Harris to Anwar: Tell Federal Departments to buck up
Published on: Monday, May 22, 2023
Harris (left) said this is in line with the concept of progressive Malaysia which Anwar (right) has very actively promoted by introducing various action programmes, the most important being the fight against corruption.
Kota Kinabalu: Former Chief Minister Tan Sri Harris Salleh urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to improve the delivery system of federal departments and streamline the federal administration, particularly those in Sabah and Sarawak.He said this is in line with the concept of progressive Malaysia which Anwar has very actively promoted by introducing various action programmes, the most important being the fight against corruption.
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He added Malaysians overwhelmingly supported Anwar’s leadership, whom they saw as the only one who could reinstate Malaysia to its glory days of the 1960s, under Tengku Abdul Rahman and Tun Abdul Razak.
“I suggest that on his next visit to Sabah, Anwar should visit federal departments. The most important is the Immigration Department and National Registration Department.
“These two departments directly impact the livelihood of the rakyat and must improve their delivery system.
“I personally experienced this when I went to renew my passport. It took me almost two hours standing in the waiting room during which time I was also directed from counter to counter,” he said in a statement, Wednesday.
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Explaining further, Harris said the officers operating the counters spent their time shuffling papers from one to another before a decision and approval to renew the passport.
“This is strange considering all counters are linked electronically by one system,” he said, adding this is while there are hundreds of people waiting, standing, even sitting on whatever floor space they find.
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“There are not enough chairs for the few hundred people waiting. Some of these people must have come around 7am and taken leave from their employers or absent themselves from farm work. There is a lot of wasted cash.
“It is not understood why it takes two hours to renew a passport when it can be done within half an hour in Singapore.
“It is also strange that payments must be cashless when 80 per cent of those there are unlikely to have a debit or credit card,” he said.
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