theSun | MONDAY MARCH 10 2008 15

speak up!

Will new people do

the same old things?
THIS column has always held the
view that race, religion or politics
will not be discussed. But today, an
exception has to be made – not to
discuss the results of Saturday’s hus-
tings, but to express the citizenry’s
high expectations of the numerous
promises that were made in the 13
preceding days.
Two years ago, one state as-
semblyman-cum-councillor said that
the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council CitizenNades
would account for every sen spent,
by R. Nadeswaran
including a piece of string! In the end,
all this talk came to nothing as it was
declared that the councils’ budget comes under
the ambit of the Official Secrets Act (OSA)!
Then there was this minister who, when
confronted with facts and figures and unable
to offer any plausible answers resorted to the
oldest trick in the book: “If you don’t like my
policies, stand for elections.”
There are, or shall I say, were, others in local kept; “they” became more important than the
councils aided and abetted by their political
masters – minions and cronies; warlords and
little Napoleons who spoke one thing and did
another. They destroyed the greenery and cut
the hills; they not just bent but broke the laws;
ignored rules and regulations; threw the statutes
out of the window and when confronted, they
had a standard answer – Semuanya OK!
Will things change? Will there be a new coun-
cil where its members are
made up of “professionals
and experts and those
Will the citizenry be involved in the decision-
who have excellent knowl- making process or will it be the domain of those
edge of local government connected to businessmen and developers?”
issues” as stipulated in the
Local Government Act or will it be payback time
for party workers, supporters and financiers?
Will the citizenry be involved in the decision-
making process or will it be the domain of those
connected to businessmen and developers? Will
we see openness so that Joe Public will know
how his money is being spent or will it be an-
other case of “we will let you know if you can
have access”? Will we see the end of wasteful
expenditure like spending RM90,000 for a plastic
coconut tree or will there be prudent spending?
Will the council function as a “secret society”
where decisions are made behind closed doors
or will there be public consultation? Will there
be space for dissent within or will it be a case of
“His Master’s Voice”?
Will the new council collect donations for the
party coffers in exchange for billboard licences
or will it put people before the party? Will the
ordinary citizen be able to inspect documents
which are of non-sensitive nature or will they be
hidden with that convenient three-letter word
– OSA? Will the lawatan sambil belajar continue
under the new regime or will holidays’ on rate-
payers’ money come to an end?
Will they reverse the decision
to allow political parties to occupy
children’s playgrounds or will they
tutup satu mata because they too
can do the same thing? Will there be
open tenders or will they be given to
brothers, sisters-in-law and uncles?
Will illegal funeral parlours be closed
or will they be allowed to continue
because it enjoys the patronage of
the bekas wakil rakyat?
As a citizen and having covered
local councils and having reported
and commented on the antics of
councillors and their staff, these and
more questions keep popping up in your mind.
You keep on wondering if the “new” people will
keep on doing the same “old” bad things.
Why these thoughts? One cannot forget other
governments in other countries that came to
power and then, it got from bad to worse. Voices
of dissent were silenced; promises were never
people; business took precedence over govern-
ance; and above all, the “don’t question me”
attitude prevailed.
Soak in your glory; gloat over you success;
enjoy the fruits of your efforts. To quote Yeo
Yang Poh, the former Bar Council president, who
wrote: “They must never forget, not even in their
sleep, that their much-improved victory is not
their victory, but the victory of the people. Thus
they must serve the people with humility and
dedication. They should be proud, not of their
success, but of the people who have enabled
them to succeed.”
I am trying hard to believe they will live up
to their promises and make local councils the
serambi of change. But politicians will always
remain politicians. If there’s a wish-list based
on the principles of good governance of which
transparency and accountability are the corner-
stones, it will run into a few dozen pages.
Having said that, when service has reached
rock bottom, you can only go up. Comparisons
will be made with the past; new systems will be
matched against the old; and performances will
be judged by delivery. And when changes are
made for the better, the people will rise to give
a standing ovation.
Nadeswaran returns after a month’s break to
write on his pet subject – local councils. He
will continue to be the people’s eyes and ears,
pulling no punches. Contact: citizen-nades@
thesundaily.com

Bank Simpanan is upgrading services

WE refer to the views hypermarkets nation-
published in theSun on
March 5, by S. Ragunathan letter
letters@thesundaily.com
wide such as Carrefour
Kepong, Tesco Ampang,
of Petaling Jaya and Ste- Giant Bayan Baru, Giant
ven Quah of Kajang. Sri Manjung and Tesco,
We would like to thank them for their com- Sg. Petani for our customers’ convenience. We
ments that give us the opportunity to clarify are also installing CDM machines at selected
matters for all our valued customers. branches in phases and the first CDM machine
In response to S. Ragunathan’s comments, is now available at BSN’s Taman Maluri Branch.
Bank Simpanan Nasional (BSN) has decided to With regards to the cheque clearance, as a
close the SS3 Branch as a neighbouring Kelana development bank, we are outside the cheque
Jaya (SS5) branch is located only 3km away clearing system and hence are unable to clear
(less than five minutes drive) from the SS3 cheques as per commercial banks. We have
branch and is therefore better suited to serve plans to enter the clearing system and this will
the whole area. Moreover, customers can also improve the level of services provided.
gain access to our ATMs which are situated at We assure our customers that many more
several locations nearby, such as at the Giant initiatives are underway in BSN’s continuous
Supermarket in Kelana Jaya and industrial areas effort to provide convenient banking services
such as Freescale, Tamura and Omron, which to our customers.
are within the vicinity (2km away).
In response to Quah’s comments, BSN has Director, Corporate Services
recently installed additional ATMs in many Bank Simpanan Nasional