Many Ways to Burden People

Another idea to burden the people
The Sun, 1 June 2005

It is a worrisome trend. A group of people write a project paper or working paper to be presented to the government. Almost immediately it is approved for implementation without any consultation whatsoever. The end-user is forced to absorb the price increase, while a few millionaires are created, aided and abetted by the system of political patronage.

What will they think of next? Holograms for soft drink bottles and cans and special ink for toilet paper rolls? There are perhaps scores out there who are thinking of innovative ideas to make money.

WHEN these words were penned for the No Punches Pulled column which appeared in theSun Weekend of April 23-24, little did this scribe realise that some parties were already hard at work preparing a project paper which would turn them into millionaires over a matter of months.

If the project paper is converted into policy and later law, a quarter of the people in Malaysia will have to fork out anything between RM30 and RM40 each to earn a living.

A paper has been submitted to the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry to compel all those involved in direct selling to carry special "chip-embedded" identification cards.

The cost of making these cards is about RM12, and you can calculate how much is going to be made by multiplying the margin by seven million - that's the number of people - full-time and part-time - in the direct selling business.

Why a chip-embedded card, when a simple card produced by the respective companies at a cost of a few sen each has been effectively used all these years?

The whole issue of compulsory identification cards for direct sellers was to help consumers identify persons who approach them with their products or services.

How does the consumer read the details in the chip without the proper equipment?

We all know that the country is going hi-tech with information technology and computerisation, but surely some thought must go into practicality and usefulness before plunging blindly into such exercises.

The only hope is that there will be right-thinking people at the ministry who can veto this proposal.

If not, I can picture this scenario: Chip-embedded ID cards for insurance agents, the Indah Water employees and perhaps even the neighbourhood grass-cutter who drops by your house monthly.

IT is indeed heartening to note that at least one person agrees with my views on the scandals of the Land Office.

Tan Sri Low Yow Chuan, top property developer and hotel magnate has echoed what I had espoused in my musings over the weekend.

Land grabbers are at work, aided and abetted by greedy politicians and crooked civil servants.

Land Offices have become hotbeds of illegal activities and millions are changing hands.

No piece of open land escapes the watchful eyes of the grabbers, their runners and their cronies.

Once a plot has been identified, the whole system is set in motion.

An application is made in the name of a proxy, amendments to local plans are done, and as an eyewash, the objections of the public are sought.

But do objections really matter when the powers-that-be have already identified the benefactors and have already reaped the rewards?

The paper work is done in secret and everything is self-classified as sulit or rahsia, and in a matter of days, land belonging to you is in the name of another.

When caught, there's always a convenient scapegoat called "It was an oversight."

Are those responsible for such oversights reprimanded? Of course not. Why should anyone want to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?

He or she is not demoted or removed, perhaps to buy silence and loyalty and the whole thing is perpetuated in continuity.

TO the many readers who have written and e-mailed seeking solutions to their problems related to government departments, I have to say sorry. Many of you have also sent in voluminous documents to support your cases.

Unless there are extenuating circumstances, this writer does not even attempt problem solving.

May I suggest that you seek other avenues, including the Public Complaints Bureau to air your grouses or to vent your anger.

This column will continue to touch on bread and butter issues and remain a platform fighting for social justice and a better quality of life for all Malaysians.



The Sun, Kuala Lumpur, 30 May 2005

LETTERS: Legal issues concerning the use of holograms

The increasing concern from the pharmaceutical industry over the introduction of hologram stickers has raised some pertinent issues. I refer to two letters published in theSun -"Holograms will not prevent fakes" by Industry Insider and "Hologram effective anti-piracy tool" by Ian M. Lancaster of United Kingdom. There are some issues that have not
been properly highlighted which I wish to address:

If holograms were so effective, the global pharmaceutical industry, with a market size of US$0.3 trillion (US$1 = RM3.80), and major drug regulatory agencies would be using them. However, this is not the case.

The notion that the metal of blister packs can interfere with radio signals is inconceivable, as this is the same technology that powers the SmartTag system on highways and also used to identify shoplifters.

Furthermore, WalMart is now making all suppliers, including those using metal blisters, move to the new Radio Frequency Identification (RFiD)technology.

Indeed, the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), the largest drug regulating agency in the world, is working on RFiD mass serialisation of products likely to be counterfeited, as early as December.

Holograms which are much in use have not completely deterred counterfeits themselves. Indeed, they too can be faked. A good example would be that being used to curb the wave of piracy in VCD and DVD products. It is axiomatic to note that at present the battle against pirated VCD and DVD products is still uphill.

There are also concerns, as it is understood that the agreement with the Health Ministry ends in 2010, which will prevent Malaysians from enjoying developments in RFiD.

There is also much concern on issues pertaining to liability. Should a customer take a product that is found to be fake with a faked hologram to Mediharta (the supplier of the hologram) or the ministry?

R. Navaratnam
via e-mail