Yoursay: Grave conflict of interest for betting firm to fund police trip

YOURSAY | ‘Have we become so corrupt that we can’t see the wrong in this sponsored trip?’

MOF: Gaming company sponsored Fuzi's anti-online gambling trip

Anonymous 8247274088438772: It is a shame for Malaysia that, for some senior positions in important government agencies, there are some people holding those very senior positions who do not know how to differentiate between what is right or what is deemed as a conflict of interest.

Maybe I should say that these people know, but could not care less.

No wonder the ordinary people shudder to see that citizens can be kidnapped in daylight and disappear without a trace.

It is a reflection of the ailment that the country is facing and the lack of professionalism that hampers the country. And to think we rely on such professionals to uphold the law.

It is sad to think that there is a degree of greed involved. After all, who sets the best example of showing excessive greed openly?

There are many challenges that the Pakatan Harapan government is facing, the main one being the total mismanagement of the previous government. Saddled with that, we have the leftovers who seemed to think they are such important personnel answerable to no one. Enough said.

Kangkung: Isn't there a concern regarding conflict of interest when a company sponsors a trip for police officers? If there is none, then why do they need so many top officers to go learn about combatting online gambling?

Isn't it enough for one or two officers to go for the course and then return to brief or teach the ther officers? And isn'st inspector-general of police Mohamad Fuzi Harun going to retire, so what is the use of him going?

RM2.6 Billion Turkey Haram: Why must the sponsor be a company dealing in gambling? Hope this is not an attempt to win favour from the government, especially in applications for more gambling outlets.

Another irony is this: the officers’ trip is sponsored by a gambling company, which derives its income from betting, which strictly forbidden in Islam. Enlighten me on the status of the trip - is it halal or haram?

Vijay47: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, you should have kept your mouth shut. Now with your defence of a gambling company taking a whole group of police officers on a jaunt to Turkey, you have planted the suspicion that perhaps you are not a man of honour after all.

Leaving aside the matter of the number and status of the officers who formed the delegation, their relevance to the eradication of online gambling, and their actual programme in Turkey, are you suggesting that it is now acceptable for commercial entities to sponsor overseas trips for police officers, whether on the verge of retirement or not?

What is even more distressing is that everybody, especially you, seems to be so nonchalant in regarding this as just another day at the office at Bukit Aman.

If such is the case, there cannot be anything wrong if a senior lawyer accompanies a judge on a holiday abroad, or a senior politician buys real estate at a generously discounted price from a person he has official dealings with.

Wong Fei Hoong: @Vijay47, what's wrong in revealing who paid for the trip? The rakyat should know about it.

Lim is transparent over this matter and not being accused of keeping quiet about it. The one you should question is who allowed these officers to take leave, and for what purpose.

A gaming company has tons of money to sponsor, but it is not right that top police officers are seen taking a bite to go on a trip with the sponsors.

Things don't look right and can be seen as such in the eyes of the public although no money has been spent by Putrajaya.

Ravinder: This is a serious conflict of interest, and the government is so nonchalant about it.

The home minister was wrong to sanction the acceptance of betting company Da Ma Cai's money for this "lawatan sambil belajar" (study tour). It's corruption.

The police are now "hutang budi" (indebted) to this gambling outfit, and if it flouts the law, will the police be able to act against it "without fear or favour"?

Is this the meaning of “public-private collaboration” introduced by the BN government?

The government should pay back Da Ma Cai every cent it had paid for this tour and free itself of any obligations it has put itself under (though this will be vehemently denied).

Of course, the private sector will come up with all kinds of offers, as they want to be in the good books of the new government. Do you have to accept all their "goodwill" offers, which will have "udang di sebalik batu" (ulterior motives) that you don't see yet?

Cogito Ergo Sum: In one stroke, the police top brass have compromised themselves and at the same time, the Finance Ministry is complicit in this abuse.

How ironic that the police, who are supposed to uphold virtue as their motto, failed to see how they can be called upon to do a favour for their ‘sponsors’? Have we become so corrupt that we can’t see the wrong in this sponsored trip?

Anonymous 381541456985626: If a gaming company sponsors the trip of top officers, doesn’t logic say the officers will be obligated to them?

When the public need to tighten their belts, and many government servants get no promotion and it is difficult to employ new staff in the government service, here are top officers who are going to retire but yet going on an overseas trip to learn something. Isn’t it really strange?

I find the current government no different from the previous government. They still think the public is staying on trees and they can do what they like.

Anonymous_1533001722: Lim, what’s happened to you? This is indefensible. Sorry, you and all within the government are collectively responsible.

Are you turning a blind eye, or just unable to get your Bersatu compadres to sing the same tune on honesty and clean governance?

These Umno ‘converts’ and ‘legacies’ cannot change... it’s clear to see now.

We the rakyat believed otherwise. Ignorance is still the fool’s paradise.

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