Retired provincial chairman jokes about discipline

Responding to the press about the conclusion of the Central Inspection Committee on his violations while in office, former Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Pham The Dung said: "I'm retired, they can handle it however they want."

This statement is considered to be “joking” with Party discipline when Party members violate it. Especially in the context that cadres and Party members nationwide are having high expectations for the determination to prevent corruption and efforts to build and rectify the Party that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the Central Committee are determined to carry out.

Disciplining retired officials, revoking the status of "former minister, former secretary, former chairman" in ministries and localities for the violations they committed while in office, is perhaps the first time this has happened in an effort to step up the fight against ideological and moral degradation and illegal behavior of party members and officials, especially those party members holding key positions in Party and government agencies.

These forms of discipline show the spirit of determination to clean up the ranks, preserve reputation, and make the Party increasingly clean and strong, in the spirit of "no forbidden zones", that there is no such thing as "safe landing".

Former Chairman of Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Pham The Dung. Photo: Nguoi lao dong

Normally, a person with self-respect, upon hearing a complaint or receiving a displeased look from another person, would have closed the door and looked back at himself. For someone who was once the head of a province, once the “father of the people”, he must be even more self-respecting when thinking about the words he said and the things he did, and cannot say that retirement is the end of the story. Because that is the responsibility of a party member to his ideals, to his oath of honor to the Party.

The actions of the former Chairman of Gia Lai province while in office were concluded by the Central Inspection Committee as "serious violations" to the point of "requiring disciplinary action": Directing the construction of roads to import timber from Laos against regulations; violating the direction of land management; directing the appointment of unqualified relatives... Especially the serious violations in converting 50,000 hectares of poor forest to rubber plantation, leading to the loss of forests, poor people, causing long-term consequences on the economy, society and environment.

However, when answering the press about his wrongdoings, the former Chairman of this province said lightly as if nothing had happened: "I have been retired for 2 years, they can do whatever they want!"

A statement that anyone who hears can feel the mockery of a former provincial leader who disregards the Party's discipline towards party members who have committed violations, when he thinks that, having retired, there is no need to save face!

The former provincial chairman calmly said so because he thought that at most he would only be "removed from his position as former provincial chairman" like the disciplinary warning given to former Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang...

A very unpleasant statement, no one accepts it. But unfortunately, it is the truth. The truth is that disciplinary measures that attack honor seem to have little effect on retired officials like this!

At the 11th meeting of the Central Steering Committee on anti-corruption late last year, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said: "Practice is the criterion of truth, the law is supreme. There are laws that do not meet the requirements, we must adjust them."

From the conclusion of the General Secretary, to the statement of the former provincial chairman, it is necessary to adjust the monitoring mechanism, detect and promptly handle wrongdoings of officials and civil servants while they are still in office.

For retirees, if violations are discovered, there must be stronger forms of handling. Criminal responsibility must be prosecuted if their violations cause serious consequences for the State, citizens, or are related to corruption.

If it has not reached the level of criminal prosecution, but has reached the level of expulsion from the Party, removal of all previous positions, not paying pensions, forcing compensation for damages if causing serious economic consequences, it is also the right thing to do, so that not only the incumbent knows fear, but also the retirees cannot disregard discipline. We cannot let retirees joke about disciplining themselves like the former Chairman of Gia Lai province.

According to VNN