Hello everyone ! Its going to be RAYA in 2 days time ! My Muslim friends will be able to celebrate their Hari Raya and I will be able to enjoy all the LOVELY food. Its a win win for me ! Maybe I will get an invite from Greenhood too. (wink ! wink !)

Alright, lets get back to the topic of my article today which is on a certain Dato Fauziah Yaacob who is the head Government servant in the Ministry of Finance when it comes to procurement or in layman terms, buying of ANYTHING, and she has probably been in this role for more than the desired term for civil servants which is about 5 years. I am made to understand that civil servants need to be moved around to curb corruption nepotism and BOREDOM sitting in the same job for so long.

So what did I do, I took a trip down to Putrajaya from Penang and did a few interviews and I came up with a few conclusions that were not taken into account by Salahuddin Hisham of the Unspinners. As usual he shoots first before thinking, just like a good solider given orders by Bloghouse. He is a good lacky and deserves the drooling that comes out everytime his master pets him. (snickering as I write that).

Dato Fauziah as Salahuddin mentioned, sits on the PKNS board to look after procurement and finance issues for the State Goverment as she has done with ALL other states including Kedah dan Kelantan. This is to ensure a smooth flow of funds between Federal and State, and for all the legal obligations for FINANCE issues to be resolved quickly so as to ensure the NATIONAL Audit at the end of the year gives a good score card when it involves PROCUREMENT and payment matters.

Dato Fauziah is NOT the paymaster, neither is the FINANCE Ministry the paymaster. They are just the holders of the money entrusted to them by Parliament which has been entrusted by the people. The Accounts National Division is the OFFICIAL paymaster for the whole country. Which means, with every procurement, procedures are followed, the Finance Minister gives funds (on paper) to each and every award that has followed procedurs and in the case of large awards, gone through Nor Yaacob through the EPU unit in the Ministry of Finance.

But all checking and ENSURING that each person who is to be paid HAS DONE THINGS CORRECTLY, this is the job of the ACCOUNTS DIVISION NATIONAL LEVEL. They will check everything to ensure it is in order and PAY. If it is NOT in order, it goes back to the Ministry of Finance to be corrected. This is a healthy practice ensuring that thing move in an orderly manner, and most of all, THINGS CANNOT BE DONE OVER NIGHT.

There is a certain thought that Salahuddin Hisham of Unspinners started this article so that there can be a move to oust Dato Fauziah after the General Election. What Salahuddin again never knew or thought of is the Governments need for her and her future. What he doesn't know is she will eventually move to Bank Negara and New York. Following in the footsteps of great Financial Leaders in the country. Sometimes it is funny to see how a snifle like Salahuddin can ever gaffer what the Government is doing without some naive politicial aspiration he has been given with a nice bone to munch on.

Dato Fauziah cannot be a threat to either UMNO or Pakatan as she is not the executor of any programme. She is the head of the procurement division but doesn't control the funds that fall in the Ministry of Finance. So with that, I joined some friends from MKN for buka puasa, hitched a ride back to Kuala Lumpur and headed back to Penang. It was a wonderful trip and I learnt a lot from the Ministry of Finance. Thank you for being open and fair in the interviews.

Malaysia has a chance...

for the previous article on Salahuddin Hisham, please click Unspinners Salahuddin Hisham vs Umno Reform Anuar Mohd Nor