Loyalty of some Malaysian civil servants in doubt, says PM Mahathir

PETALING JAYA — Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad expressed misgivings on Friday (June 1) about the loyalty of “numerous” civil servants who were openly supportive of the defeated Barisan Nasional and may disrupt the Pakatan Harapan government.

Speaking at a press conference, Dr Mahathir said there were videos of civil servants wearing Barisan Nasional’s (BN) signature blue uniforms and actively campaigning for the coalition ahead of the 14th general election.

“We came to know that many government officers campaigned for BN in the 14th general election. We don’t know whether they were forced to it or did it voluntarily, but we are sceptical of their loyalty.

“We are not sure if they are loyal to the old BN government or the current government. This will disrupt the PH government because we want to administer the country according to our methods and manifesto,” said Dr Mahathir after attending the PH presidential council meeting.

He also added civil servants, like others, are free to vote for whichever party they choose, but they should never act in a partisan manner and must execute the policies of the government of the day.

When asked if he had a rough estimate of how many members of the civil service are loyal to the old guard, Dr Mahathir cheekily replied: "They are numerous, I haven't had the time to count them yet."

The world's oldest elected prime minister also voiced his reluctance to take punitive actions against these errant civil servants but said he needed to know for certain where their loyalties lie.

"We already know that there are 17,000 political appointees from the Opposition. We had to take action because their positions were not needed; it was created purely to give work to party members.

"But there are also normal officers who have tainted themselves with politics, openly campaigning for BN. We hope that they will change their attitude and become neutral again, because they have to carry out the policies and instructions of the government," he said. MALAY MAIL