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Loyalty to King and country – or to BN?

By P Ramakrishnan

All citizens owe their loyalty to king and country – that includes civil servants. Civil servants are expected to serve the government of the day faithfully, irrespective of whichever party that forms the government.

They shouldn’t align themselves to any political party whether it is the ruling parties or the opposition parties. They should remain above politics and stay faithful to their vocation.

Their dedication should be to their profession and their commitment to serve and discharge their duties should not be wanting in any way.

This is how they preserve their integrity and safeguard their professionalism.

However this simple thing was not understood by the Johor State Director of Education, Markom Giran. He despicably attempted to force teachers to play a partisan political role. He was trying to corrupt the civil service. Continue reading “Loyalty to King and country – or to BN?”

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Defuse Selangor constitutional crisis by suspending Khusrin’s appointment or Najib’s slogan of an inclusive 1Malaysia government would suffer another irreparable blow

The Chief Secretary, Tan Sri Sidek Hassan should defuse the Selangor constitutional crisis by suspending Datuk Mohd Khusrin Munawi’s appointment as State Secretary and consulting the Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim on the most ideal appointee to be the top Selangor civil servant or Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s slogan of an inclusive 1Malaysia government would suffer another irreparable blow.

Najib’s 1Malaysia concept proclaimed as its goal “to make Malaysia more vibrant, more productive and more competitive” by fully embracing “our diversity of ethnicity, religions and beliefs and, by being inclusive, build mutual respect and acceptance into a solid foundation of trust and cohesiveness”.

The 1Malaysia Government Transformation Programme Roadmap made public a year ago had identified seven areas to achieve the ideals of 1Malaysia, with the ultimate goal specifically spelt out as to create a Malaysian nation where “every Malaysian perceives himself or herself as Malaysian first, and by race, religion, geographical region or socio-economic background second and where the principles of 1Malaysia are woven into the economic, political and social fabric of society”.

The seven areas are: Continue reading “Defuse Selangor constitutional crisis by suspending Khusrin’s appointment or Najib’s slogan of an inclusive 1Malaysia government would suffer another irreparable blow”

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1Malay(sian) Armed Forces

Letters
by Zairil Khir Johari

Being Defence Minister must sit well with Zahid Hamidi, for it has turned him into a trigger-happy man. Now, if only he could move his aim away from his own foot.

In my last post I highlighted his jingoistic call to stand up against the ‘neo-colonial’ government of Penang. And just when you think that such a marvelous statement could not be outdone in asininity, he follows it up with this classic piece of pronouncement:

“The reasons (for the low participation of non-Malays in the armed forces) could be because of a fear towards a tight discipline. It could be because of a low spirit of patriotism. It could be because certain ethnic groups had a negative perception of the armed forces and did not encourage participation,” said the minister.

Bravo. As expected, a commotion soon ensued, with denouncements and debates from both sides of the fence. Certainly, such a statement is nothing less than a stinging insult to the countless deeds and sacrifices made by non-Malay servicemen over the course of our country’s history.

Yet at the same time, it does raise a pertinent question. Why does there seem to be such dismal interest in the armed services amongst the non-Malay community (recruitment of non-Malay personnel from 2008-2009 is a paltry 1.2%)? Continue reading “1Malay(sian) Armed Forces”

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Best Bloated Bureaucracy to Bleed Bolehland to Bankruptcy!

by Martin Jalleh
9 Nov. 2010

Deputy PM Muhyiddin Yassin believes that the BN is “back in business”. The buoyant “Malaysian-second” in Bolehland, said that BN’s future is bright and the Opposition better not underestimate them!

Bolstered by two big by-election victories he even boldly declares that the bureaucrats in Bolehland are “the best civil servants in the world”! The civil servant “have done a lot, but the people want better”.

The Deputy PM was at his ironic best: “The people do not want rhetoric. The era for rhetoric has long gone. The era where the government knows all, like what the prime minister has said, has long gone.”

