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I can still remember clearly the first time I work. My boss told me: you can't be so lazy. You must have the sense of responsibility. And now, I would like to dedicate the remarks to our ministers, Members of the Parliament, civil servants and all those whose work is related to the people's interests. I hope that they are having the sense of responsibility to reduce human errors so that everything will go smoothly in the coming year.

There are so much of careless mistakes in various fields and it is in fact closely related to the declining sense of responsibility. The roof of a completed stadium and an incomplete bus station collapsed. A fighter jet engine has been stolen and the precious evidence to be presented in court has also disappeared. Who is going to bear the responsibility after the mistakes are made? Who is going to be punished? They should put words into actions in order to enhance discipline of the public domain.

Other examples will show how serious the impact of the declining sense of responsibility is. The 2010 Budget was passed by a narrow 66-63 votes at the third reading in the Dewan Rakyat after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak was forced to rush back to the Parliament to cast his vote from the Chong Hwa Independent School’s 95th anniversary celebrations. A total of 70 BN MPs were absent that night, including 18 ministers and 12 deputy ministers.

It is not something new for MPs to be absent from Dewan Rakyat sittings. According to press reports, even in normal time, the number of MPs sitting in the hall is less than the quorum of 26. Our MPs are either chat at the cafeteria and corridors or just slip out of the hall. It is like a cat that does not catch mouse, MPs who are absent from Dewan Rakyat sittings have forgotten about their duties.

A MPs who was absent that night gave a “superb” reason: I'm a vegetarian. As the cafeteria of the Parliament does not provide any vegetarian food, I usually eat outside. As they already knew that we had to vote for the Budget that night, they should got the dinner ready for the lengthy sitting, they were not three-year-old kids after all.

Kinabatangan MP, who was busy preparing to marry a second wife, was also absent. The news of his marriage had almost grabbed more attention than the narrowly passed Budget. MPs do not carry out their legislative and oversight responsibilities but always come out with claptrap and obscene words to deliberately get free propaganda. They have vulgarised the Parliamentary Hall.

How difficult it is for MPs to attend Dewan Rakyat sittings? Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Maznah Mazlan was informed of her father's death before the Dewan Rakyat session started, but she remained in the Dewan Negara for two hours to answer questions before rushing back to Cameron Highlands. Maznah was so responsible, why can't other people do so?

It is also a shame to mention the sense of responsibility of our ministers. Many ministers are always absent by saying that they are busy with official duties. Instead, they spend the time in handling party matters and crisis. They have completely neglected the Parliament.

During the open day of the government's transformation, the minister responsible could not be seen. He has failed to achieve the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) of being accountable to the people.

There are endless to say when we discuss on the sense of responsibility of our officials. It is as well a shame for the country. (By LIM SUE GOAN/ Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE/ Sin Chew Daily)