In the aftermath of the recent Cameron Highlands mudslide tragedy, I wrote a piece telling those in authorities not to simply blame the people in general. Instead, they must begin to look at themselves and see how their inaction, incompetence and corruption could have been the major cause of the disaster.

Since then, there has been a repertoire of announcements made and actions taken by those in authorities. High-level committees chaired by high-powered politicians were formed. Tough statements were made, ranging from no forgiveness to those responsible, more stringent enforcement, to lectures on sustainable living and respect for environment.

Next, they formed task forces supposedly aimed at providing coordinated efforts to prevent and reduce future disasters. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has also sprung into action, highlighting the various possibilities of corruption. The Immigration Department, too, is now more aware of the presence of large number of foreign workers and even the possibility of human trafficking occurring at Cameron Highlands.

This is really something. Suddenly everyone is acting tough and showing concerns. But I have my doubts about how long this new-found enthusiasm will last. If past experience is relied on, I think the present hype will last for about a month or so, unless of course another disaster strikes.   After that, I think it is fair to postulate that things will be back to ‘normal’ with deforestation, illegal land clearing and haphazard occupation expected to continue unabated.     

Why do we suddenly need high-powered committees, task forces and special ‘operations’ of the Immigration Department and MACC? Is there no government in Cameron Highlands at the moment?

Where are the District Office, the Land Office, the Forestry Department, the Department of Environment, the Drainage and Irrigation Department, the MACC and the Immigration Department? Are they blind, incompetent or beholden to the money of the syndicates?  

If existing agencies are useless, how could new committees and task forces help? Are they not formed based on personnel and resources of existing departments and agencies? Again, based on experience, committees and task forces are nothing but glorified outfits created to diffuse and divert responsibility. A member of a committee or a task force is ultimately responsible for nothing.

Have they found out why the existing agencies are totally incapable of providing monitoring, enforcement and control of the situation in Cameron Highlands?  If illegal activities were allowed to persist and flourish or if approvals were given not following policies guidelines or by-laws, it is obvious ‘compromise’ and poor governance have taken place.  

May I know what have they done to existing weaknesses? To me, it is useless creating new outfits while leaving the existing inefficiency and malpractices unattended.  

I can’t emphasise it enough. Enforcement must be continuous, relentless and the punishment to be meted out must be imminent. I detest the MACC talking about lack of integrity and the likelihood of corruption at Cameron Highland now. I despise the Immigration Department rounding up all the illegal workers there now. If these agencies really know their key performance index (KPI), they should have acted before the disaster, not after.

Similarly, the District Office, the Land Office, the Forestry Department and other agencies should all know if there are illegal clearing or encroachment into forest reserves even if the syndicates carry out their activities on weekends. Please don’t give excuses.