[Strange, but it is APCO (the international communications firm which Najib is paying a bomb to spruce up his image and lobby for support in Washington) which feels that Malaysia is just another backward hole where Government knows best and press freedom is a figment of the imagination (Malaysian Chronicle)!]

Yes, the rakyat knows best Muhyiddin and we fully agree with you that the civil service in Bolehland is the “best in the world” in the following ways: Continue reading “Best Bloated Bureaucracy to Bleed Bolehland to Bankruptcy!”

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In Parliament, Putrajaya to name errant officials

By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal November 01, 2010
Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 1 — The Najib administration will provide Parliament with a comprehensive list of civil servants who have broken disciplinary regulations and “lack initiative” Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said today.
The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said that the government had compiled a list of civil servants who had flouted the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993, and this included those who were behaving like “little napoleons.”

“The government has taken action against all officers who have broken the rules. Bagan (MP Lim Guan Eng) claimed that there were officials behaving like little napoleons. We will take preventive and punitive action if we find that officials to be portraying the actions of little napoleons,” said Nazri during his Budget winding-up speech in Parliament.

The matter was first brought up by DAP advisor and Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang, who had asked for the government to provide figures for the action taken against “little napoleons” in the civil service.
Continue reading “In Parliament, Putrajaya to name errant officials”

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Budget 2011 : Malaysia towards a failed state and bankrupt nation 2019

2011 Budget not a child of New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited Mahathirish policies (Part 1 of 5)

On Monday, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

It was also the start of a week which saw the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) suffering a triple blow.

The first blow was Monday’s tabling in Parliament of the 2009 Auditor-General’s Reports which continues to be annual tale of horrors of waste, mismanagement, misuse of public funds and corruption – as highlighted by headlines like:

  • Federal government debt hits five-year high;

  • KTMB mired in RM1.45 billion debt;

  • Only 18.2% of pupils bring free eBooks to school;

  • Stimulus funds used for chandeliers, home theatre, government audit shows;

  • PTPTN to face whopping RM46 bil deficit;

  • PTPTN okayed RM23 mil to students who didn’t apply;

  • Million-ringgit scanner stuck in KLIA, under-utilisation woes;

  • ‘Sandwich kosong’ for school kids, sardines missing.

Continue reading “Budget 2011 : Malaysia towards a failed state and bankrupt nation 2019”

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A Participant’s Perspective Of Kursus Kenegaraan (BTN)

Letter
By A Disappointed Civil Servant

It amuses me to note the rapacious back and forth regarding the Kursus Kenegaraan organised by the Biro Tatanegara. However, i notice that remarks defending the program have so far been based on perspectives of certain Government officials, who may or may not have been subjected to the charms of the program. As a serving Government professional of non-Bumiputera descent, I feel it is pertinent that I share my experience of this program, so that some objectivity may be achieved in understanding the isssue at hand.

It is compulsory for all Govt. servants to attend this course once during service. I attended the program in 2006, in a group of 80-odd Malays and 9 non-Malays. We were a mix of doctors, dentists, pharmacists and teachers. On the first day, we had to listen to a series of 4 lectures, all delivered by lecturers from the local MARA University campus. I vividly remember the 1st lecture on Kerakyatan, for it was delivered with such fervour by an obviously inspired lecturer. At times he seemed to go off his script and made several references to ‘other’ races being ‘pendatangs’ and forgetting their ‘place’ in society, and not being grateful for the citizenship ‘awarded’ to them, and other remarks of a similar vein.
Continue reading “A Participant’s Perspective Of Kursus Kenegaraan (BTN)”

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Najib’s 2011 Budget is not a child of New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited policies

Despite all its bombast and pyrotechnics, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 2011 budget is not a child of the New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited policies which have landed Malaysia in the middle-income trap for more than a decade, setting the country towards a failed and bankrupt nation come 2019.

Former Prime Minister Tun Mahathir’s obsession with mega projects like the proposed RM5 billion 100-storey Warisan Merdeka tower is back with a vengeance.

