'Workers must prove they deserve a pay hike'??? MOU GAU ...CHOR!!

KUALA LUMPUR: Civil servants are seeking a salary hike of between 10 and 40 per cent.

Their main argument to back up their claim is that salaries have not been reviewed for the last 10 years, with the cost of living going up tremendously.

Is their request justified? Generally, there is a consensus for a salary increase, but some people have put a condition to it — the civil service force should be leaner and meaner.

"The government should reduce the number of civil servants and employ only the best people and pay them better. This will raise the standard of the civil service," said Social Strategic Foundation executive director Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria.

He said whether they were doctors, policemen or receptionists, those in government employ must be able to perform well. Those who do not should be asked to leave.

Jayasooria said the civil servants’ performance was below world standard.

"Unlike workers in the private sector, most government servants are too comfortable with their job, knowing that they will not be sacked even if their performance is poor," he said.

Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsudin Bardan said since the last wage review for civil servants, the consumer price index has not increased by 40 per cent to warrant a hike of that size.

"If there should be a salary increase, let it be based on the key performance index," he said.

"The civil service receives much flak for its inefficiency and, therefore, the workers have to prove that they are efficient to deserve a higher salary."

On the size of the civil service, Shamsudin said it should be about quality and not numbers.

"I feel a civil service of between 800,000 and 900,000 would be adequate for a population of between 32 million and 33 million by 2020."

He said since voluntary separation schemes or retrenchment were unthinkable in the government, there should be natural attrition where civil servants who retire or resign should not be replaced so that the figure would be not only at a comfortable level, but also more efficient.

Former director for Centre for Public Policy Studies, Dr Lim Teck Ghee, supported the request for a salary hike, but felt that the increases should be proportionate.

He noted that the lowest paid civil servants were receiving less than RM500 a month, which placed them in the hardcore poor group.

Lim said a salary review was urgently needed.

However, there should be a progressive salary increase with those in the lower scales receiving more in terms of percentage.

"Already the salary differences within the Malaysian civil service are among the worst in the world.

"A huge increase for the top scale civil servants is likely to increase this income inequality," he said.

MTUC deputy president Shafie B.P. Mamal said since the price of everything had gone up, it was only logical for civil servants to be paid more.

He, however, felt that a 40 per cent hike would be on the high side.

"Cuepacs and the government should discuss the issue with an open mind and come up with a realistic figure."

The manager of a private firm said the number of civil servants must be trimmed.

"There are about 1.3 million civil servants but the same job could be done by perhaps 800,000 people," he said.

"Reduce the number and the amount saved on their salaries should be paid to those who are efficient. At present, even with 1.3 million civil staff, it takes a long time to get things done at government departments.

"It is not that they have so much work to do but they are simply inefficient."

The owner of a small business spoke out against any pay increases.

"Why should my taxes be used to pay higher salary to the inefficient and over-staffed civil service.

The government’s salary bill is estimated at RM1.7 billion a month and an increase of 25 per cent translates into RM400 million.

Cuepacs president Omar Osman disagreed with the suggestion that the civil service should be trimmed to justify a salary increase.

"No. I do not agree. In fact, I think the number should be gradually increased to 1.5 million by 2010 to prepare the country for developed nation status by 2020," he said.

Omar, however, admitted that the employees in several departments were not performing up to par.

"We are working to improve the situation."

Omar said Cuepacs leaders would go on a road show, which began with Kota Baru on Dec 16 and Klang (today), Kuala Terengganu (Saturday) and Alor Star (Sunday), to argue its case for a salary hike.

No space for teh tarik?? YAU MOU GAU...CHOR!!

No space for teh tarik


MOSCOW: There will be no teh tarik-making or roti canai-tossing experiments in space for our Angkasawan when he blasts off in October.

Instead, he will carry out at least 10 laboratory tests for serious research designed by 10 universities, institutes of higher education and government science agencies.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis said the experiments were important as “they will have an important impact on our local food and medical industries”.

“All the experiments done in space so far are for the benefit of the countries that sponsored their scientists to fly to space.

“There have been no scientific studies in space on any Asian interest, in terms of medicine or food technology.

“The Americans do experiments for their own industries and they do not share their findings. It is the same with the Russians or Japanese; they will not share. This is why it is important for our Angkasawan to carry out these tests,” he said.

Dr Jamaluddin had earlier visited the two Angkasawan candidates, Dr Sheikh Muszaphar Sheikh Shukor and Dr Faiz Khaleed, at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre at the Russian Star City about 35km from here.

The institutes, which drew up the experiments and will supervise the Angkasawan, are Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Malaya, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Universiti Darul Iman, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysian Genome Institute, Aviation Medicine Institute, Sunway University College, Health Ministry and Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute (Mardi).

