Muar D.O Adopts Open Door Policy

Bangunan Sultan Abu Bakar Muar
Today, this building is one of the most recognised landmarks in Muar. It was named after the late Sultan of Johor, Sultan Abu Bakar.

The name "Muar", on the other hand was orginated from the word 'Muara",a happening town situated along the river mouth.

It was also named as Bandar Maharani by Sultan Abu Bakar after his beloved Sultanah, according to my history book back in secondary school,Sekolah Menengah St.Andrew.

As a child in the 1980s, I was a regular visitor to this building that houses many government agencies,including the District Officer's(D.O) office.

I would accompany my late father, a cikgu who used to carry with him many of the 'Urusan Seri Paduka Baginda" brown colored envelops as he entered the building.

He has dozens and dozens of friends serving in the civil service. Many of them had worked in this building before and now majority of them are leading a happy retired life.

Then in 1987, I had the honour of putting my thumb prints for my very first IC in life. Next was second renewal with an attached barcodeon it and then in 2003, when the Malaysian government went hi-tech with the introduction of MyKad.

Five years later in 2008 in the holy month of Ramadan, I had another honor of being an Orang Awam to accompany Muar OCPD and three peace-loving Muarians to meet our D.O to share with him the concept of Community Policing (CP) in Muar.


Photo left: CP salesmen in action!
From right: H.E.A Chief,Chief Inspector Hj.Abdul Wahab, OCPD Muar ACP Mohd Nasir bin Ramli, Pengawai Daerah Muar, Y.Bhg Tuan Hj.Abdul Rahman bin Jaffar, MPM secretary En.Jamaluddin, me, Chairman of Pangsapuri Intan,En.Nick Ng and Exco member of TSM, En.Pang Su Hai.




Knocking On The D.O 's Door
Meeting Muar D.O Tuan Hj. Abdul Rahman bin Jaffar was an eye-opener. His hospitality was superb.

Although we met for the first time,we were treated like old friends and of course we exchanged ideas like old friends too. Very open, very genuine and very sincere.

The condusive environment in his office had allowed all of us to speak honestly on topics ranging from local security & crime rate, our youth & cyber cafes, masyarakat penyayang & semangat kejiranan, all together straight from our hearts.

We were well-prepared that day, armed with all "evidences and proofs", we carried along 20 poster-sized Manila cards (TQ Mr.Pang for carrying those heavy evidences!!) posted with photos and newspaper cuttings to support our case.

In brief, we highlighted to our D.O the urgent need to tap on the existing successful model of Horizontal Policing at TSM and Vertical Policing a Pangsapuri Intan (pangsapuriintanmuar@blogspot.com) in CP, and introduce both to all the taman-taman and kampung-kampung in Muar district because:

1) IPD Muar was successful in engaging the public and local media to form a smart-partnership that proven to be effective & productive

2)The senior management of OCPD Muar, ACP Tuan Nasir bin Ramli is ever-ready to support a program like CP for all Muarians

3)The models initiated by both TSM and Pangsapuri Intan are now good models recognised by PDRM top brass for other Malaysian towns and cities to emulate


Our meeting lasted for more than an hour,an impressive record! D.O was impressed with our presentation on the concept of CP.

He says:

"You people are special. I must always ask my people here, invite them to listen to my talking (about local safety issues).

But you people are different. U knocked on my door today and do it the other way round. I am happy, congrats and please keep it up!"

D.O's answers are always with a valid reason. He proudly announced:"Your Persatuan Penduduk can survive till today because of 3 major factors:

1. Firstly, you all have a passion and a capable team
2. Second, you are a NGO, non-political linked
3. Thirdly, you already got a successful model on the ground
   

Two "Living-Dead" Local Government Agencies.....

D.O was upset and heart-broken when we expressed disappointment on 2 important pejabat tempatan which failed 400,000 Muarians for failing to:

1)promote neighbourliness & racial unity

2)to disseminate all important information about dasar-dasar kerajaan to the ground and to the man on the street

We said they are not perfoming, he 100% agreed.
We said it was a pity that they have been sleeping for years, he 100% agreed.
We said they were like "Living-Dead" agencies, he again agreed 100%!

Those 2 are "living- Dead" agencies in the district of Muar !

When I asked my 8 year-old neighbour to define "living-dead", she says:"Uncle, it is like a vegetable man, lying on the bed, still breathing but not moving!"

Then I turned to her a 12 years old brother for his own definition, he says:" Uncle, A useless man !!"

Therefore, "Living- Dead" could be defined as "Vegetarian,not moving and..... UseLess".

Note: To the bosses of the above two agencies mentioned,if you read this blog by accident, Congrats! To prove that we Orang Awam are speaking nothing but the truth, here is the test to prove your innocence:

1. Pick randomly 10 men & women on the street
2. And try to ask them whether your agency is doing a fine job.
3. Trust me, the answer will be the same like mine.
4. Don't be frighthened IF, the answer might be worse than my answer!

Photo Above: Mr.Lee Kuan Hwee of Pangsapuri Intan was seen introducing the CP handbook to D.O, witnessed by OCPD Muar, MPM secretary and residents fromTSM and Pangsapuri Intan Muar.


Photo Left: D.O praising Mr.Pang Su Hai, a pensioner for his active involvement in community service at TSM.

D.O commented that retired people would remain healthy if they practise:

1)regular exercise 2) social work 3)good deeds

(Congrats Mr.Pang, we are proud of u!!)


Tuan Hj.Abdul Rahman Bin Jaffar
What do I think of my D.O? Good question! I did not have the privilage to be associated with any D.O for the past 33 years in life.

I predicted all D.Os are super-important officers in Government. They are:

1. Very fierce;
2. Strict;
3. Impatient;
4. Maybe they don't even interested to listen to ordinary people, like you and me (for our two cent's worth of opinions)

I was wrong and terribly wrong. I wronged him for a wrong reason.

My D.O is friendly and approachable.
My D.O is a soft but firmed man.
My D.O is a good listener.
My D.O is alert (I should say Super -alert!) to current issues on the ground and articulative on his topics.

His secret weapons are his openess and great sense of humor.

He really calmed us down, made us all laughed at ourselves for 5 minutes straight (seriously... 300 seconds non-stop) before he lead us into serious discussion topics.

HE is a powerful diplomat !
HE has adopted an Open Door Policy for his rakyat !
HE is passionate about CP !
HE welcomes smart ideas for Muar !
HE knows what U are thinking, Don't play-play!

Dear D.O, TSM wishes you & family Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfiltri,Maaf Zahir Batin.We are ready to bring along residents from 6 taman to your Raya Open house soon.

(Tuan Hj.Abdul Rahman,sir, if you blog on this post, which I believe you will, post a comment! We (and all CP fans)love to hear from you, TQ!)