MTUC wants measures to protect civil servants from ‘minister abuse’

Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) wants the Pakatan Harapan government to put in place mechanism to prevent ministers from acting out against civil servants following claims of a “deep state” in the civil service.

The organisation disagreed with claims and “vile accusations” that civil servants were not cooperating with the new ruling government.

“Such claims and vile accusations should not exist... it was obvious the problem came about from poor communication from the various ministers.

“We (MTUC) do not agree (with) claims of civil servants sabotaging government ministers.

“Hence, it is unfair for certain ministers to act against senior civil servants based on emotions and hearsay. This includes immediate transfers from their present departments,” MTUC secretary-general J Solomon (below) said in a statement, echoing the recent statements made by the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Service (Cuepacs).

Among others, Solomon claimed senior officials were “cold-storaged” by ministers without being called to defend themselves.

He, however, did not name any particular ministers.

“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,” he alleged further.

Even so, he added that there are many ministers who acted responsibly and carried out their duties well.

He said ministers should, instead, move away from the perception that civil servants did not accept their leadership.

“Consider them as your teammates to bring about a New Malaysia.”

The prime minister had said last week he would look into allegations of the existence of a “deep state” among civil servants out to sabotage the administration of the Pakatan Harapan government.

This following last year when he claimed a culture of sabotaging the implementation of government policies still existed among civil servants.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had also reportedly said covert forces in different government departments were behind the recent string of scandals implicating the Harapan component party DAP, of which he is secretary-general.

Yet, this was denied by de facto law minister Liew Vui Keong who, earlier this month, told Dewan Rakyat there is no sign of disloyalty from civil servants towards the government, despite public perception otherwise.

The minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said Putrajaya will continue to monitor the civil service to prevent disobedience, and dispel negative public perception of them.