Be accountable, PM tells state chiefs

03/03/2004 The Sun  By R. Manirajam

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi told mentris besar, chief ministers, state exco members and other decision makers yesterday they are all accountable for an effective public service delivery system.

He said a document goes through an approval process and it can only be presented on time at the counter if the decision-makers work effectively.

Launching a "New Strategy in the Administration of Land" here, Abdullah said the public want a service that is not tainted.

"I hope all of you will give your cooperation and work in an effective and dynamic manner to improve the government's image," he said to mentris besar, chief ministers and district officers, present at the launch.

Also present was Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Samsuddin Osman.

Abdullah said the administration of land matters need to be modernised and improved but it should not be done ad-hoc. Instead, attention should be given to all related functions.

"How would you feel, for example, when you are supposed to collect your passport or land grant in one or three days, and when you go there, it is still not ready. No point giving a nice smile and being polite at the counter when you can't meet the public needs," he said.

"We can't delay certain things too long. Therefore, all those involved must do their respective work properly ... it's a chain."

He said he does not like to see, in such a situation, people blaming one another for the delay.

Abdullah said the government had set up a flying squad in the Land Office in Selangor, Perak, Penang, Negeri Sembilan and Johor to resolve the backlog of cases like land registration, ownership transfers, land and strata titles and temporary occupation titles.

He said delays in processing certain land matters not only affect the public but also the economy. This is because certain important government projects are also delayed.

At the function, Abdullah handed over a book on the new land strategy and land code to all the mentris besar and chief ministers, and representatives from the Kelantan and Terengganu governments.

Later, Samsudin said the 150 flying squad officers deployed in the five states have been doing a good job. In Selangor, out of the 80,000 backlog cases 60,000 cases had been resolved. He said the delay in clearing the backlog was purely because of understaffing.

He hoped that with the launch of the book, work and approval in the Land Office will be speeded up.