The media spotlight on the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of a department of environment officer in Sarawak and the saga that follows is, to say the least, very intriguing.

His sudden death has opened a can of worms regarding the running of a government department which is entrusted with preventing toxic waste from overseas from reaching our shores and causing environmental havoc in the long run.

The police should investigate the death of this DOE officer to find out whether his sudden death was linked to his work or whether his alleged suicide was just a cover to mask the ills of the department concerned.

The recent case of toxic materials from Taiwan, which were sent Johor under mysterious circumstances is still fresh in our minds. Hopefully our country will not become a dumping ground for other countries to dump their toxic waste if our DOE officers are on the 'take' to allow such a thing.

There seems to be a lot of hanky-panky surrounding the death of this dedicated officer who was doing a good job and his country. It would be proper for the authority get to the bottom of this case to find out whether his death is linked to corruption.

How one wishes that other civil servants would emulate the good traits of the late Rumie Azzan Mahlie. Where are the few good men when you want them the most?

For his family's sake, it would also be proper for the government to revamp the DOE from top to bottom to weed out the black sheep who are corrupt and bent on allowing toxic waste from overseas into our country.