Recently, there's just been so many negative issues confronting us Malaysians - Ecstasy pills, illegal licenses ( lesen terbang ), manipulation of vehicle registrations, illegal video arcades, corruption at Puspakom, kidnappings at Sipadan and Pandanan, illegal forest clearing at Cameron Highlands, piracy of music and goods, squatter problems, illegal immigrants, poor transportation systems, blatant price increases of essential items - the list goes on.

These issues have become a point of discussion among people from all walks of life. I would like to say that all these issues have something in common - they are the result of the lack of enforcement and corrupt practices among enforcement officers and agencies over the years.

While the authorities have been praised for their action in clamping down on these illegal and criminal activities, much damage has already been done and it is the people who suffer.

It always takes the prime minister, deputy prime minister, minister, media or an NGO to highlight an issue before the government agencies move to take appropriate action. None of these agencies seem to be proactive in their operations. They always wait for directives from the top.

Their reactive measures usually only help to curb illegal and criminal activities for a certain period of time. The problems resurfaces again later due to the absence of continuous enforcement and policing by the respective agencies.

Malaysia is probably the only country where the prime minister, deputy prime minister, minister and Cabinet has to interfere and issue directives and stop work orders and announce bans on trivial matters.

The related enforcement agencies seem not able to move on their own.

The problems persists due to possibly secret pacts between corrupt policemen, enforcement officers, local authority councillors, customs officers and the illegal operators. Some occasional raids serve as a sandiwara for the public to believe that the authorities are taking action.

Overworked, underpaid, weak authority, inadequate manpower, moral-lacking officers, lack of facilities, untrained officers, poor leadership, outdated systems, policies and procedures can be cited as the reasons for this state of affairs.

If this is so, department heads should look into improving weak areas. Many seem to have warmed their seats for long and never admitted responsibility or seriously aired the grievances to their superiors.

The government has been paying bonuses, offering increased salaries and allowances for the past few years but the public has not received better services, strict enforcement and a secure living environment in exchange.

The public has lost confidence in these agencies and the majority view these agencies as corrupt.

Although there are still some clean and dedicated officers who discharge their duties responsibly, there is the danger that they will be demoralised with the attitude of their colleagues and superiors.

The government has to initiate a massive clean up with the assistance of the Anti-Corruption Agency to address the problem of poor performance of enforcement agencies in the country.

The existing policies, procedures and systems have to be reviewed and enhanced to cover all loopholes to ensure they are not abused by officers of these agencies.

If the situation is left unchecked, the whole government will soon be perceived as one which encourages corruption, inefficiency and untrustworthiness - exactly the opposite of 'Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah' (Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy).

K Balan

Kuala Lumpur