Scholarship row: No need to act against officers

Minister Nazri says there is no concrete proof that the officers misused their powers with regard to allocating PSD scholarships.

KUALA LUMPUR: The government will not act against its officers pertaining to the allocation of Public Service Department (PSD) scholarships.

Responding to a question in Parliament, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said there is “no proof that the civil servants misused their powers” in the allocation of PSD scholarships.

“There isn’t any concrete proof of misuse of power in awarding the scholarships, looking at the fact that the implementation was done transparently and as dictated by the Cabinet decision on Jan 14, 2009,” he added.

PSD officers have been accused of being unfair and racist with regard to the allocation of scholarships.

Meanwhile, Nazri also said that the list of scholarship recipients will not be revealed as demanded by several parties for greater transparency.

He said this in answering Batu Gajah-DAP parliamentarian Fong Po Kuan’s additional question on the scholarship issue.

“Even if we reveal the full list in the newspapers there will still be contention by some parties,” he said, adding that not all parties will be satisfied.

“Just because we don’t reveal the list does not mean that we are not sincere,” he said, adding that it is also a question of protecting the privacy of the recipients.