Watch your words, Chief Secretary tells govt officers

A general service circular has been issued to all heads of government departments to remind their officers to refrain from making statements touching on racial and religious sensitivities, Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Sidek Hassan said Friday.

He said the circular also wanted the heads of department to take immediate and stern action against the errant officers based on the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993.

Mohd Sidek said in a statement that the government would not condone such conduct, as was the case recently by a small number of public officers.

He did not cite any example but said the number of errant officers was very small compared to the 1.2 million public officers.

"The government will strive to check such conduct which can jeopardise the racial harmony enjoyed thus far," he said.

He also said that with 1.2 million public officers, it was an impossible task to ensure 100 per cent compliance despite having in place clear regulations and guidelines to supervise the conduct of public officers.

In any organisation, there was bound to be a small number of employees who strayed from the organisation's vision and mission, he said, and added that the Bar Council had reported recently that it was impossible to police the conduct of all its 13,000 members.

Mohd Sidek said the incidents involving a small number of public officers should not necessarily be seen as reflecting the stand of the government.errant

"In fact, the government administration has never allowed and will not allow any action and conduct contrary to the racial harmony forged all this while, particularly by public officers who are implementors of government policies," he said.

Mohd Sidek said immediate action must be taken to suspend any officer alleged to have made such statements pending an investigation.

This measure was to ease any tension which might have built up following the issuing of the allegedly seditious statement, he said.

Mohd Sidek said that when news spread of racially sensitive statements having been made by public officers in their capacity as government officers, many quarters responded by asking the government to act immediately against these officers.

However, he said, the people must understand that any disciplinary action against public officers should be in accordance with the law and gazetted disciplinary regulations.

The government could not be hasty in taking action based purely on an allegation without a thorough investigation in accordance with the law and regulations in force, he added.

"Any action should be implemented according to regulations (in stages) and the time frame provided for in the law and regulations," he said, adding that this was ensure that no one was treated unjustly and that the action was in accordance with the principles of the rule of law and natural justice.

He said the Public Service Department was established 50 years ago and it belonged to all the people of Malaysia of all races and religions.

As such, any element which hampered the aspiration to achieve the oneness of Malaysians did not have any place at all in the Malaysian public service, he said in a Bernama report.

"I wish to take this opportunity to urge all quarters, particularly public officers, to concentrate fully on realising the various government programmes and initiatives for the progress and prosperity of the country as well as on the efforts to make Malaysia a high-income nation.

"We are now in the final phase of achieving the objectives of Vision 2020. We should not allow negative elements to obstruct our path towards that target.

"This is the time for everyone of us in the society to exercise calm and patience and refrain from making irrational statements which can cause disharmony," he said.- Malaysian Mirror