, instead of reprimanding Nik Ali for doubly violating the civil service code of being strictly non-partisan, non-political,” said the Ipoh Timur MP.

He pointed out that Nik Ali had breached the General Orders by appearing at an Umno press conference, where he reportedly attacked the Penang chief minister.

At the press conference, Nik Ali had been quoted as having called Guan Eng insolent, uncivilised and a coward, in an apparent response to allegedly being called the same by Guan Eng.

The ongoing argument between Lim and Nik Ali had escalated following a recent outburst by the federal civil servant, who also said that Guan Eng had lowered his own status of a chief minister by criticising a SDO.

Kit Siang pointed out today that it was only on Tuesday that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said that there was no place for “little Napoleons” in the public service who did not understand the importance of innovation, if the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) was to succeed.

“It is regrettable, however, that when Little Napoleons rear their ugly heads, they are given full defence and support instead of being reprimanded and put in their proper place,” said Kit Siang.

Kit Siang said that what was most shocking was that no Cabinet minister appeared outraged and all seemed to have sanctioned the “Little Napoleonic” conduct of Nik Ali.

“Is there not a single Cabinet minister... who dares to speak up against ‘Little Napoleons’ in the public service of the Nik Ali genre, just because of Umno patronage?” he added.

Guan Eng vs Nik Ali: A Common Characteristic of A Racist

Hypocrisy of the highest order ! Its OK to criticise an UMNO CM but its No Go for a DAP CM. You cannot say anything bad at all about Guan Eng . He is above the law , he is sacred , untouchable . You can only say good things about him . All ye who criticise Guan Eng shall be chastisise and be subject to ridicule and name calling including your sons and daughters . So beware !!

They claim they are two standards or laws when dealing with BN and with the PR . Its the same here and its an eye opener when they are not yet in Putrajaya . Imagine what they will do ?

Thursday, 22 July 2010 15:03

pix from lpdn28.blogspot.com

By R. Manimaran

Khir Toyo was once criticized badly for presenting a broom, not to a witch, but to a municipality, Majlis Daerah Hulu Selangor particularly to the YDP for not doing his job well enough. The incident resulted in widespread condemnation against Khir Toyo for not showing respect to a government officer.

Today, Lim Guan Eng having not learned from Khir’s lesson is widely condemning if not insulting Nik Ali Nik Yunus, a State Development Officer of alleged illegal sand mining in Balik Pulau, the demolition of arches in Penang Botanical Gardens and for not providing a seat for him during the launch of Penang Hill Railway.

Surely matters pertaining to state offcials has it's time and place. Guan Eng may accuse Nik Ali of anything and Nik Ali could always defend and explain himself without anybody having to cry out in the open.

As a Chief Minister, he could have handled it with more tact and composure and settle things amicably with Nik Ali. These are not national issues, they are state’s issues and should be confined to the state. In fact., there is really nothing political about it.