But government policies are for foreigners to take over projects that used to be run by the government. To make that possible, the National Front government said it had no role in money making departments. Water, among others, were privatised. But the National Front saw it as a means of rewarding its members. All privatisation in Malaysia is run by the former civil servants, but with a salary more than what they took home when in the Civil Service. Today, it is ripe for a foreigner to step in, so that he could take the profits home. Statements from foreign governments and companies state this as fact. Our bottled water is, would soon be, owned by foreign companies, who would use Malays as local leaders. The National Front government has not made a policy statement about this. The Minister of Trade and Industry, Datin Seri Rafidah Aziz says one thing here, and the opposite overseas. But this is par for the course in the levels of leadership in the National Front.

The non-Malay has taking the hint, and moved to the private sector or migrated. The government and Malay-dominated Civil Service has put a spin to this absence: the non-Malays are not interested in the Civil Service because the pickings are better in private employment.

But that happened in the Islamic Family Law. This law makes Muslim women second-class citizens, even lower than the non-Malays. The women rebelled. The Pak Lah government, knowing that offending the women will not win elections, ordered an amendment. But it did it so hamfistedly that it creates more doubts. The cabinet minister in charge of women, a woman herself, first spoke with the Islamic authorities about the amendments. Legally, the amendment is flawed. The Islamic Family Law is not yet law. So how can an amendment be passed? But this what happens when every Malay – in Malaysia, he is automatically a Muslim – in government, whether minister or civil servant, regards Islam as more important than Civil Service procedures.

PAK LAH SAID the people are angry with the 30-cent increase in petrol but warned the opposition parties were taking advantage of it. He withdrew the subsidy to petrol companies, a practice started about 40 years ago to keep prices down. The oil companies had not increased the prices, but with the removal of the subsidy increased the price. The government explained that petrol companies have not increased the prices for some time but the government has withdrawn 30 cents of the subsidies! Whatever the reason, the people now pay nearly two dollars per litre in petrol. but It was not he who withdrew the subsidy but his son-in-law, Mr Khairy Jamaluddin, so that the government would have enough money for his projects under the 9th Malaysia Plan. This may or may not be true, but the studied silence in the government and Civil Service to allegations on the Internet and alternate press that now takes as read that the son-in-law demanded it. That sticks, whether Pak Lah likes it or not and he refuses to say otherwise.

"THE OFFICER IS ON leave" is the frequent answer to Malaysians who turn up on an appointed date. The office should not shut down because the officer is on leave. But the practice in Malaysia in the last 35 years is for files to be under lock and key, which the officer takes with him on leave. This is not how the Malaysian Civil Service should function. But instead of the checks and balances that exist, it is now controlled by a Malay-Islamic group, usually at mid-level or lower. It is incumbent on civil servants to leave their office on transfer or promotion to make his office more Malay and Islamic. The non-Malay in the Civil Service is a rarity. But his promotion is stunted by this group, the "fairness" in the system is seen in the promotion to the top of perhaps three non-Malays.

Proton was formed a car manufacturer with a hidden agenda to lose the Malay fear of technology. It was in the vaguard of converting Malaysia from an agricultural national to a technological one. But that was forgotten after it was set up, and decisions taken reflected not this ideal but how money went into official's pockets. When politicians were openly corrupt, the rest of the Civil Service follows. There was enough illegal gratification for every one, and ideals were lost for money. And this spread to other policies as well. CyberJaya is a success because land prices not that it is a technological hub. It is not surprising therefore to see Proton today as a step child. No one, perhaps but Tun Mahathir, is interested in its success, if it means private invidials cannot benefit.

Tun Mahathir Mohamed appointed four deputy presidents – Tan Sri Musa Hitam, Tun Ghafar Baba, Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi – and one, Dato' Seri Abdullah Badawi, succeeded him. Today, Tun Mahathir spends his waking hours trying to remove that man from his job. But even his former supporters in the Civil Service and business men have deserted him. The Malaysian is given a choice between the prime minister who has the future in front of him and a prime minister known for what he had done in the past. In Malaysia, the man of the hour is the custodian of all that is good in Malaysia. Tun Mahathir's expired when he resigned two years ago. But politics in UMNO is still conducted at the top. The leaders think the decision they made can be forced upon the members. It is not only UMNO leaders believe that, all National Front party leaders believe it.