If Najib is seriously committed to a New Economic Model, based on economic, social and government transformation, wouldn’t it be more appropriate for Malaysia to achieve targets as being ranked among the first twenty if not first ten of the least corrupt nations in the annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index or having at least 10 universities which are ranked among the Top 100 Universities in the world?

In fact, it must be asked whether Najib is secretly trying to out-Mahathir Mahathir not only to build a tower higher than Mahathir’s Petronas Twin Towers, but which could be acclaimed as the tallest in the world – however brief the claim? Continue reading “Najib’s 2011 Budget is not a child of New Economic Model but bears all the marks of old discredited policies”

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PM confounded by pro-opposition civil servants

Malaysiakini
Oct 16, 10 11:41pm

Prime Minister Najib Razak is baffled that there are civil servants and government pensioners who preferred to support the opposition.

“We have to look into this … this is not right. Maybe because they were angry with a few, they decided to ditch the whole ship,” he said when launching an Umno Club for retired senior government officers at his official residence, Seri Perdana, today.

“Civil servants should know better that it is only Umno that can ensure our survival.”

He then launched a broadside against the opposition PKR. Continue reading “PM confounded by pro-opposition civil servants”

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Budget 2011: A budget for the big boys and civil servants

By Dr Lim Teck Ghee

There are several ways to analyze the budget. One is to take at face value what the Prime Minister has written in his blog just before his budget speech where he promised that it is “a budget by the rakyat”. By it, he explained that he had read through the more than 1,000 comments and suggestions from his readers and forwarded them to the Ministry of Finance to incorporate.

According to the PM, there were three key issues raised – employment, taxes and subsidies, and education.

In his words, “employment was the most frequently discussed with some of you calling for the implementation of a minimum wage policy”. Also, he noted that “comments from the youth requested for increased tax rebates for young families or ways to provide financial assistance in managing the rising cost of living”. As for education, the feedback on his blog related to concerns with education quality and the rising cost of education.

Now that the budget has been unveiled, it is clear that the civil servants preparing the budget have completely ignored the Prime Minister. Firstly, the implementation of the minimum wage policy has been further deferred for the umpteenth time. The only beneficiaries of wage reform appear to be security guards who deservedly see their minimum wages raised and female civil servants who will now have longer maternity leave.
Continue reading “Budget 2011: A budget for the big boys and civil servants”

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I disagree, chief secretary!

By KJ John

fter the spat between Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Nik Ali Mat Yunus – the federal officer posted to Penang as state development officer (SDO) – the chief secretary to the government concluded: “If he (Nik Ali) was accused with all kinds of untruths and criticised repeatedly, he too, has his dignity. If he did not reply, then people would say that he is guilty. So, it was proper that a clarification was given.”

I disagree with your judgment, Sir!

The word ‘dignity’ is a very expensive word in human sociology and psychology and cannot be treated lightly. Much like the word ‘integrity,’ it cannot and should not be abused by all and sundry. In fact, when I proposed the ‘dignity in the workplace’ hypothesis, the first and biggest challenge was defining the concept as applied and used at the workplace.
Continue reading “I disagree, chief secretary!”

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Tiada Maruah (Lack of Integrity) At The Very Top

By M. Bakri Musa

Last week I wrote, “So we have two disturbing displays of less than exemplary behaviors if not outright lack of professionalism at the highest levels of our civil service. One is the Chief Secretary not hearing both sides to the Lim Eng Guan and Nik Ali squabble before rendering judgment, and the other, the Solicitor General failing to recognize a breach of professional ethics.”

I penned that piece too soon. For a few days later we have yet a third example from another top civil servant, this time Attorney General (AG) Gani Patail. Responding to the allegation of improper behavior by one of his prosecutors in the Sodomy II trial, Gani Patail simply reassigned her.