The experiments will be in the fields of life sciences, space medicine, physics education and food technology.

The Angkasawan, who gets to carry 15kg of equipment on board the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, will do tests on the effects of microgravity and space radiation on microbes, cells, food and crystals. (See chart for details.)

Dr Jamaluddin hoped that the release of the details of these experiments would put paid to earlier reports about the Angkasawan having to make teh tarik or toss roti canai in space.

“We are not sending up a space tourist. Whoever is chosen will be carrying out ground-breaking experiments with serious implications on our economy.

“Mardi’s research to be carried out will have serious implications on how we can pack our foodstuff for export in the future. We may be able to get Malaysian foodstuff packed in a manner that it stays fresh for a longer time.

“These kinds of experiments can only be done quickly in an environment like space,” he added.

The Angkasawan programme is part of Malaysia’s purchase of the Sukhoi multi-role fighter aircraft from the Russians in 2000.

Unlike other countries that have to pay the Russians to send their astronauts to space, the entire programme is borne by the Russians.

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YAU MOU GAU....CHOR!!!!!

Let's face it, we are bad drivers??? YAU MOU GAU..CHOR!!

320,000 accidents and 6,200 deaths yearly, and a shocking 67 per cent of the accidents caused by human error. Why?
* Drivers with bad attitude
* Outdated driving school syllabus
* Motorists can 'buy a licence'

KUALA LUMPUR: Sixty-seven per cent of road accidents this year was due to human error and some guardians of road safety are putting the blame on driving schools for this.

These experts came up with a resolution to improve the driving skills of new drivers at the Road Safety Council’s annual meeting last week.

Among other things, they said driving schools were churning out drivers who only knew how to change gears and drive a car.

Road Safety Department director-general Datuk Suret Singh said driving schools were focusing too much on the technical aspects of driving.

"New drivers are taught parking, changing gears and other technical aspects."

He said members of the council felt that it was time for driving schools to teach new drivers about defensive driving and road safety.

Most of the accidents this year, which claimed thousands of lives, were due to people beating red lights, overtaking at double lines, speeding, tailgating and not wearing seat belts.

Suret said there was also a need to teach new drivers not to use cell phones while driving.

"It is important to change the attitude of new drivers. They need to know more than just changing gears and driving a car."

He said there were weaknesses in the teaching method and driving schools could help to overcome the problem.

"We need to review teaching methods and include additional safety aspects to reduce human error."

Suret also said the high percentage of human error was contributed by motorcyclists who rode without licences.

"A motorcycle licence costs RM400 and many people avoid applying for one."

He also asked driving schools to reduce the fees to encourage more youth to apply for licences.

Road safety expert Prof Radin Umar Radin Sohadi agreed with Suret. He said driving schools should only send competent students for driving tests.

"If you look at developed countries, new students can only sit the driving test when they are found to be competent in driving."

In Malaysia, a new student is required to take a minimum of eight hours of driving lessons before he can take the driving test.

Furthermore, Radin said driving schools in developed countries had included defensive driving in their curriculum since the 1970s.

"During emergencies, their drivers know how to handle their vehicles. Our drivers do not have defensive driving skills. We do not have defensive driving in our programme."

Last year, there were 6,200 road fatalities and about 320,000 accidents nationwide.

‘Outdated course, short practice hours
produce unskilled drivers’

KUALA LUMPUR: The blame game continues. Driving schools, which are said to be contributing to accidents caused by human error, are in turn blaming it on the outdated driving course produced by the Road Transport Department.

They also feel the minimum requirement of eight hours of driving is insufficient to produce competent drivers.

Malaysian Driving Institutes Association president Datuk Hanafi Mat Zin said driving schools should not be held solely responsible for churning out incompetent drivers.

"How can we produce drivers of calibre within the minimum eight hours?" he asked.

He urged the Transport Ministry to increase the minimum number of driving hours for new learners.

"It will give us time to teach them more things," he added.

However, Pan-Malaysia Lorry Owners Association president Er Sui See said the cost of learning defensive driving and road safety should not be borne by new drivers.

Learners pay between RM800 and RM1,000 for theory and practical tests.

"If the RTD decides to extend the minimum driving hours, the cost should not burden new drivers.

"They should work out a way to ensure that all parties benefit from the driving course," he said.

RTD deputy director Jaafar Mohamed said the department was reviewing the driving course syllabus to include defensive driving and road safety.

"We agree that the course needs to be reviewed to create competent, responsible and skilful drivers," he said.

A source from the Transport Ministry said another factor which contributed to the high percentage of human error was students bribing RTD officers to pass the driving test.

"Some of them pay RTD officers RM200 to pass the test. They are not competent and should not be on the road," he said.

He urged newly-appointed RTD director-general Ahmad Mustapha to reduce corruption within the department.