Razak Baginda: It's wrong to say that the bureaucracy will continue supporting BN even if it loses GE14.
PETALING JAYA: Centre for Global Affairs Malaysia (Icon) president Abdul Razak Baginda has rejected a news magazine’s speculation that civil servants will stand in the way of Pakatan Harapan’s ability to govern if the coalition wins the coming general election.
He told FMT he did not believe that the civil service was pro-Barisan Nasional.
“I don’t think they’re pro this or that; I think they’re pro themselves,” he said in a comment on an article in The Diplomat which predicted that BN was almost certain to win the 14th general election.
Even if Pakatan Harapan were to win, the article added, the government would collapse within a few years. One of the reasons it gave was that the vast bureaucracy would continue to be loyal to Umno and BN.
Razak said the wellbeing of Pakatan-controlled states emphasised his belief that The Diplomat had got its prediction wrong.
“Look at Selangor, for example. It’s doing considerably well. So that means the civil service is supporting the government there. Therefore, I think the whole argument that the civil service is pro-BN doesn’t hold any water.”
He said a false assumption that many Malaysians held was that political masters decided how the civil service would act.
“You always hear about political masters and ministers calling all the shots, but the truth is that the ministers don’t have any power. Contrary to popular belief, the ultimate control lies in the civil service. They can sabotage, delay and stifle the political masters.
“It’s all about the little Napoleons and a lot of little Napoleons make the civil service in this country very powerful.
“In effect, the civil service can do everything right or wrong and there will be the political masters to blame.
“The civil service in this country is very powerful.”
However, he added, civil servants did not often put this power to good use.
“They are not very professional sometimes because even when the political masters are making the wrong decisions, they will keep their mouths shut because they don’t want to upset them.” -FMT
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