It's the witch-hunt season!

It's the Witch-Hunt season!

It amazes me that after the recent public fiasco generated by the purported RM5 million farewell bash for the Director-General of Customs has barely died down, we have news today quoting the deputy DG of the Customs and Excise Dept that they will go all out to nail its personnel suspected of having leaked the "false" information to the press.

Apparently, the task force will comprise between 3 to 5 members who will be given a month to flush out the culprit or culprits. On top of that, he alleged that the controversy had caused his officers to suffer a "loss of focus" on their job and hence, there is a decline in performance.

Correct me if I am wrong. I think it is morally wrong to use public funds to go on a personal witch-hunt in order to settle a score or two on behalf of the department's boss. Besides, is there a need for the Customs and Excise Dept to take matters in their own hand when the ACA has already declared that the Finance Ministry will investigate the controversy?

And another thing, why should all the department's officers be so demoralised that they cannot do their work properly just because their soon-to-retire boss got mired in an unpleasant controversy? Are their work performance so closely tied to the level of happiness of their boss? I am truly baffled.

Things are getting weirder and weirder with our public administration.