Living ten thousand miles away I have little to do with the Malaysian civil service. My daily life is thus not affected by these tiada maruah (lack of integrity) folks at the top. The organization however, is essentially Malay; likewise the political establishment. These top civil servants and political leaders are thus seen as representing the best of not just their organizations but also of Malays. Consequently, their shortcomings are viewed less as personal failures but more of our community. When they behave tiada maruah, collectively Malays are also seen as such. That is what makes me angry.
Continue reading “Tiada Maruah (Lack of Integrity) At The Very Top”

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Guan Eng-SDO spat a test of civil service impartiality

Malaysian Insider
By Yoges Palaniappan
July 26, 2010

GEORGE TOWN, July 26 – Lim Guan Eng and state development officer (SDO) Nik Ali Nik Yunus’s running feud highlights widespread misunderstanding over the different roles of the civil service and political parties, political analysts said today.

Universiti Malaya Law Faculty associate professor Azmi Sharom and political analyst Wong Chin Huat backed the Penang chief minister’s criticism against Nik Ali, despite the stout defence of the federal employee put up by Chief Secretary Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.

They were of the opinion that the civil service needed to understand the distinction between political parties and government.

Azmi and Wong were commenting on the ongoing clash between Lim (pic) and Nik Ali which had escalated following a recent outburst by the federal civil servant, who said Lim had lowered his own status of a chief minister by criticising a SDO. Continue reading “Guan Eng-SDO spat a test of civil service impartiality”

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Civility in the US, vitriol in Penang

Making Sens
By Tan Siok Choo
26th July 2010

A CIVIL servant makes a speech. Heavily edited and later publicised, the speech makes the speaker appear racially biased. Journalists and politicians suggest the civil servant should be sacked. After the civil servant resigns, the full speech is published showing its theme of racial reconciliation had been turned into a racist rant.

This incident happened not in Penang but in the US. Nevertheless, last week’s fiasco involving Shirley Sherrod, state director of rural development in Georgia, provides a useful counterpoint to the spat between Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and State Development Officer (SDO) Nik Ali Mat Yunus.

In the US, Sherrod’s speech was edited by a conservative group to suggest she had discriminated against a white farmer. Last Monday, Fox News Channel aired the edited excerpt and host Bill O’Reilly called for Sherrod’s resignation. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack obliged and asked Sherrod to leave.

However, the unedited version of Sherrod’s speech showed the black civil servant had helped the white farmer and was recounting the experience to illustrate that race should never be considered in dealings with others.

Thereafter, President Barack Obama telephoned the US Agriculture Department employee to express his regret over her forced resignation while Vilsack offered Sherrod his apologies and a unique new position in the department.

In contrast to the furore in Penang, one aspect of the Sherrod imbroglio stands out. Although the exchanges in the US were heated, they were civilised. Apart from labelling Sherrod a racist, name calling was notably absent. This contrasts with the volleys of verbal vitriol in Penang between Nik Ali and Guan Eng.

This prompts several questions: Is civility now an endangered trait in Malaysia? Why isn’t it possible for two persons to disagree without being disgustingly disagreeable? Continue reading “Civility in the US, vitriol in Penang”

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Chief Secretary Sidek’s “Mother Hen” Folly

By M. Bakri Musa

Chief Secretary Sidek Hassan did not acquit himself honorably in so quickly defending federal civil servant Nik Ali Yunus in his very public and ugly squabble with Penang’s Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

            Sidek’s swift reaction reflects more of a “mother hen” instinct of protecting its brood rather than the cool considered judgment of the head of an organization of professionals, as our civil servants would like us to believe them to be.

            A state development officer (Nik Ali’s designation) is pretty far down in the federal civil service scheme of things, yet Sidek felt compelled to intervene.  He did, in a rash and clumsy manner.  At the very least he should have sought the views of both sides before rendering judgment.  That would have been the mark of a true professional; it would also the decent thing to do.
Continue reading “Chief Secretary Sidek’s “Mother Hen” Folly”

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Decline in moral accountability?

By Thomas Lee Seng Hock | Mysinchew

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan has made himself look very foolish by asking whether it is wrong for civil servants to attend functions held by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, as he is the DAP secretary-general.

