I never thought I would see the day when a director-general and deputy director-general of a strategic government department would be remanded for investigations into corruption charges. The Anti Corruption Agency must be congratulated for taking such a bold step.

Of course, seeing that our ACA is not really the brightest nor smartest outfit in the world, that action should not be earth-shattering news. However, given that they are also not the bravest in the world, their actions are truly praise-worthy.

Therefore, these arrests, coming on the day the agency was symbolically given almost absolute authority and full prosecution powers, does imply a new spirit within the ACA. It may also suggests that without political interference, public agencies can begin to do their job and seek to do it right.

But, my real question is, who gave the perintah for corrupt practices and why were the DG and his deputy blindly following such orders? Surely, it was not their individual initiative.

You see, any public servant or government officer worth his salt would know that potential rot like this which involves both the DG and his deputy must go even higher. Why stop with public servants who only follow orders? If government servants do in fact sign-off, saya yang menurut perintah , whose perintah have they been following and for how long? Allow me to address my greater concern.

You see, I happen to also understand that both the DGs of the Immigration and Registration were the two officials who refused to come before the Parliamentary Special Committee on Integrity.

My question when I heard this was, how can they refuse an explicit order of a parliamentary committee? Do civil servants have the courage and the audacity to refuse the directive of the parliament? Why and when did public servants become brave enough to say, saya yang tidak mahu bertanggung jawab? Since when did the executive authority of the cabinet include non-elected public servants?

The above consideration made me reflect to some years earlier when we had an Indonesian maid who, within a few years of illegally landing on the shores of Sungai Besar in Selangor and paying an under-the-counter processing fee of RM1,500 was issued an authentic red identity card.

How, I wondered, could this happen? So, I made an appointment with a friend who was then the DG of the Registration Department and took the identity card to be verified. After some tests, he said, "This is a valid and authentic IC. Please take care not to lose it."

I then enquired, how could my maid have been issued an authentic IC when she was an illegal immigrant? His reply was even more amazing: "That is a million ringgit question for which I have no answers."

Rot at the top

Could I then conclude that he was also simply taking blind orders? Therefore, based on this example, I wonder, who really are the puppet masters behind the DG and his deputy?

Who are these super-powerful crooks who can pull such strong strings and cables that even DGs and deputy DGs take orders from them? I believe these crooks are alive and kicking and raking in billions from human-trafficking. If you are unsure of what I mean, please refer to the Tenganita paper on the subject of Bangladeshi human trafficking.

I would not seek my answers from the current government departments, as I believe they are already very corrupt. After all, it has always been an Umno Minister of Home Affairs and Internal Security.

Today, the fish-head is fully rotten. My real question, therefore, is to the chief secretary and the public services chief. How could your positive and negative vetting have overlooked the appointments of these rotten fish-heads?

Are not candidates for the posts of DGs and deputy DGs, both of which are institutional posts with a significant amount of legislative authority, given a proper vetting before their selection or promotion?

Are not the ACA and police involved in such vetting, because in my own case, according to a letter from the Director of Pensions, the ACA had to clear me before my optional retirement was approved.

If they have to vet a retiree, I am sure more effort must have been put into the promotion of someone like the DG of Immigration? Was there a mistake or is the rotten fish-head syndrome more rampant than it appears?

Also, some answers may also lie with the ACA. Did they not have any hint of potential corruption in the system, after all these years of an Umno agenda era full of complaints, especially from the Sabahans? Or, was the ACA too taking blind orders?

I am sorry if I appear to hit too hard and come across as ungrateful as a former government official. The truth is that over the last 15 years or so, the public service leadership has been so corrupt that it only promotes those who are willing to follow blind orders.

I had intimated this to former minister Rafidah Aziz as my reason for wanting to leave the public services. However, I discovered that it was not too different in government-liked companies either.

Sectarian interests

They had all become part and parcel of the Umno agenda of blind loyalty and obedience to their sectarian interests, often at the expense of the public or national interest.

I, therefore, fully understand why Bernard Dompok resigned as the Chairman of the Committee on Integrity as there was no serious or genuine interest for integration with integrity at any level within the BN leadership.

That is why, again and again, public interest was sacrificed for sectarian interests. That is why Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi experienced Umno's worst defeat ever at the last general election. The people could clearly see this rot and corruption and were tired of being taken for granted and herded like cows for slaughter.

The late Zakaria Mat Deros was a classic example of the symbol of such corruption. The government must be aware that the people are not fools and will not stand fools leading them either.

In conclusion therefore, dear Pak Lah, I will say it again for the last time. And please remember, I had asked your permission to remind you of this personally, please ask all public servants to sign-off saya yang bertanggung jawab instead of blindly taking wrong orders under the saya yang menurut perintah syndrome.

Also, please rise to the new opportunity to become the real prime minister of all Malaysians for the next two years. That is where your heart should be and where good leadership is truly needed.

Now that you have resolved the core issue of the transfer of leadership within Umno, please continue as the prime minister and head of the BN until the next election.

Then Najib (Abdul Razak) or whoever is qualified can contest to be prime minister of the nation. However, please give the people, not only Umno, a chance to make their choice on what is good for the nation.

Rid yourself of the negative ketuanan syndrome and rise up to become the leader you have always been destined to be. May God bless your leadership and I pray that you finish the task ahead of you with honour and integrity.

[Note: Saya yang menurut perintah means 'I who follow orders' while saya yang bertanggung jawab means 'I who am responsible'.]