Of screwdrivers and binoculars

I don't know if I should rejoice or I should cry. It seems like my happiness is definitely on the expense of my beloved's country's future. Sadly, my forthcoming predictions isn't shared by the leaders of my country. The many leaders of the country. They have failed, are continue failing and are slowing dragging us into the same hell hole.

The only difference is that when we actually hit hell and when all of it break lose in an ugly almost unforgiving way, we will weep and wail while the ones who actually dragged us to hell will flew off to many parts of the world undisturbed for they have creating a heaven elsewhere. This is a fact. Have you watched Inside Job yet? This is another one of it's fine example happening in yours truly.

What exactly I'm talking about here. I read in the Star newspaper today. Civil servants are to receive 13% pay hike starting next year Jan 1st under the Skim Baru Perkhidmatan Awam (SBPA). I love my job. I love being a government servant because it has allowed me to strike a balance between work and other important things in life because life is definitely not about work, work and work but I think the pay rise isn't justified especially when the election is around the corner. 

I also read yesterday in an article written by a Singaporean journalist that by 2019, Malaysia would be bankrupt because we are SOOOOO much in debt to which I ask " Is this rise even unnecessary? Did we ask you?  What have we achieved to earn this money really? Every year, the government expenditure has raised and will keep on raising. Our debt are growing at every minute yet  this. How sound a judgement is this? 

 The big whales in the sea of political corruption are still very much alive, breathing and well on their way to migration and corrupt policeman still exist in many parts of Malaysia like the local newspaper man. And there are some bunch of idiots who buy marine binocolours for a price of a brand new Myvi and even worse morons who approve such requisitions. This is just another screwdriver story repeating itself and it seems like the Auditor- Generals' Report are just there to point to us that "Look massive corruption is happening here, but really it's ok, you don't have to worry because next year another hammer will cause 3000% more and we'll just report that to overide the binoculars." That's it. Year in year out you hear this kind of astonishing statistics being published in the dailies and slowly is forgotten in the course of the year and resurfaces again in another mode of thing purchased by a different department the next year. The department concerned will never admit their mistakes and the the person behind the whole scam was never identified and taken action on. How sad. Money that can be put to good use is quietly swindled away into someone or some many pockets and all we could do is just watch.

Allow me to enlighten all of you on the power of purchase.

This power is a mighty power as anyone who is designated to do the purchase has the capability to increase the country's debt by as we have seen in the binocolour case, an approximate 3000%. On the opposite end of the spectrum, anyone who wants to assume full responsibility to a purchase and turun padang to do the field work would save the government that exact 3000%. 

Our governemnt has one of the best requisition system in the world. Surprised, don't be? Let me take you through it. Any requisition begins from a form, a good form. No fault in the form. You ask what you want, justify the reasons. Then the next step is to go and look for three unbiased quotations where you actually go out to look for it as this would give an idea of what is the market price. The key is to just browse around like any normal customers would do and take a note of the prices. Probably you need to make some note as to what are the prices range in those three shops. Get their name card. Go back to the office and then tell them you're from government. The key is to not let them know it earlier because almost all the businness owners have this typical notion that " Government order means can increase quotation and mark up the price". So now, you hold the cards. You tell them that you're looking for item A and saw that your shop actually offers it at price B. Here's where you need some negotiation skills. Tell them the amount you need and psycho them into believing that you're definitely gonna take the item from. Politely hung up with "Hopefully you'll be able to give a good price"

In reality, this happens

Clerk A: Hello, you kasi fax sama saya quotation scanner.Canon Ld110. Attention to Miss Tak Kisah. (Ms. Don't Care), Jabatan Kesihatan. Fax number: .5678XX45

(Calls  two other company and does the same) and then proceeds to looking at Avon Magazine on her table.

Three days later, the quoatation arrives Ms.TK, looks through. Finds the cheapest among three while not being aware that the price of the item is 245% more than the market price and forwards it to her boss. Her boss En.Sign Saja (Mr.Just Sign), looks at it " Apa ini?, Oh scanner" Ok. signs it and pass it back to Ms TK. Ms TK then proceeds to Unit Perolehan (Purchasing Unit) or Aset of a particular department and hands it over to the other department. Ms TK's job is over.

In Unit Perolehan,

En. Tengok Cukup (Mr.Just See), looks at the requistion checklist and makes sure three quotation is there and the neccessary signatures are there and proceeds to issue out the LPO (Local Purchase Order). This LPO is akin to money on paper which will be handed over later to the company in charge of supplying the items for them to prepare the commercial invoice. Upon delivery of items, the invoice and other documents requested by unit perolehan will be attached by the company for the government to pay them. This is the universal system of procurement in all governement agencies.

