Opinion
Big mouths and no action shouldn’t be common
  • By Bui Hoang Tam | dtinews.vn | March 31, 2016 09:00 AM

National Assembly Deputy Le Nam of Thanh Hoa Province attracted much attention when he said big words and no action were a common problem among the country’s politicians.

 

National Assembly Deputy Le Nam

He said, "People are following and showing huge support for HCM City Party Secretary Dinh La Thang. Why? Because everyone wants change in the way the party deals with things. They are bored with sleek officials and their empty big words like "improve", "enhance", "boost". People and party members alike need the secretary to really experience their lives. The secretary holds power in his hands. But the secretary is also bound by numerous responsibilities and requires transparency so that people can let them continue their power run and realise their ideas."

He's right but not accurate enough. The people aren’t bored, they are fed up, sick and tired.

Sick and tired of officials who cover their ears, who faithfully follow the practice of "silence is golden" or worse, accept money to look the other away.

Sick and tired of wonderful but empty prose for little in the way of improvements and advances.

Sick and tired of repetitive promises to punish violators no matter who severely, strictly, sternly when in the end they end up with only light punishment.

Sick and tired of promises to "sternly criticise" and "self-criticise" that ended in transfer the offenders to a higher agency.

The public are also fed up with corruption cases that were made to look big and huge but the offenders get suspended sentences.

People need someone who takes action and will follow through on their words. Because of all the laziness in state agencies that when someone made bold actions, they became famous. That person is Dinh La Thang who made promises and realised his promises and has earned huge trust and support from public.

When he first took over as minister of transport, he was advised by Cao Sy Kiem former governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, that he should not meta manage everything, to be more accurate, he should "stay home more and should not run out to the streets to deal with petty tasks."

Thang refused to comment further and said the public would judge the work. He said, "A minister should be able to multi-task. Being close to the people is to make policy and making policy is also about being close to the people."

And the judgement is clear now.

Thang recently asked the police in HCM City to, within three months, deal with rampant robbies that have plagued the city. He was then given various pieces of advice to be less hasty and that there should be a strategy. If this advice was to be followed, then thieves would be knocking on everyone's door in no time.

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