PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has urged the heads of government agencies and enforcement bodies to go down to the ground and take action against civil servants who are still comfortable and complacent with the "old system and practice" when doing their duty.
In his speech at the Prime Minister's Department's monthly assembly here today, Anwar singled out the Customs and Immigration departments based on the findings gathered during his surprise visit to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang near here yesterday.
While praising the Immigration Department for having all its counters open at the time he made his surprise visit, he hinted at corrupt practices among a small group of officers.
"During my visit to the airport, I observed operations by the Immigration Department. I found that all Immigration counters at the premises were operational.
"Nevertheless, there is a small group among them who are still used to with the old system and practice.
"I believe that such a matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to take action against this group," he said.
Anwar also called for strict action to be taken immediately by heads of departments as failure to do so would not only tarnish the good image of the government department but also the country.
"During my visit (to KLIA), I found that only one of the total seven scanners operated by the Customs Department located at the arrival area of the airport was operational.
"Coincidentally, I am the finance minister, and the department is under my ministry. Do not wait until the minister himself goes to the ground to find out about scanners that are damaged (not operational).
"I was told that the defective scanners have not been operational since last year. If there was a pressing need and only millions of ringgit were needed to resolve the issue, the government could just approve the allocation immediately to rectify the problem," he said during the assembly at the Dewan De' Seri Endon, Puspanitapuri here.
It was reported yesterday that Anwar had conducted a surprise visit to inspect the Customs and Immigration operations at the airport prior to welcoming home Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah and Raja Permaisuri Agong Tunku Hajah Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah from Saudi Arabia following their haj pilgrimage.
At the assembly, Anwar also explained his surprise visit to KLIA which was conducted on the heels of the bombshell dropped by Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing over the alleged "culture of corruption" among some Immigration officers at the country's main gateway.
"I went there and decided to defend the integrity and the authority of the Immigration Department as a whole and that we should avoid giving the general perception that there are issues within the department.
"However, I must stress that stern and immediate action must be taken against the small group of people who remain complacent with the old ways and practices.
"We should not let a few rotten apples spoil others. We should not settle for mediocre practices. As I said on numerous occasions, we must continue striving for excellence," he said.
Anwar also told top government officials to go down to the ground, inspect and find out if things were working accordingly.
"We must avoid making assumptions that everything is alright on the ground. Having that said, we must set the right objective when we conduct visits on the ground which is to improve (the delivery service) instead of condemning and finding fault," he said.