At any one or many of the stages, thought mishaps gives birth to kan tao kakis. (KTK) aka the crocodiles.  KTKs can be the clerk or the master minds, the boss who signs it themselves. If these KTKs have wider network,  all three quotations are biased as they know their suppliers and all they have to do is to quote a certain amount (always way higher) then share the profit equally. You makan- I pun makan policy. Often quotations that reaches from one department to the Unit Perolehan ( a department under Ministry of Finance) rarely goes through high scrutinization as most of the UP people are clerks whose job is to look at requistions after requistions till their eye balls bleed. So if they care and they realize the item is suspiciously pricey, they would reject otherwise this would next year end up on the AG's report. 

Now let me ask you. Is the system really flawed? Hell no, if you look closely, at every tier there's a filter. Someone to check if the other one has done it right. And the initial three quotations policy was to avoid any biasness and to get an even distribution of the market price. In some government agencies, quotations are to be sealed and dropped in a box which is only opened when witnessed by a committee who will then select the supplier.

How do I know all this? It's because in some departments like mine everyone is transparent and my boss is a clean slate at least that's what he has successfully portrayed. Everything is accounted for, if not "Audit Query". Anyone can ask for quotation and not just a clerk. An officer can take a walk to the local IT mall request for brochures and then proceed on to ask her staffs to call for quotation. Transparency rules.

The system never failed. The KTKs conscience failed. They're the bad apples and they exist in every government and private department tree. They're there in every branch, trunk and at the roots where it's the strongest. The only reason we harp about government all the time is because AG reports is only published on government agencies. Every private company has their own internal auditors but you don't see it leaking out in the public, do you? Maybe someone in Sime Darby bought a palm oil testing machine 101% more than the market price. Who knows? No one but it exists.

Probably all of you already knew this but what can we do about it. Here's some of my mindful suggestions. You may belong to any or more of this categories at any given time.

Purchasing clerk/ N32-36/N17 (in govs) : 

Go find the quotation yourself. Believe no one above you or below you because KTK's exist everywhere. If the one above you insist on finding the quote, let them. But when the quote comes back, use your brains to think if a screwdriver really cause RM2500++.  If you think it is, then God help you.  If you don't believe it, BRAVO, take the next step to protect yourself, find another three quotations yourself  while making sure the date and time is stamped on the quotation. Make a self declaration on the quote and sign it and get someone to witness it. Keep it away safely. Someday when MACC probe or AG reports in the year of 2019 (if we still have a governent) comes out, someone (most probably your moronic boss who signed the requisitions) will accuse you of that RM23,000 copy machine you quoted for, take out our powerful evidence and show them.

Officers ranking 41 and above/ Managers:

 The same procedure as above applies to you and assuming you hold a degree to actually be in this position, I assume you're not  that dumb to actually believe that a screwdriver cost RM2500. If you are the approver who signs the suspicious quotations, tell your staff politely that you're not gonna sign it unless they find a more reasonable quote and tell them if they can find it, you'll go with them to look for quotes. Sessi beramah mesra bersama pekerja. :)

The loneliest/ Greediest of the Lot/ Head of Departments (HOD) (whichever suits you): 

If you're one of the heads of KTKs, you should be worried because I know what you did all year around and so many people who are reading this will be enlightened too. If you're just another humble government servant, please for YOUR sake (because at some point of time, even God can't save you), read any document before you sign.

The supplier/ The private companies/ Independant bussiness owners:

 Don't quote the government people like ridiculously high price because many of them actually believe it and have no idea what in the world or thereafter that can happen to them. Most of them, have low level of awareness. Also one day, when justice prevails ( the day when AG reports comes with actions ), you'll be in hot soup, maybe you'll be dead by then but your son who took over the business from you and learn quote hike from you is gonna get a hurt real bad.  While this may bring a lot of profit to you in the short tem, ultimately, you're still paying tax and the money you makan will keluar in the form of tax back to the government. You will also at the same time endlessly complain about government collecting too much of tax from you. Good on you. You brought it upon yourself.

Ms.TK, En. SS, Mr.TC, KTK's are all within us. At the brink of desperation, any mind could be and always is tempted, we could even be one of them but remember that which that doesn't belong to you,  should not stay with you and that which is abundance is ought to be shared. You do your part. You do it well. You just lead by example and not by title. Those who wants to join your lead will do so, those who don't God help them.