ALMOST everyone knows about the incident where a car driven by a lady fell into a sinkhole in Kuala Lumpur.

That it happened is not too surprising, given the limestone base under the city. What’s astounding and of greater concern is that KL City Hall (DBKL) does not think it is responsible.

Just look at the Federal Territories minister’s statement published by theSun in an article titled “Utility firms to blame for sinkholes” on Friday.

Really, minister? What happened to force majeure?

When DBKL declared that it is not responsible for the repairs, instead placing the blame squarely on the contractor that had worked on the pipes that burst, and is not seeking a resolution with the car owner, the root cause is what I call “naked negligence”. Why so, and how so?

Does DBKL not have primary jurisdiction over the damaged area? And above all, why has the minister absolved the KL mayor and DBKL?

Can contractors lay pipes or carry out repairs without the permission of the mayor? Do you think the rakyat are really that stupid or ignorant about governance issues? Surely we are Merdeka Malaysians!

Was Pakatan Harapan’s massive loss in Tanjung Piai not enough of a protest vote? Was that not enough to make our point? Similarly, was not Hong Kong folk’s 90% vote against China’s dominance a clear enough message? Federal abuse will be called out everywhere in the world.

Responsible governance

With social media providing 360° coverage and three-dimensional oversight in this day and age, how the federal powers understand governance must change to become much more holistic.

All governance systems are quickly learning this lesson, but most are still in denial, including our own federal government. And until there is obvious evidence of real change, the mainstream democrats – or Merdeka Malaysians, whom I also call “4M” for “moderate middle Merdeka Malaysians” – will continue to be sceptical about reforms seen as insincere.

Real and comprehensive governance makes requisite at least two dimensions of answers.

Firstly, vertical, horizontal and diagonal, plus 360° social media visibility, and secondly, transmitting the same message to all concerned.

What is the way forward?

As a National Institute of Public Administration (Intan) pioneer, and former administrative and diplomatic officer who focused on policy matters for 32 years till retirement, I would argue that what we need is – as we called it at Intan – deep analytics.

Deep analytics will do the following in a structured and macroeconomic way.

First, defining in descriptive terms the core problem, or the gap between the ideal and actual.

Second, explaining the said gap in an exhaustive set of sources and causes to reach a plausible theory or null hypothesis. These causes and sources should expound, in mutually exclusive terms, the problem, and highlight its five possible origins.

Third, undertaking the evaluation in statistical terms, to explain using the Pareto principle, or 80/20 rule, the root causes of the problem. The 20% will explain 80% of the causes.

The final prescription is, therefore, the top 20%, which will theoretically address 80% of the root causes, and resolve problems 95% of the time. This is said with 95% certainty, premised upon analytical science. – December 1, 2019.

* KJ John worked in public service for 32 years, retired, and started a civil group for which he is chairman of the board. He writes to inform and educate, arguing for integration with integrity in Malaysia. He believes such a transformation has to start with the mind before it sinks into the heart!

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.