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By Mihar Dias October 2025
Ah, the familiar political theatre in Parliament — ministers shielding behind the noble figure of “our hardworking civil servants” whenever the heat turns up.
This week’s act features Tengku Zafrul, the Investment, Trade and Industry Minister, lamenting that critics of the Malaysia–US Reciprocal Trade Agreement were “insulting civil servants.” NST
But let’s call a spade a spade. No one is attacking the rank-and-file in Putrajaya who burn the midnight oil drafting documents across time zones.
The real issue is political accountability. The deal was negotiated under the direction of the government of the day.
Civil servants execute policy; ministers decide policy. So if there’s a problem with the trade deal — if it looks suspiciously lopsided in favour of Uncle Sam — the accountability trail leads straight to the Cabinet table, not the cubicles of MITI.
Hamzah Zainudin, to his credit, made this clear enough in Parliament. Opposition MPs, he said, are not attacking civil servants but questioning ministers. That is their job. NST
Parliament is not a daycare centre where ministers are to be shielded from scrutiny with cries of “Don’t hurt their feelings.” It’s a place for checks and balances — something the Madani government seems increasingly allergic to.
Tengku Zafrul’s defensive tone is revealing. When a minister insists that criticism of a policy is an insult to the civil service, it often means the policy cannot stand on its own merit.
It’s political gaslighting — equating criticism of a government decision with an attack on patriotism or national sovereignty.
We’ve seen this before: when a policy fails, it’s “the global economy’s fault.”
When the rakyat complains, they’re “misinformed.” And when the opposition asks legitimate questions, suddenly everyone must rally around “our selfless bureaucrats.”
Let’s not pretend civil servants are helpless pawns either. They are professionals who follow the political direction of their masters — whichever government happens to be in power.
That is how the system works. So when the government of the day signs a deal that seems to favour Washington more than Kuala Lumpur, it’s not the secretary-general who should answer for it. It’s the minister who approved it and the Prime Minister who endorsed it.
Perhaps what irritates the Madani administration most is not the questioning of civil servants, but the exposure of how much of the so-called “reciprocal” trade agreement feels anything but reciprocal.
When the deal starts looking like Malaysia is playing the loyal sidekick in America’s economic playbook, that’s not the fault of negotiators. That’s a matter of political choice.
So yes, let’s respect the civil service. They’ve served every administration, red, blue, green, or whatever new colour the political mood dictates. But respect for them doesn’t mean shielding ministers from accountability. The people didn’t elect the civil servants; they elected the government.
When you sign a trade agreement on behalf of the country, you own it. No amount of sentimental deflection about “dedicated officers working 12 hours across time zones” will change that.
The opposition has every right — indeed, the duty — to demand answers.
So, to the ministers clutching pearls about “insults to the civil service”: save the theatrics. The buck stops with you.
And no, you don’t get to outsource blame to the bureaucracy. The next time Parliament asks tough questions about a deal, try answering them — without hiding behind the curtains of your own ministry.
After all, it wasn’t the clerks who signed the agreement. It was you.
Mihar Dias (mihardias@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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