A former senior civil servant responds to Khairy Jamaluddin's question.
FMT
PETALING JAYA: It’s their sense of duty to the nation that makes some civil servants refuse to vote for Barisan Nasional, according to Ramon Navaratnam, a former secretary-general of the Transport Ministry.
He said this was not a new phenomenon, but added, “This trend could be gathering momentum.”
Navaratnam was responding to a question that Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin raised in a recent TV interview.
“The minister rightly suggests a study of this serious phenomenon,” he said in a letter to FMT. “But I could readily respond to the minister.
“Civil servants are permanent employees who generally have a dedicated and professional pride to serve God, King, Country and the Rakyat, with a long term perspective and a sense of service. On the contrary, most politicians tend to look forward mostly on a short term basis, until the next election.
“Hence the more committed civil servants tend to have more serious concerns with the growing scourges of corruption, wastage, politically motivated projects and programmes and poor management practices and cronyism, etc. Hence civil servants react unfavourably to what many politicians preach as they notice the difference between the practice and the preaching. They witness first-hand how many politicians often make generous promises, but fail to deliver.”
However, he added, it would be incumbent upon civil servants to obey government decisions.
“Civil servants, regardless of their political affiliations, must faithfully implement government decisions once they are made, without fear or favour. They should also not distort policies through dubious practices and act as Little Napoleons. Those who sabotage government policies should be severely dealt with for all to see and for the people to respect the government itself.”
He called on the government of the day to respect the political views and preferences of civil servants and not politicise the civil service “for its own long-term survival” and to work for the sake of “sustainable national stability, progress and the people’s well being”.
Bold appeal
Navaratnam, who is currently the Chairman of the ASLI Centre for Public Policy Studies, praised Khairy for speaking of the “need to respect the political views of civil servants”.
“I am sure the 1.4 million civil servants in our country will welcome this unique and bold appeal from a serving minister to protect the dignity and integrity of the whole public service,” he said.
“It is essential that the civil service, particularly at the most senior levels, should be free and independent of partisan politics. While they may have their own political and party affiliations, they however cannot and should not bring to bear their political preferences on their policy advice and in the implementation of public policies.
“They should not indulge in petty party politics. Neither should they be subject to political pressures, to do the bidding of politicians without regard to the national and public interest.
“Unfortunately, there has been some tendency to encourage civil servants to be loyal to the political parties that form the government, in order that civil servants be regarded as ‘loyal civil servants’. This should not be the case, as indicated by the Sports Minister, quite sportingly.
“A civil servant can be a loyal public servant and yet not be a political party member or supporter of the ruling government. However some political leaders do not see this subtle difference. They privately label some civil servants as disloyal if they are members or supporters of opposition political parties. They can lose out on promotions and favoured postings if they are deemed to be non-government party members or supporters. This is an unhealthy attitude which has and can erode the independence and integrity of the national institutions, like the civil service, the police and even the judiciary and other bodies.
“Thus, I agree with the minister that no civil servant should be forced to support the political party that the government represents. If and when this happens, the morale and self-respect and dignity of the civil service could be adversely affected.
“This loss of morale can be reflected in the poor performance and inefficiency in the civil service. Worse still, it can cause the decline and even the downfall of the government apparatus and institutions. So please don`t politicise the civil service.”
PETALING JAYA: It’s their sense of duty to the nation that makes some civil servants refuse to vote for Barisan Nasional, according to Ramon Navaratnam, a former secretary-general of the Transport Ministry.
He said this was not a new phenomenon, but added, “This trend could be gathering momentum.”
Navaratnam was responding to a question that Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin raised in a recent TV interview.
“The minister rightly suggests a study of this serious phenomenon,” he said in a letter to FMT. “But I could readily respond to the minister.
“Civil servants are permanent employees who generally have a dedicated and professional pride to serve God, King, Country and the Rakyat, with a long term perspective and a sense of service. On the contrary, most politicians tend to look forward mostly on a short term basis, until the next election.
“Hence the more committed civil servants tend to have more serious concerns with the growing scourges of corruption, wastage, politically motivated projects and programmes and poor management practices and cronyism, etc. Hence civil servants react unfavourably to what many politicians preach as they notice the difference between the practice and the preaching. They witness first-hand how many politicians often make generous promises, but fail to deliver.”
However, he added, it would be incumbent upon civil servants to obey government decisions.
“Civil servants, regardless of their political affiliations, must faithfully implement government decisions once they are made, without fear or favour. They should also not distort policies through dubious practices and act as Little Napoleons. Those who sabotage government policies should be severely dealt with for all to see and for the people to respect the government itself.”
He called on the government of the day to respect the political views and preferences of civil servants and not politicise the civil service “for its own long-term survival” and to work for the sake of “sustainable national stability, progress and the people’s well being”.
Bold appeal
Navaratnam, who is currently the Chairman of the ASLI Centre for Public Policy Studies, praised Khairy for speaking of the “need to respect the political views of civil servants”.
“I am sure the 1.4 million civil servants in our country will welcome this unique and bold appeal from a serving minister to protect the dignity and integrity of the whole public service,” he said.
“It is essential that the civil service, particularly at the most senior levels, should be free and independent of partisan politics. While they may have their own political and party affiliations, they however cannot and should not bring to bear their political preferences on their policy advice and in the implementation of public policies.
“They should not indulge in petty party politics. Neither should they be subject to political pressures, to do the bidding of politicians without regard to the national and public interest.
“Unfortunately, there has been some tendency to encourage civil servants to be loyal to the political parties that form the government, in order that civil servants be regarded as ‘loyal civil servants’. This should not be the case, as indicated by the Sports Minister, quite sportingly.
“A civil servant can be a loyal public servant and yet not be a political party member or supporter of the ruling government. However some political leaders do not see this subtle difference. They privately label some civil servants as disloyal if they are members or supporters of opposition political parties. They can lose out on promotions and favoured postings if they are deemed to be non-government party members or supporters. This is an unhealthy attitude which has and can erode the independence and integrity of the national institutions, like the civil service, the police and even the judiciary and other bodies.
“Thus, I agree with the minister that no civil servant should be forced to support the political party that the government represents. If and when this happens, the morale and self-respect and dignity of the civil service could be adversely affected.
“This loss of morale can be reflected in the poor performance and inefficiency in the civil service. Worse still, it can cause the decline and even the downfall of the government apparatus and institutions. So please don`t politicise the civil service.”
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