AG's Report 2013 Townhall: Two sides of the coin

The first ever Townhall of Auditor General's (AG) Report 2013 was dubbed as groundbreaking and 'the first-of-its kind' with Government officials and media practitioners converging under one roof to iron out issues raised in the AG’s report.

Initiated by the‘transparency’ Minister Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan and supported by Pemandu and the chief secretary, the Townhall session was attended by director-generals of 24 ministries.

Positive vibes were felt all around, but it leads to several questions: does it really augur well for the country? Are the nation’s leaders ready to rise to the occasion in the ‘greater demand for transparency, openness and accountability” of the 21st century from the public and media practitioners?

Why I think it was good:

1. The townhall is an open platform for government officers to properly rebut damning revelations exposed in the AG’s report and getting them published by media practitioners – whom are often questioned on the matter of their ‘incongruity’ in giving fair portrayals in media reports.

2. Media personnel had a field day, as the event proved to be one-of-a-kind occasion where retaliatory questions can be posed to top government officials. This was one rare occasion where civil servants were supposed to satisfy queries and not escape scrutiny.

3. This is a beginning of a more transparent and accountable government in engaging the public. Is this an indication of the end an era of ‘government knows best’ and ‘government knows and you don’t need to know’.

Here’s how it can be improved:

1. The event chose to confine itself to only one particular AG’s report. The questions posed by the media that was deemed ‘unrelated’ -- even those that were indirectly related, or in one case actually related -- were promptly brushed aside. The government officials should not hide behind caveats to stop being accountable. If boundaries are too narrow, how can the discussions be constructive?

2. It is, indeed encouraging that chief secretary of the government Tan Sri Ali Hamsa assured that such events will be held more frequently. Just how a top editor opined: why stop there? Why not cooperate with the media at all times? Why not pick up calls and respond to emails when pertinent questions are being posed? Could we do away with the culture of ‘sweeping things under the carpet’ and have our top public officials tackling national issues boldly.

3. The event saw the ‘unwelcome’ presence of politicians from the Opposition and civil society known to be critical of the government. Low's decision to politely showing the Pakatan MPs came with the resounding justification, ‘that MPs already have their say heard in Parliament. His point notwithstanding, it leads to the next question: Why is the government so afraid? When will politicians from both opposition and ruling parties start engaging in healthy discourse? If the DGs are ready to face media practitioners, I am sure they are more than capable to not go up against other vocal critics too, including NGOs and civil society.

Is the Government at liberty to choose the time and place or occasion to be accountable to the people the taxpayers?

There’s an old saying that ‘bad habits die hard’ – yet there’s still room for improvement, for the media too. Communication skills and being transparent can be improved tremendously in bringing positive change for the greater glory of the nation – this requires improvement of regulations, procedures as well as work processes.

Because one day we would like to stop repeating this tiresome question: When will we ever learn from the AG’s report?