Tyranny of the M’sian bureaucracy
Written by Dr Lim Teck Ghee, CPI
During the last few days we have had two clear examples of how tyrannical and vicious the Malaysian bureaucracy can be, and how unyielding it is to any reform measures or initiatives. This Mr Hyde side of the Malaysian bureaucracy is not the usual dark side that the Malaysian public is familiar with – one associated with inefficiency, laziness, poor service, abuse of power or corruption.
It is one that is part and parcel of the hidden racially-charged context of our institutions and it smacks of the ideology of Malay dominance – or even Malay supremacy – that the civil service has come to personify. This is the dark side that is generally kept away from public scrutiny and accountability, not only because it runs against the grain of what a modern, progressive and representative civil service is, but also because it is regarded as politically incorrect to discuss or analyze it.
The first example appeared just two weeks ago when a courageous whistleblower, Dr Selvaa Vathany, a doctor from the Orang Asli Affairs Department (JHEOA) Hospital, Gombak made startling claims of rampant malpractice, misappropriation of resources and other wrongdoings by the hospital staff and associated agencies of government dealing with the Orang Asli.
Dr Selvaa is not your ordinary whistleblower. Providing details on the importance of healthcare and medical assistance for the Orang Asli – their children are 15 times more likely to die from malnourishment compared to other children – she revealed that for entire communities “essentials given out are limited to one to two bottles of cooking oil, six to eight tins of canned food, two packets of 400g Milo, 15 to 20 small packets of milk powder, 10 to 20 diapers, two bottles of detergent and 10 to 20 pairs of slippers, per visit. These are distributed at random …. If the villagers are lucky, distribution could be as frequent as once in every two to three months”.
She noted that “a tin of infant milk is divided into six small packets with 15 to 20 packets distributed to a village of between 250 to 500 people”.
All of this is strong circumstantial evidence that resources meant for Orang Asli communities are hijacked, possibly by the very people entrusted with the responsibility of distributing them to these vulnerable groups.
In her press conference, she also pointed to an institutional defect in which individuals without medical training and incapable of following Health Ministry protocols and standards were made hospital administrators and were appointed from the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.
Most tellingly, she pointed to an extensive cover-up of the scandal with little or no follow-up to the complaints made to the Prime Minister’s Department, Rural and Regional Development Ministry, Health Ministry, Chief Secretary, Public Service Department and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
The only follow-up that has taken place appears to have been the thuggish and unacceptable response of the team from the Rural and Regional Development Ministry who “questioned the complaint… made by the Orang Asli in an unprofessional manner”, and threatened and attempted to intimidate them.
For her professionalism and integrity in speaking out on behalf of a marginalized and impoverished community, Dr Selvaa is now being transferred to Kedah where presumably she will be left to rot and to rue her courageous challenge of the status quo.
