Civil servants need protection against ministers who act arbitrarily , says MTUC

MTUC secretary-general J Solomon says an independent body should be set up to ensure senior government officers are not transferred because of victimisation.

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) today called for the establishment of a government mechanism to protect civil servants from certain ministers who exercise their powers arbitrarily.

MTUC secretary-general J Solomon said a high-level independent body should be set up to vet the transfer of senior officers to avoid victimisation by ministers for personal reasons.

“In view of this, there is a dire need for the government to protect these officials from being victimised by certain ministers who are seen to abuse their powers blithely,” he said in a statement.

“The affected officers have not been given a chance to defend themselves as they are forced to follow ministerial orders.

“The mechanism we are proposing is one that would require ministers to publicly state the specific reasons for their actions to a high-level independent body before a final decision is taken.

“It cannot be merely because a minister is not happy with certain officers. This will lead to an abuse of power which we see now.”

Solomon also alleged that several high-ranking officers have been put in “cold storage” and their powers and responsibilities reduced so as to hurt their careers.

Among the examples of abuse of power, he said, was the case of a minister allegedly taking disciplinary action against a senior officer without any prior investigation.

“The officer had an excellent record and was just two years away from retiring. This is tantamount to cruelty as the adverse impact on his life is huge.

“These are among the actions that are deteriorating the relationship between the ruling government and government machinery.”

Noting that there was limited scope for these officials to seek justice, Solomon said this was in contrast to private sector employees which had Collective Agreements (CA) that stipulated specific provisions on the terms of employment.

However, public sector employees did not have this privilege, he said, adding that it shoud be “rectified to protect the human rights of these officers”.

Solomon also said he was peeved with the frequent accusations that civil servants refuse to cooperate with the Pakatan Harapan administration as there is a “deep state” within the government.

Just yesterday, Cuepacs – the umbrella body for public sector unions – shot down claims of the existence of a “deep state” among civil servants.

Its secretary-general Adnan Mat said the public should not confuse miscommunication between the government and the civil service with attempts to sabotage the PH administration through a “deep state”.

Agreeing that “such claims and vile accusations should not exist”, Solomon said it is not too late for PH ministers to change their wrong perception of civil servants.

“Consider them as your teammates to bring about a New Malaysia that Pakatan Harapan had promised in its campaign and manifesto,” he added. - FMT