Ombudsman Anyone?

We have this common practice of flying overseas whenever there is some need to study other countries’ systems.

We know that MAS needs the business but we should not waste time and money on trivial pursuits. No wonder the MSC project in Malaysia is barely breathing. The Internet is a very powerful tool for info on any topic.

Just “google” UK Ombudsman and you get 1,370,000 hits. Now that would be a rich source for information before one embarks on a trip half way across the globe.

This is the one of the official sites for the UK Ombudsman.

This is a site for a watch on local governments.

One would imagine that people would spend time checking out these websites prior to costly overseas junkets. I daresay that it would be possible to implement all these changes for the PCB without leaving on a jet plane.

In order for any ombudsman system to work effectively there must be some freedom of information and the PCB should also include a Freedom of Information Act so that citizens can find out about all government dealings except for top security issues after say 20 years of the event.

Changes to the PCB will take at least six to tweleve months before it comes up for discussion in Parliament. While the Ombudsman system may be good for Malaysia in the near future, we need the IPCMC urgently and this should have been established six months ago.

Photo: http://unr.edu/homepage/fenimore/London/Buckingham%20Guard.jpg