The Sun reported:
It is morally wrong to ask for bonus as the country is still struggling to sail out of the economic downturn and people in the private sector are being retrenched, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said today.
"It's morally wrong to ask for bonus when the economy has not recovered. I keep telling Cuepacs (president Omar Osman) that it cannot be just like a trade union, shout for bonus every time (there is budget) because you want to (remain) popular among your members," he said.
Cuepacs, the umbrella body for public sector unions, is pushing the government for a two-month bonus for the 1.2 million civil servants in the country.
"In the private sector, the people are getting retrenched and it doesn't happen in the government service.
"However, that does not mean excellent workers cannot be rewarded, but unfortunately such a system was not in place. (RATIONALE?)
"If you have a system that motivates them, even the civil servants can rise and become high-performance workers. We should reward these entire people. "We should not settle for the second best, push them high. CLICK HERE to read more.
In view of such developments, it is time for Malaysians to take a revision course in Moral 101. Please click on the activated links to get a full understanding of each moral issue.
Course Outline Moral 101 Course in Malaysia
1. It is morally wrong to ask for a bonus for civil servants when the economy has not recovered.
2. It is alright to spend RM20 million on a Apco Worldwide, an international public affairs and media relations company, to boost the government's image overseas.
Najib is not the first prime minister, however, to use expensive foreign help to boost his image and that of his administration.
Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi also used a foreign-based public relations firm to help project a positive image of himself as a progressive Muslim leader, and Malaysia as a modern Muslim nation.
The Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad administration had used disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
3. There is no moral dispute over the loss of more than RM 1.4 billion in Rawang-Ipoh double-tracking project. (CLICK HERE for the 2005/2006 Economic Report)
4. There is no moral issue that Mara paid RM84,640 for two units of Acer notebooks plus millions for other overpriced computer equipment.
6. It is perfectly normal for buildings collapse. The roof of the RM300mil Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak collapsed . Ceiling panels at theJalan Duta Court Complex collapsed, Perak State Parks Corporation Complex in Pulau Banding collapsed, and now a 3-week old bridge collapsed in Perak!!!
8. It is not a moral problem when a country has lost RM28 billion through excessive payments for contracts and procurements as announced in the Auditor-General's Report. It is the norm and not a form of deviance.
9. It is morally upright alright that RM2.37bil has been spent to finance the national service (NS) programme since it was introduced in 2004. RM608.6mil was spent in 2004, RM604.8mil in 2005, RM588.2mil in 2006 and RM565mil in 2007. Defence Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had said earlier that the programme would not exceed RM500mil a year.
10. No moral issues are involved in the Port Klang Free Trade Zone RM12.5 billion loss.
11. No one is caught in a moral quandry with regards to the RM70 million (originally priced at RM 490million) Brickendonbury Sports HPTC and establish an inquiry to ascertain who were responsible for the folly of wasting RM2 million in pursuing the project and who had really benefited.
12. It is indeed moral for a Budget 2010 allocation of RM394 million to compensate toll concessionaires for not raising toll rates without remembering that the government had also paid RM180 million in 2009 and RM380 million in 2008 under the Works Ministry as similar compensation.
Malaysians forget easily so Moral 101 ends here. This will enable us to remember these facts and issues fresh in our minds.
Warning: Please do not use your calculator to compute the total figures listed. Your calculator could go into 1Destructive mode.
Readers are welcome to add to the list. Do you think we could hit #100 within three hours?
MALAYSIA BOLEH?
Unknown Excellent, Richard. We need more publicity for these events. See you there.
Warmest wishes,
mws