mystory - 21 April 2008

news one.
"The Star: Dont waste money on needless luxuries, agencies told"

The Finance Ministry has instructed all government agencies to reduce frills when organising official funcions to cut cost and prevent wastage.

Second Finance Minister, TS Nor Mohamed Yakcop said a circular has been sent out earlier, but he was 'renewing' the directive as a reminder to all department heads.

"Government agencies should not hold events at five-star hotels, which is quite unnecessary and very costly".

my comments:

great call Tan Sri. hopefully it does not stop there. shouldnt it involve GLCs as well? for a start, why not make them use Proton as official company cars. if Proton is good enough for our Prime Minister, it should be good enough for any CEOs. except for certain companies like Sime Darby. why? coz sime darby is in the motor industry selling brands like BMW, Ford and Hyundai. so these car brands are used as company cars. others have no reason not to use Proton.

UMNO should follow as well. imagine this. UMNO has three wings - Wanita, Pemuda and Puteri. each has its own set of programs/events every year. more often than not, each event/program organised by either one of the wings, would involve a set of cap and t-shirt with logos and what not. if say Pemuda organises 10 programs every year, most likely there would be 10 sets of caps and t-shirts. that is only at the national level. not counting the programs at divisional and branch levels. so at year end, one would have a collection of caps and t-shirts, that most likely would not be worn anymore except maybe for sleeping or gardening.

some would argue that these items are essential to commemorate and promote the events. the question is - whether we can get the desired results without them? the impact of the program. if we can save money without the 'non-essentials' then we can organise more programs for the benefit of the members and rakyats. and we can reach out more. form vs. substance.

news two.
"The Star: Dr M - Najib should not be PM"

Tun Dr M said he had second thoughts about DS Najib becoming Prime Minister as Najib has failed to speak up about the real reasons behind BN's losses in the GE.

He said that Najib was not 'brave enough' to directly say anything that was not liked by his boss.

"Najib will face competition from others such as Muhyiddin, Rais Yatim, you never know". However, Tun M said if PM abdullah adawi were to step down now, it would pave the way for a smooth transition as Najib would succeed him in accordance with UMNO tradition.

my comments:

this is the second time Tun M has expressed his 'dissatisfaction' with Najib. earlier this month, at a forum organised by mykmu.net, he said: “For now, I can’t say who (should replace Abdullah). Although I have said before it should be Najib, I don’t know why for ‘some reason’ I have now changed my mind." as i wrote in my earlier post, i dont think Tun M is actually withdrawing his support to DS Najib. i dont see that happening.

i believe Tun M is frustrated that DS Najib is playing it safe - too safe. not willing to take the risk and speak out against the boss. of course, that is one of the 'pitfalls' being the no 2. DS Najib has to be very careful of his actions and words. he is expected to obey the boss - through thick and thin. in sickness and in health. one wrong move may be the beginning of the end of his long political career.

Tun M is still influential. whatever he says still carry a lot of weight. if he is frustrated, then UMNO members will get frustrated together with him. therefore, DS Najib must act now.