PETALING JAYA: Several senior civil servants are said to be upset at the way the government is treating public service department (JPA) director-general Shafiq Abdullah over his reprimand of a civil servant for alleged dereliction of duty.
Whatsapp messages circulating in civil service groups are saying the formation of the high-powered committee to investigate Shafiq smacks of a political move and that it is possible certain parties are using the episode to reduce his chances of being appointed chief secretary to the government.
The investigation is to determine whether it was true Shafiq publicly berated an immigration officer at KLIA.
The current chief secretary, Zuki Ali, turns 60 tomorrow and there has been no announcement on whether his term will be extended by way of contract or whether he will be replaced. Shafiq turns 58 today.
One senior civil servant who spoke to FMT on condition of anonymity said calling out inefficient or negligent officers was a norm for Shafiq when he was the secretary-general of the health ministry, the job he held before he became JPA’s secretary-general.
The source said Shafiq was a no-nonsense officer who could not tolerate those who performed below par or those who lacked knowledge of their jobs, adding that during his term at the health ministry, he made sure that the right men headed the right units.
“What he did at KLIA was what any senior officer should do under the circumstances in the interest of a better civil service,” he said. “When it involves a lapse that threatens the security of the nation, do you accept it if a top civil servant just ignores it?
“The problem is many officers are so used to getting a rap on the knuckle. So this open cautioning of an officer for failing to do his duty came as a shock to some.”
Another officer praised Shafiq’s handling of the Covid-19 situation, saying he made sure resources were optimised.
“We know how he worked and at the same time pushed the officers to do their best,” he said. “This is something no one, whether the health minister or his director-general, can deny.”
He said Shafiq reprimanded the immigration officer because he was shocked that his passport was not scanned or stamped.
He said the forming of the high-powered committee was overkill since even the prime minister had announced that the video of the event was available and it would therefore be easy to verify what transpired.
“Officers in the civil service are shocked that the heads of key and busy institutions are in the panel. Don’t they have more important matters to resolve?” the officer added.
“To some of us, this appears to be a way of throwing obstacles in Shafiq’s path to becoming the chief secretary to the government, which is expected to become vacant when Zuki retires.”
Last Saturday, Zuki announced that the special committee will be headed by Attorney-General Idrus Harun. The members are IGP Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani, MACC head Azam Baki and Auditor-General Nik Azman Nik Abdul.
The panel is set to have its first meeting on Friday. - FMT
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