Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Shafie Apdal and Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Junz Wong arriving at the assembly hall of the State Legislative Building on Monday for the two-day assembly sitting.
CHIEF Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Shafie Apdal yesterday defended Amarjit Singh as the new Sabah Water Department director after some of the assembly members questioned his appointment.
Shafie said that if there was a case against Amarjit, he would be in prison already.
He reminded that the appointee has served in many water companies and that the government had studied the matter deeply.
The Chief Minister also reminded that the focus should be on meeting the needs of the people and not the issue related to the department.
Apas assemblyman Datuk Nizam Abu Bakar Titingan yesterday described the appointment of Amarjit as a slap in the face for the civil service.
He questioned the appointment as Amarjit was not a civil servant prior to his appointment.
“I am not questioning his qualifications,” he told the august House.
Nizam stated that he is ashamed that someone from outside the standard operating procedure (SOP) was appointed as director of the department.
“This is a precedent that must not be followed,” he stressed.
He added that the senior job should be given to civil servants who were already within the department. He also said that this went against the present government’s manifesto which promises to empower the civil service.
Sulaman assemblyman Datuk Hajiji Haji Noor also raised the issue, saying that he believed there are civil servants who are eligible to be appointed to hold the job.
“The people are questioning why someone from outside is given the job and not from among the civil servants,” he said.
Tambunan assemblyman Datuk Dr Jeffrey Kitingan also queried the appointment and asked if the government of the day had adhered to the scheme of service in appointing the Water Department director.
Kemabong assemblyman Jamawi Jaafar, however, defended the appointment of Amarjit, telling the august House that he felt the appointee was qualified. He felt that Amarjit is capable of bringing about the needed change in the department.
“The government today felt that there needs to be a change … we respect the decision of the government,” he said.
At the same time, he also urged the government to look into the water concessions that were now paid by the government for their services. He said that there were many issues related to water supplies that were not addressed since the last government.
He urged the government to use all the avenues available to study the concessions to see if they adhered to specifications and met the needs of the people. If the concessions failed to do so, their services should be cancelled.