Goodbye, 2013. Looking forward to 2014.

It's been a wonderful year, 2013. For now, I must go away for a while on my motorbike. Until then, we shall meet again in 2014!

Senior Officials Seldom Available to Duties, Does Crappy High Fives Instead

Many have been complaining that senior officials from public bodies and government agencies are too slow to respond to the needs of the public. This is despite being "in compliance with the Government’s Key Performance Index (KPI)".

Presumably, this Key Performance Index is to present to themselves how good they are and therefore it means that they deserve bonuses and raises while they go out playing yet another round of golf:

"We're so good we announce an index saying that we perform well! And because we perform well, we give ourselves bonuses and raises!"  *crappy high five*

Most common complaints are that some senior officials' signatures are required in several important documents, but because they are seldom around, these officers are either always “outstation”, “tied-up in meetings” or “on leave”.

Also common complaints include the District Office, Miri City Council, Natural Resources and Environment Board and Environment Department were labelled being too slow to perform their service. On top of that, the police,  Road Transport Department, Public Works Department, Drainage and Irrigation Department, National Registration Department, Welfare Department, Miri Hospital, and pretty much everything else, were cited as “struggling to improve”.

Some of these complaints appeared on the state PAS website.

The hardest hit are the people who come to these departments from the rural areas, seeking signatures of senior officers to endorse forms related to statutory declaration, but are then told that these officials are not in. The counter personnel would often give excuses, saying that these officers are either out for meetings or on leave and telling the visitors to come back another day. Because transportation to and fro from rural areas are needlessly complicated, requiring 4x4s, boats, planes, bicycles, hiking, jumping through fire hoops and outrunning rolling boulders, this can be a costly affair.

“This sort of pathetic service is causing a lot of hardship to the people, especially those who have to spend a lot of money just to travel to the city and get their documents signed,” according to the party’s deputy state commissioner Jofrie Jaraiee.

 So, on the opposite end of the (weighing) Scale (pun CLEARLY intended HAHAHAR) when asked for comments, Assistant Communications Minister and Senadin assemblyman Datuk Lee Kim Shin assistingly communicated that while he would not respond to complaints posted by PAS, he would speak to the heads of various departments mentioned to determine the truth.

 Naturally the Yes Men are going to say, "huh we haven't heard of such complaints-clearly PAS must be lying and making up stories", and then proceed to give themselves crappy high-fives and more bonuses and raises.

Crappy High-Five!!

"Crappy high-five all around everybodee!"

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Community/2013/12/27/Officials-nowhere-to-be-seen-Not-in-in-meetings-and-on-leave-among-top-public-complaints/

Police: Surrender Homemade Firearms Now!

This is a firearm. It's illegal to make one in your home. I think that's the one.

Apparently, Mirians have real talent for manufacturing dangerous things - there are some people who are making firearms in their homes! Why? Well to shoot Bambi of course!

Miri police chief, ACP Mun Kock Keong, has said that arrests and fatalities involving homemade firearms has occured in Miri and also other areas of Sarawak. And people are still making firearms for hunting or for sale, despite being warned sternly not to shoot themselves or their loved ones (either accidentally, or deliberately).

He said, “I would like to issue another warning to those in possession of homemade firearms — what they are doing is a very serious offence under the law where upon conviction, the punishment can be very heavy with lengthy jail sentences."

“Possession of any firearm without a licence is a very serious crime, regardless of whether the firearms are made at home or made in the factory,” he said.

“There have been numerous cases of children getting killed because of these weapons in their houses that had been discharged accidentally."

These cases are happening from Taman Tunku and Kuala Baram. That pretty much covers Miri from one end to the other.

"If you have a firearm, you will need to surrender them immediately to the nearest police station. "

"Don’t wait until you have to pay a ‘deadly’ price,” he warned.

On the latest seizure of two homemade firearms in Lambir on Friday, two men were found possessing an air gun and a shotgun, complete with a handfull of bullets. Investigation revealed that these two men had manufactured these weapons for hunting purposes. The penalty is still very severe even if the homemade firearms are only for the purpose of hunting, but there are no specifics on how severe.

On a typical hunt..

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Community/2013/12/24/Serious-crime-says-ACP-Mun-Police-warn-people-to-surrender-homemade-firearms-or-face-severe-conseque.aspx