Know Somebody Anything Can.

It's the hundredth time I heard someone said, " You know someone in there, anything canlah. Otherwise wait until next election." This implies that to get anything done in the government, you must know someone inside dealing with the matter. Now I hear from scribes like Dato' Kadir Jasin himself that even the GLCs and Banks could be very tardy about entertaining application for loans ( Wed.Oct.14 post). Many responses suggest that he should arrange for a private discussion with someone inside. You knowlah what "private discussion" means.....

Before retiring I also applied for an Express Bus licence plying between certain points in KL. I applied as a private person with the letter addressed to the Secretary of the Licensing Board ( no one in particular). The letter was not even acknowledged, not even on a preprinted slip of acknowledgment or rejection. Since it was my own application and not from a member of the public, I just kept quiet about it. If a member of the public had complained to me then, I'd have traced the letter and the officer who chucked it to one side along with hundreds of others perhaps.

Something is certainly wrong with the attidue of some Malay officers who have reached the top of the pyramid. As a Malay I must admit that senior officers from other races, let alone the top bosses, are more responsive and concerned. Some senior Malay officers just couldn't be bothered to check on the performance of critical functions under their charge. They don't feel the urgency to get certain things done, unless it involves their own salary, allowance or promotion. Especially if they're the blue-eyed boys of the bosses. I think members of the public who're not happy with the attention ( or lack of attention) received from a govt officer should now demand to see the boss or send his or her complaint to the Bureau of Public Complaint. That has been done now. But to whom can you complain about the cold-shoulder treatment received from an executive or a functionary in the private sector? Especially in the GLCS or Autonomous Bodies.

I remember inquiring from PETRONAS if it was prepared to build a gas station on a piece of land that I owned. I've done a viability study of such a station and wanted the company to help with the construction and installation of the facilities. I wanted to operate the station myself. A reply came that I would need RM900,000 plus to build the small station that I planned.
But PETRONAS was ready to buy over the land. I didn't have the heart to continue the project. Is there a study to show who owns the green gas stations around the country. I believe most of them have relatives working in PETRONAS. They know somebody inside and that's why they succeeded in owning a station.

I'll very happy if my suspicion is proven wrong, You must either know somebody inside to get your application seriously considered or can arrange for a 'private discussion' outsied the office, with all the attractions thrown in. Well, that's business, I guess. No wonder Dato' Kadir Jasin said, "Sebenarnya saya tak suka berniaga..."