Ex-senior govt officers call for neutrality in appointing secretaries-general

PETALING JAYA: There should be no political interference in the appointment of heads of ministries, urge former senior officers of the Government’s administrative and diplomatic staff.

It was one of the points put forward by the Administrative and Diplomatic Officers (PTD – Pegawai Tadbir dan Diplomatik) to improve the public service when some of the association’s most senior former officers paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Heads of ministries are secretaries-general.

Yesterday, Dr Mahathir posted several photos of the visit, which took place at Yayasan Al-Bukhari in Kuala Lumpur last Friday, on his official Twitter account.

.It is learnt that the alumni, led by its president Tan Sri Sallehuddin Mohamed – the Chief Secretary to the Government between 1984 and 1990 – also called on the Government to ensure that public servants remain neutral when delivering their servi­ces.

Another point raised during the meeting was the need for the Government to ensure that the selection of civil servants be based on a proper evaluation of their personality and integrity.

After the meeting with the alumni, Dr Mahathir received a courtesy call from the PTD Association led by its acting president Datuk Lokman Halim Ali.

The Prime Minister also posted several photos of the meeting on Twitter accompanied by the message: “A sincere, honest and dedicated service is important to develop Malaysia.

“If we love our country, we will not have the heart to do any wrongdoings.”

In an interview with CNN recently, Dr Mahathir said his new administration inherited a government wrecked by corruption and untrustworthy officials.

“From outside we saw the damage, but we never expected the damage to be so extensive.

“Most of the top echelons in the government are corrupt,” he told the US-based television news channel in a special interview which aired on Thursday.

“It’s a very difficult job, if you don’t work with people you trust, you don’t know whether what you want them to do will be done or not,” he said.- Star