Thirty years after the New Economic Policy and that of Malay Dominance, by which non-Malays will hold no position in the government service that they cannot be promoted to any supervisory position in the lower services, and the promotions in the upper services are limited. After the nude squat scandal, the lack of non-Malays were highlighted. The official explanation is that they will not join the government services or the uniformed branch because they are paid better outside. It is the non-Malay view now. They took this view when they found they touched a glass ceiling early. There is an attempt to get non-Malays now, but the non-Malays do not trust the government now. A non-Malay promoted in the Civil Service means the Malay who recommended him would be penalised. No one wants that for himself, Malay or non-Malay. In the armed services, they retire as lieutenant-colonels or colonels, that latter rank given them in the last year of their service, while most of their Malay juniors had jumped over them. One examples will suffice: a non-Malay police officer retired as assistant superintendent of police, but his batchmate died as deputy inspector-general of police. They had retired in the 1970s, which means they jointed the force in the 1950s, after Merdeka. This would not happen now because the non-Malay would not be selected.

So, the question is why ECM Libra sued. The Khairy Chronicles, particularly part 23, and other writings, has exposed Mr Khairy's attempts to be, if possible, the next Prime Minister. He believes he can get to be at the top without explaining himself and assuming the people are fools. But one cannot reach the top by stealth, especially now when all moves are questioned, or reported. He will not explain himself, but continues with his machinations, and collects enemies in the Civil Service and UMNO, as a dog collects fleas. The court action will be the first when he will have to explain his behind-the-scenes action, and how he came to so much money that he could buy into ECM Libra for RM9.2 million. Whether he likes it or not, he will be called as a witness. As more damaging articles appear on Malaysia Today, his enemies in UMNO spread them around. They are distributed widely in Selangor, Johore, Pahang, Kedah and to severak UMNO divisions elsewhere. What he does in secret and behind the scenes will also be laid bare.

These people have forgotten or ignored their past. The deputy prime minister, Dato' Najib Tun Razak, was shocked at the poverty in Pengkalen Pasir during the byelection. But it is no worse than Pekan, the royal capital of Pahang, and the name of his constituency. It proves only that he does not visit his constituency often. I visited Pekan in the 1970s, following his father, Tun Razak, to the poor villages, and was shocked at what I saw. The officials tried to say the poverty in the constituency has increased, but it had not. I often travelled with the advance party, and saw poverty there unvarnished of Civil Service dressing up. But the poverty in Pekan is no worse than in Pengkalen Pasir. But Dato' Najib, who was once elected from Pekan with a narrow margin that he was known for a while as 'Minister 59', the number being his majority after a general elections and after five recounts.

This is not to say that Indians and Chinese do not reach the top. They do. But the Chinese and Indian civil servant gets to be secretary-general of the Housing and Local Government, and of the National Unity Ministry. Sometimes, the head of another irrelevant ministry is not a Malay. But these gentlemen are the favoured non-Malays, who will look after Malay interests, and are neutered, as it were, before they reach the top. There will be no change to the system, unless relatively junior Malay civil servants stop questioning why a non-Malay has been promoted. The senior Malays, knowing which way their bread if buttered, follow the majority. In addition, a Malay is promoted for pushing the Malay and Muslim agenda. The rules of the Civil Service is swept aside. The man in charge when he goes on leave do not tell his stand-in where they are. But this was not who it was like. But a man in the Immigration Department, an Indian, was arrested under the Internal Security Act because he was too efficient. Is it any wonder it is so lethargic?

But in 1970 the education system was changed from English to Malay by Tun Rahman Yaacob, then education minister, in the Malay revival after the 1969 riots. Tun Razak, then Prime Minister, nor the cabinet could speak out against it, and quietly passed that as Malaysian policy. From 1971 onwards, each class would progressively be taught in Malay so by the mid-1980s, even universities would be taught in Malay. It was already the language of the Civil Service, and it was imposed on the body politic with a vengeance. In each government department, there is a Malay language group, later an Islamic group, or a group which combined the two. There were more powerful than the secretary-general of that ministry. Their job was to see that no non-Malay is promoted. Secretaries-general were afraid of this group. As long as they stuck to the group's principles, they need not follow Civil Service rules. In the early days, there were Malay secretaries-generals who could strike these people down, but not anymore. The nude woman ear squat that has caused problems between China and Malaysia is normal; only China's reaction of asking questions and creating a fuss is not.

THE HOME AFFAIRS MINISTER, Dato' Azmi Khaled, who is going to China on 20 December 2005 and not today as he announced to the press, said it is press reports that paint Malaysia as profiling tourists, not that it does, that is hurting tourism. He said that newspapers in China 'have been carrying negative stories on the treatment of their citizens, and it does not help when local newspapers reprint the stories'. But has there been a believable statement so far that it does not profile tourists? The deputy internal security minister, Dato' Noh Omar, says it does profile tourists. So far he has justified the police case against the tourists. What he says is important, because the minister of his ministry is the Prime Minister, Pak Lah. Journalists go after a story, and the naked tourist doing a ear squat is one. The government is at needles and pins, saying one thing one time, and another the next, giving the impression that it is not in control of itself, that the police and immigration care two hoots of official policy. The police and immigration officers have done what they liked, irrrespective of what government policy is, because they have a hidden policy: ketuanan Melayu or MalayDominance. That is why there are few Malays, Chinese and other non-Malays in Civil Service. Those appointed are usually to make the Malay look good. So, most non-Malays do not apply and prefer to take their chances in the private sector. Most migrate to other countries. How can Dato' Azmi explain this fact of life to China when he goes there later this month?

