When reporters asked PM10 about the raid conducted by the Ministry of Home Affairs on Swatch boutiques on May 13 and 14, 2023, his response was that he had yet to receive details on the matter and he would let the Home Ministry explain themselves.
This response appears to give the impression and perception that the raid was carried out without the knowledge or authorization or sanctioned by the Minister of Home Affairs but by his officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs designed solely to cause embarrassment to the unity government.
Public officials defying Ministers appear to be expected in this country during the 1st time Pakatan Harapan was voted in, in 2018, to govern this country.
The culture of sabotaging the implementation of government policies among public officials was reaffirmed by none other than PM7 in Nov 2018, a few months after a majority of the people voted in the Pakatan Harapan coalition to govern the country in his response at a question-and-answer session at the Senior Government Officials Meeting with the Prime Minister at Langkawi.
PM7 was quoted to have said he often raised the issue of sabotage to serve as a reminder to all government servants to carry out their responsibilities with trust.
Before this was revealed publicly in 2018, this apparently never happened or maybe because it was kept under wraps by the BN administration, which was governing this country for several decades.
Isn’t public officials voters?
Yes, they are entitled to their own political views and they, just like any ordinary rakyat, are allowed to express their political preferences at the ballot box.
But why express their dissatisfaction with the policies and machinations of the government of the day whom they are against?
Some public officials were used by politicians to sabotage the government’s programmes and projects, especially when the government of the day was comprised of political parties that the public officials were against.
Let’s be honest.
The majority of the ordinary rakyat, especially those in the small businesses, knows it.
The civil service is not known for efficiency, competency and integrity.
The older generations would always lament that the civil service of the early years until the early 80s in this country was a well-structured bureaucracy that followed a long tradition of rules, regulations and guidelines, and public officials do not need to be schooled on the terms and conditions of the service.
Public officials in those days put in their best to assist the administration in consolidating due process, prudent management of resources and transparency, which have been the hallmark of the early administration in the civil service in those days.
The tradition of the civil service then has been one of loyal and impartial service for the benefit of the country.
To work in public service, then, is to work for and serve the common good with honesty, impartiality and integrity.
These values were the basis for the official actions of all public officials.
In those early days, public officials always acted within the law and performed their duties with efficiency, diligence and courtesy and dealt with the public sympathetically, fairly and promptly and never sought to use political influence to affect decisions concerning their official positions.
How things have changed over few decades.
If the new government is clean and in a hurry to get things done, some of the public officials will be chaffed as they prefer the old times, where delay and inefficiency can be very lucrative for some of them.
Moreso, if the political masters are corrupt, there is a high likelihood that the public officials will also be complicit in it.
If the new government is relatively clean, efficient and transparent, this will pose challenges and problems for the civil service.
If the new government is serious about getting rid of corruption, it must go all the way.
It must get strict with civil service, failing which the government may face even more problems as we see the so-called sabotage today.
Maybe it is time to have all public officials pledge that they must conscientiously serve the duly elected government of the day, the other institutions of State and the public and implement policy impartially and, in particular, be conscious of the need to maintain the independence necessary to give any future Minister or Government confidence in their integrity.
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