Pak Lak says officers should not threaten builders who complain about delays

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday said some government officers had threatened contractors who complained about delays.

He said this when addressing a monthly gathering of staff of the Prime Minister’s Department during which he called on public sector employees to speed up reviews of the value of contracts in view of rising prices of materials.

“What is the benefit of delaying the process? And why should they threaten those who complain about the delay? Oh… maybe because these officers think they have ‘huge cables’,” he said.

Delays, he pointed out, would make it difficult for contractors who would incur losses as a result of which the people would lose out as they would not be able to enjoy the fruits of development promised to them.

“These officers should know the consequences of their attitude,” he said.

The prime minister said the action was not in line with the government’s wishes to improve its service to the people.

He said that although there might be just one or two officers involved, it could tarnish the whole image of the public service.

Abdullah said there were also delays by banks in issuing loans to contractors.

“This will also make it difficult for the contractors,” he said.

Abdullah said continuous improvement in the public sector had shown results with improvements reflected in the country’s overall competitiveness and ability to attract investors.

He said the momentum should be spurred further.

Public sector employees should also give priority to speeding up the implementation of projects identified under the economic stimulus package for the benefit of the people.

“We want domestic consumption to increase and the country’s economic growth to also accelerate,” he said, adding that it would be difficult to achieve success globally without first achieving success domestically.

Abdullah also took to task traders who still refused to lower the prices of goods although the government had revise downward the fuel prices on several occasions.

He said that although there were some reductions in prices but most of them did not involve daily essentials.

“The government will continue to improve the situation,” he said.

— Bernama