“Head of the Ministry of Justice’s Legal Document Checking Department Le Hong Son, said Mr. Thang’s ban is violation of civil rights and public servant rights, but it is not true. This is an internal ban, which doesn’t affect many people so it is not a by-law document,” said Tran Ngoc Thanh, chief of the Ministry of Transport’s Transportation Department.
According to Thanh, Minister Thang’s request of his subordinates to not play golf is reasonable, because many transport projects stagnate now while gridlocks are popular in big cities. Transport officials, thus, need to concentrate their time and efforts in dealing with these problems, instead of playing golf.
“I can play golf but I have not played this sport for two years to focus on my job. During business trips, I have to take advantage of waiting time at airports or on airplanes to write reports. During weekends, I have to make bus service survey. I have no time to relax not alone playing golf,” Thanh said.
Tran Van Cuu, head of the Ministry of Transport’s Waterway Transport Department, said he and many other officials of this department agreed with Minister Thang’s ban.
“Golf is an expensive sport, which is only suitable to entrepreneurs and very rich people, public servants cannot afford this sport. I don’t know how to play golf and nobody has called for me to play this sport,” Cuu said.
He said many directors of companies under the Ministry of Transport play tennis or badminton. These sports are acceptable because they are not costly and time-taking.
Pham Huu Son, Chairman of Transport Design and Consultation Corporation, said that officials of the transport sector are very busy so they do not have time to play golf.
“I don’t play golf so the Minister’s ban doesn’t affect me. This regulation is based on officials’ self-awareness, no need any supervisory measure,” Son added.
Trinh Hong Quang, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Airlines Corporation, said that he and his subordinates will stop playing golf to focus efforts on their duties.
“I understand the Minister’s command. In this situation, each person needs to sacrifice their personal hobby for the common goal. This is not a general appeal. Vietnam Airlines completely support the Minister’s instruction,” Quang said.
Public servants complain of low salary, why they play golf?
According to the survey of VNExpress, an online newspaper, over 60 percent of readers agreed with Minister Thang’s golf-playing ban. Behind Mr. Thang’s time-consuming reason, many readers questioned “how can public servants play that expensive sport?”
“Many people always complain that the salary of public servants is very low, which is not enough to cover fundamental needs of life. Where does money come from for them to pay golf club memberships and buy expensive equipment? I have to pay personal income tax but I cannot afford to play tennis so my sport is running. People are poor but officials play golf. What is the ethics? I think it is needed to ban officials from playing golf,” a reader named Dang wrote.
Another reader named Quang Tuan, who works at a State-owned enterprise, also agreed with Mr. Thang’s ban. He wrote: “Our country is very poor. Many projects are implemented slowly, causing heavy losses for the state and stirring up discontentment among people. Any decision will be protested by some people, but let’s sacrifice the self for the country’s development.”
Many employees of the Ministry of Transport backed the golf-playing ban. Reader Luong Son wrote: “I agree with the Minister’s point of view and I think that he should have more power to make reforms in the transport sector.”
Reader Tran Manh Toan wrote that Mr. Thang only mentioned “time-consuming” as the reason for his ban but there are other reasons, especially “how can officials afford this expensive sport?”
“How is the salary of transport officials? Do you need to relax to work better then? It seems that it is not true,” Toan wrote.
A reader named Huyen commented that Minister Thang’s decision proves the spirit “dare to think and dare to do” for the country’s development and suggested that Mr. Thang should call for peoples support to his policy, no need to issue the ban.
Some readers disagreed with Mr. Thang’s decision. Reader Tran Van Phu wrote: “Many companies have special treatment policy for high-ranking personnel, such as giving them cars, houses, etc. to create excellent working conditions for them. Golf is just a sport that they like. It is absurd to ban golf!”
This reader said Minister Thang can punish any official who plays golf during working hours and he cannot intervene in their activities outside working hours.
Some readers said Mr. Thang’s ban is extreme but they still back it. “The best way is how to prevent officials from doing their personal tasks during working hours. For example, the Minister can ban them from playing golf from Monday through Friday only. Anyone who violates the regulation will be heavily punished,” a reader suggested.
PV
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
No comments:
Post a Comment