YOURSAY 'Pakatan should be firm in the separation between the state and party. The two are not the same. This has been BN's mistake all these years.'

S'gor finds violations in RM1mil in procurements

your say MrM: I think the ‘Karnival Terima Kasih Rakyat' is wrong. State government money cannot be used for political purposes.

Having a ‘thank you' carnival to express gratitude by the state government to the rakyat is one thing, but you can't at the same time have political speeches by those not part of the government like PKR's Anwar Ibrahim, PAS' Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP's Lim Kit Siang.

They are not even elected members of the Selangor legislative assembly. Shame on you, Pakatan - this is exactly the kind of nonsense that made voters reject the BN in the first place.

Anonymous #40112563: I agree with MrM that the state government should not have been involved in the carnival since it was to celebrate Pakatan's fourth-year rule in the state. All the expenses should have been borne by Pakatan.

It would be fine for the state government to finance a thank you to the rakyat if for example, the state had organised a campaign to clean up all the major towns in the state and it was successfully done with full participation of the rakyat.

Pakatan, who have several representatives previously from the NGOs, should be firm in the separation between the state and political party. The two are not the same. This has been the BN's mistake all these years.

Fairnessforall: There are two issues here. One is that there seems to be some blurring of the line between party and state, and the second relates to the procurement of the items and services for the carnival.

While I applaud MB Khalid Ibrahim for what he is doing with regard to the second issue, I am appalled by the conduct of Pakatan in the first matter. If an event is a party political event, then by no means should the state be made to foot the bill.

So, what ‘hat' were Anwar et al wearing when they spoke to the crowd. Were they speaking as the leaders of the three Pakatan parties or were they acting in some official government capacity? This line has been blurred for too long until our civil servants are confused as to whom they actually work for.

Pakatan now has the chance to set things right, at least at the state level. Why should the state spend money to celebrate four years of Pakatan rule?

Blind Freddo: All this 'patting ourselves on the back' crap of course is not the role of a state government. But in Malaysia, the political party thinks it is the government.

Making excuses for BN's incompetence/corruption is just what the voters have done for 50 years.

In fact, they made so many excuses for not doing something about it that eventually BN came to realise that the people don't give a hoot and started walking all over them.

And you allowed them to do that too. How long do you think it will be before PKR reaches the same state?

Hang Tuah PJ : Kudos to Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim for standing his ground. Whether there is a misunderstanding or otherwise, at least there is now some checks and balances, and we have a MB who has integrity.

Like I said earlier, I am a little wary of PKR, which still smells of ex-Umno men with their inherited style of abusing the state coffers.

DAP and PKR had better do some cleaning up before the coming GE.

Progressive: I had voted Pakatan in the last election in Selangor. If this Malaysiakini report is true, then shame on you, Selangor exco Ronnie Liu and DAP.

This "misunderstanding" as stated by Liu smacks of financial impropriety, cheating and a failure to uphold to the highest level of integrity.

For his sake, I hope this report is inaccurate and is indeed a "misunderstanding". We await the MB's explanation.

MfM: Ronnie Liu, man up and admit it if it was mistake. If it wasn't a mistake, and it was cronyism, then that's too bad for you. It's time to go face Selcat (Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency).

Myop101: Liu, this is what happens when you don't obey the rules. The Selangor government should not make any payment until these things get sorted out.

Mohd: This is what I want to see in a government: no holding out on irregular practices and the separation of executive and state powers. Bravo to the Selangor state ... again.

Green Mutant: I am glad the sun is starting to shine in Pakatan states. Good checks and balances are being demonstrated.

The lesson to be learned for Pakatan (Umno-BN will never learn) is that Pakatan can only go from strength to strength. Liu, please admit your mistakes and move on.

Darth Vader: Taiwan and Selangor are both classic examples that a two-party system will not and cannot get rid of corruption and abuse of power.

They happen because of human greed and desire, and unless you remove the ‘human' from the equation, no matter how many parties you have, corruption and abuse of power will still occur.

Those who think that a two-party system is the answer will one day wake up to face reality.

SMC77: Darth Vader, are you saying then that there will be no corruption under a one-party system? Are you going to tell us since corruption cannot be eradicated completely, hence we should only support a one-party system?

At least, corruption has yet to be institutionalised by Pakatan in Selangor as compared to BN in the federal government and the other state governments.

Free And Fair Election: I would rather see checks and balances within the Selangor government than an ‘anything goes' administration under former MB Mohamad Khir Toyo. For far too long, we, the rakyat, have been deceived and issues have been swept under the rug.

Like in any family or marriage, there is bound to be hiccups, and the finding of a way or a solution around problems is as real as the world that we live in.

Headhunter: This is the type of transparency we want. If there's anything not right then put it right immediately.

Those who are doing their job without dipping their hands in the Treasury have nothing to fear, and should welcome such an audit so that their names will not be sullied.

Can the Najib government have the same transparency? No way, because the crooks running the government would not have it. Let's see how the MCA is going to spin this one.

Well done, Selangor government, continue to do this and Pakatan should be on their way to Putrajaya soon, with or without the cheating by the Election Commission (EC).

Mosquito: Kudos to Khalid for withholding payment pending the outcome of investigations, even if this means stepping onto the toes of some people in his fold.

For a change, we have a leader who takes action on the findings of the state treasury to rectify the situation and prevent/minimise future occurrence, unlike the recurrent abuses reported by the auditor-general where the culprits are never booked and no concrete steps are ever put in place to prevent/minimise those abuses at federal level.

As for those who had been supplying to government without going through the proper procedures, registration and documentation, welcome to the world of transparency and accountability. Hopefully you have learnt your lesson.

Ferdtan: This shows the difference between BN and Pakatan. Under the previous Khir Toyo's BN administration, it was 'semuanya okay' - all can be solved and no questions are asked.

At least now the payments to errant suppliers are being withheld pending further investigation. Well done, MB Khalid Ibrahim for the transparency.

Home: I don't expect all the Pakatan reps to be saints. However, it is very healthy to see even such small amounts of problems come to the surface.

We weren't able to know any of these irregularities before 308 (March 8, 2008). It is actually a good sign.

 

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