When the cabinet is responsible for municipal matters, the overall structure of the state disappears, as it has in Malaysia. The policeman takes the law into his hands because he knows he would not be penalised if he is a Malay. It is Malay ketuanan, Malay dominance, that holds sway. There is official crocodile tears at the lack of non- Malays, but the policy is not to engage them. The decision was taken after the riots. A non-Malay police officer who has retired said he had only desk jobs in his career, and he was sidelined throughout his career. Even in the states, he was given a desk job, and called to the ground only when the problem involving his race could not be solved by the Malay policemen or officers. Today, the order is to take in non-Malays in Civil Service, but those taken in are not the brightest and smartest who apply, but those who will make the Malay look good. The Civil Service has a political agenda which overrides what it is supposed to do. The non-Malays are subborned to make the Malay look good. This is so in politics. The non-Malay members are there to ensure that UMNO is always on top, and to answer questions the Malay cannot for fear of not believing in ketuanan. So the non- Caucasian tourist, especially the women, are badly treated by the Malay policeman, because he knows he would not be punished. It comes to the fore because Chinese tourists are important, and the mainstream newspapers report these without fear or favour. To the Malaysian, it only proves what he already knew or experienced. To the government, it means less Chinese tourists coming to the Malaysia. But long as Malay Ketuanan is hidden official policy, this would happen.

The Malay civil servant is promoted not for competence but for how Malay and Islamic he is. He is waiting for the day the last non-Malay in the Civil Service retires. It will be soon. Today, the token non- Malay in the Civil Service is recruited for his incompetence. The bright non-Malay does not join the Civil Service because of a glass ceiling he cannot break though. The non-Malay at the top is a token to show the outside world Malaysia is a multiracial country. As the non-Malay leaders in the National Front government. The Malay civil servant is there to keep the non-Malay out of sight as he acquires more privileges for himself. The government has allocated RM1.2 billion to train 3,000 Mara students, and none for the non-Malay. This is normal in Malaysia. If the foreign countries are angry with Malaysia for being shortchanged, so are the non-Malays. China's reaction is the first foreign reaction which has hurt Malaysia. There would be other protests, but it would not be from foreigners. Getting Chinese ministers to show how Malay it is would not help.

In this age of instant communication and 24-hour television, the British cabinet ministers read about them in the Guardian, which published extracts of Sir Charles' memoir. It was only after the publication, that the contents annoyed the politicians. Journalists have fanned the fire. The politicians fell for it. It is now a battle of wits between a fading Labour government and the Civil Service. The anger with which the memoirs are blamed for affecting foreign policy is a reflection of the uselessness of some Labour Party ministers. But this would not be the last. When the public is brought into the picture with inside events of the past, they have got a liking for it. They are given it than be told the rationale behind a given policy. It also allows the writer to make money and the reader to be vicariously. This is allowed, though only after vetting. The furore over this memoir should be directed to the committee which allowed it for publication. It looks whether it would damage Britain's policy elsewhere. That it would not is clear. The politicians are notoriously thin-skinned. They do not like to be labelled as 'pygmies' or tounge-tied in Washington. The memoir had nothing to do with foreign policy that would damage Britain.

THE FORMER SECRETARY GENERAL OF rural development, Dato' Abdul Aziz Mahmud, was found guilty for diverting funds meant for the hardcore poor. The Star reports that he is believed to be the first man of his rank to be found guilty. But civil servants who take orders from politicians face that possibility. The money was missing, but it was transferred to the minister at that time. To save the minister, the secretary general goes to jail. That is the crux of it. He is in charge of the funds, and he dispensed it illegally. So he is guilty. Technically, he committed the offense. The court found him guilty of criminal breach of trust. The judicial system does not allow extenuating circumstances to intrude, as in this case. Dato' Aziz cannot plead he did this at the minister's instructions. But that is what he did. Is he the only secretary-general to break the law at the minister's order? How many secretaries-general are 'protected' by the minister, so that they retire with the highest honours. Dato' Aziz is at fault for believing the minister would protect him, as he would have been told often enough. A civil servant must do what he has to, and that overrides ministerial instructions. in Malaysia, it has reached the stage where it does not. We have a politicised Civil Service. The civil servant is subordinate to the politician. But that alone is not enough. He must fight off his colleagues, who curry favour from the politician so that he would get the job. The civil servant must be in politics to be in politics. Dato' Aziz would not be convicted if he remembered that when he pandered to politicians.

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