Where is the accountability, transparency and integrity within our civil service and government institutions? The Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco also illustrates how valuations reports were used to jack up prices.

How can the Finance Ministry sell land to IMDB for about RM75 per square foot (psf?) You can rationalise that this was the rate for 70 acres. However there must be a value correlation if 1.56 acres can then be sold after four years for RM2,779 psf.

Surely there must be a sound basis for such transactions and those responsible for the earlier sale must likewise be held accountable. Did this more recent sale attract Real Property Gains Tax (RPGT) as the deal was not beyond five years? Their decisions and basis must be checked.

Unless this culture of accountability is instilled we are going to have more and more such cases. We do not seem to be learning anything except moving from one scandal to another of greater proportion, cost and national embarrassment.

Civil servants are either spineless, fearful or believe that it is better to be an ostrich and hence allow politicians and superiors be it the finance minister himself to ride roughshod over them. Where is their sense of self-respect and honour? Only when they are held accountable will they wake up and realise their own failures.

Time and time again following the Audit Reports we have had serious cases but without accountability it is just a matter of turbulence for a week or so before matters are once again swept under the carpet.

The chief secretary, the secretaries-general and director-generals must be held accountable and answerable. They get very good salaries, all the perks, have great offices at ‘Putrajaya’ and believe that all who work in these ivory towers are protected. The civil service protects its own kind hence the innate confidence that they can get away with it. The Official Secrets Act further insulates them and is a licence for greed and cover up.

The Malaysian Institute of Integrity does outstanding work. There is training that leads to the award of certificates certifying integrity officers. How will such Institutions do their work when top civil servants and the finance minister acts in such an irresponsible manner? We talk about corruption, collusion and lack of integrity and the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) sale and the Tabung Haji (TH) purchase stinks.

Now we are told that the PM has directed TH to dispose of the property purchased. It is amazing that the purchase transaction has already been completed a disclosure after the fact.

I cannot understand how senior management staff of TH cannot understand the notion of ‘conflict of interest’ when they hold positions in both TH and IMDB. What propels them to act in this manner when working with an Institution like TH. Have they acted in keeping with the vision, mission and values of TH? Perhaps these are merely for show. Would they even know if asked about these?

What does this say about their sense of professionalism and personal integrity! Everyone must know for themselves that there are boundaries one should not cross.

Margaret Heffernan in her book ‘Wilful Blindness’ highlights the 2006 case of the US government vs Enron where those responsible failed to highlight the corruption that was unfolding before their own eyes. In the end not knowing was no more a defence. The guilty verdict sent shivers down the spine of the corporate world and beyond.

Paying scant regard to integrity issues

Here in this case the paradox is that we want to catch the whistleblowers and the police are looking into breaches of the ‘Official Secrets Act’. It is such legislation that allows civil servants, government-linked companies’ (GLCs) executives and senior management to pay scant regard about issues of integrity.

Using the same method TH will now dispose of this property to possibly another company at an increased price and all will be settled. The ends will then justify the means. With such a quick resale would this second transaction not again attract the RPGT which would be in the region of 25-30 percent on the appreciation.

One can only imagine that the finance minister would probably authorise an exemption to justify this sub-sale to reap the benefits and cover his tracks.

The PM justifies that we should now move on from this profitable deal. Do profits justify wrong decisions? The chairperson of TH now states that the PM has advised them to sell this property to avoid negative perception amongst depositors. Who in the first place advised them when all the actors both in IMDB and TH have serious conflict of interest issues?

Was it a matter of wilful blindness, self interest or a confidence that they could get away with such deals ?

The fiasco will continue unless immediate steps are taken and those involved are held accountable. Already the PM and finance minister has made Parlimentary remarks on 1MDB that are questionable and documents that are purported to be forged. What message is the government sending to both the public and private sectors? How come they can get away with such acts?

The PM and finance minister is fighting for his survival and one bad decision is being followed by another. This cannot continue at the expense of the nation. How come the BN coalition members are all silent? There comes a time when we have to stand up for what is important and if this is not done it will be a grave failure on the part of BN as a whole. How would the Malaysian public continue to repose trust in such a coalition?

The time has come for the ‘Third Force’ to take initiative and lodge a motion of no confidence on the finance minister and prime minister. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah should be given this opportunity and a urgent change is in order before further damage is done to the nation. He was a former finance minister and has both experience, capacity and capability to make a difference.

He would be the best person to initiate a series of dialogues on critical and fundamental issues to get our nation back on track.

We need to strengthen our democratic institutions and bring back accountability to institutions like the Judiciary, the Police Force, Education Ministry, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Suhakam, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Election Commission, to mention just a few. A bipartisan group should be involved so that the best interest of the nation is considered.

We cannot continue as we are and the longer we do so it would be at great cost to the nation and to national integrity as a whole.