'Uphold principles of loyalty to King, country and ruling gov't'

Civil servants must, at all times, uphold the principles of loyalty to the King, the country and the ruling government, Ministry of Communications and Multimedia secretary-general Suriani Ahmad said.

In fact, she said it is the responsibility of civil servants to ensure that all government affairs were governed by the rule of law.

“In any given task, it is important for a public officer to carry it out in a trustworthy manner, with integrity and never in the interests of one or the other,” she said at the ministry’s 2019 Excellent Service Award (APC) ceremony at the Malaysia Agricultural Expo Park Serdang (Maeps) in Serdang, today.

She said the transition of power and the swearing-in of Muhyiddin Yassin as the country’s eighth prime minister on March 1 without any untoward incidents are proof of Malaysians’ political maturity.

“As civil servants, we have a very important role to play and we have to be smart in coping with the changes in a professional, fair and judicious manner, and also with integrity,” she said.

Suriani also reminded the civil servants to use social media wisely to develop positive mindsets and spreading good vibes, and not to spread things that are negative and childish in nature.

She said WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook have also become an important medium that influenced public reaction on policies and actions taken by the government.

“Civil servants are also not spared from being the target of public criticism and condemnation on social media, but at the same time, some civil servants had also been found to have used the social media to condemn and criticise others, which is wrong.

“A public officer is required to abide by the provision of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulation 1993 which prohibits him from making any public statement that is detrimental to any policy, programme or decision of the government; or disseminate any comment, information or explanation whether made by him or any other person,” she explained.

“The use of social media with unrestrained emotions and control only has negative implications because it will indirectly reduce the officer’s ability to focus on the tasks he is responsible for,” she added.

- Bernama