Sidek is apparently trying to justify the presence and participation of Penang state development officer Nik Ali Mat Yunus at an Umno press conference, where the officer verbally lambasted Guan Eng and issued prepared press statements to criticize the chief minister.

I am simply amazed that the country’s top civil servant doesn’t even understand the simple basic difference between a government and a political entity, and respect the very important fundamental principle of impartiality and neutrality of the civil service.
Continue reading “Decline in moral accountability?”

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Chief Secretary Sidek himself guilty of being “excessive” in taking sides instead of reprimanding Nik Ali for doubly violating civil service code

It was only on Tuesday that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said that there is no place for little Napoleons in the public service who do not understand the importance of innovation if the Government Transformation Programme is to succeed.

It is regrettable however that when Little Napoleons rear their ugly heads, they are given full defence and support instead of being reprimanded and put in their proper place.

The latest example of support for Little Napoleons instead of smacking them down is the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan’s defence of the Penang State Development Officer Nik Ali Nik Yunus for the latter’s attack on the Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng. Sidek said Guan Eng’s allegations against Nik Ali was “excessive”.

It is Sidek who is guilty of being “excessive” in taking sides instead of reprimanding Nik Ali for doubly violating the civil service code of being strictly non-partisan, non-political and civil by appearing at an UMNO press conference to attack the Penang Chief Minister as “biadap” (insolent or uncivilized) and “dayus” (coward).

What is most shocking is that no Cabinet Minister appeared outraged and all seemed to have sanctioned the “Little Napoleonic” conduct of Nik Ali.
Continue reading “Chief Secretary Sidek himself guilty of being “excessive” in taking sides instead of reprimanding Nik Ali for doubly violating civil service code”

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A gross violation of the civil service code

By Thomas Lee Seng Hock | Mysinchew

The current spat between Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and the state development officer Nik Ali Mat Yunus highlights a fundamental flaw in the Malaysian civil service.

In the democratic system of government, of which Malaysia professes to practise, the civil service is a politically non-partisan and neutral body, with all its officers supposed to function and operate impartially in the implementations of the policies, programmes, and projects of the elected government.

Article 132 of the Federal Constitution states that federal civil servants hold office at the pleasure of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and state civil servants at the pleasure of the respective Sultan. Which means that the civil servants are not beholden to any political party but to His Majesty’s government of the day. His Majestic is above politics, and so must all those civil servants appointed under his royal command and name.
Continue reading “A gross violation of the civil service code”

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Postal Hike and Social Problems

Letter
By Ganesh

The recent hike in the price of postal services is quite shocking.

The standard mail (up to 20g) tariff has shot up from 30 sen to 60 sen while the rate for letters weighing up to 50g soars from 40 sen to 70 sen. A 100% increase is a huge amount considering Pos Malaysia, for all intents and purposes, is a GLC (see breakdown) and the government should be thinking about the hardships that it would cause to its people with the new heavy postal fees.

The substantial shareholders of Pos Malaysia as at 15 March 2010 are:

  1. Khazanah Nasional Berhad 32.21%
  2. Employees Provident Fund Board 9.59%
  3. Permodalan Nasional Berhad 8.45%
  4. Amanahraya Trustees Berhad Skim Amanah Saham Bumiputera 8.18%

Continue reading “Postal Hike and Social Problems”

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Updating Dr M on who runs the country

By Dr Lim Teck Ghee | CPI

Is it true that Umno has allowed the situation of Malay dominance to be so badly eroded that the community is facing a bleak and hopeless future?

The Ketuanan party is being overly modest if it refuses to take any credit for the Malays’ measurable success. In which case, we should all be content to attribute the advancement of Malays and Malaysia merely to takdir and the grace of Allah, and quite willing to discount human agency and Umno diligence.

But let’s see.

Bring back the civil service staff list

Until the early 1970s, the Malaysian government used to produce a federal civil service staff list annually that contained the details of key personnel heading the various ministries and departments of the federal authorities and agencies, and their positions in the service.
Continue reading “Updating Dr M on who runs the country”