When I read the report of what Penang Chief Minister said about Penang state development officer (SDO) Nik Ali Mat Yunus, I remember being taken aback by the directness of his criticism. But I also remember that he very clearly outlined the issues that he had with the SDO. I could not remember the details though. However despite quite extensive efforts I cannot locate the article I read. If you, dear reader, have a link to a report of the event where Lim Guan Eng said what he said, I would appreciate it if you would share it. But in the SDO’s own words, Lim Guan Eng had called him “incompetent, useless, unprofessional, coward and should be sacked”.
The SDO, a federal-appointed officer then hit back at Lim Guan Eng at a Penang UMNO function, calling Lim “insolent, uncivilised and a coward.”
http://themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dap-civil-service-spat-escalates/
I have no knowledge of substance of the Penang Chief Minister’s complaints about the SDO and so I cannot make any conclusion as to whether the comments were justified. But it is clear that the SDO’s retaliation was wrong on 2 counts: firstly he did it at a political function and secondly a civil servant should not be disrespectful towards a head of government. Recently some actions of the head of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, were described as “not only deplorable, but seriously reprehensible” by a member of his own team, the outgoing UN undersecretary general of the Office of Internal Oversight Services, in a leaked memo. Yet “U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky said Thursday that Ban regrets that Ahlenius’ confidential memo was leaked, but he considers her “frank thinking and advice” an important tool for improving his management and he and his senior advisers are “carefully reviewing” it.” That is professionalism, focusing on the issues and not retaliating.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gFnM7D6JvcOpN_Kkz1sXd9u7oq7wD9H4CAAG2
And so the response of the Chief Secretary Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, the head of the civil service, to this issue was wrong. While he explained that the issues the Penang Chief Minister had with the SDO was not actually under “the jurisdiction of the officer as the State Development Officer,” he failed to fault the SDO’s response, only excusing it as justifiable in the face of excessive criticisms. And he claimed that there was nothing wrong for a civil servant to be at a political function as a civil servant. Several others have since criticised the Chief Secretary’s response.
http://themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/chief-secretary-says-wont-punish-penang-sdo/
http://themalaysianinsider.com/breakingviews/article/decline-in-moral-accountability-thomas-lee-seng-hock/
http://themalaysianinsider.com/breakingviews/article/the-civil-service-must-be-impartial-the-malaysian-insider/
The comment I want to make is actually on Lim Guan Eng’s strongly worded criticism. As I said, I was taken aback by the directness of his attack although I appreciated that he did detailed what his complaints were. On further reflection I actually like this direct approach of calling a spade a spade, and publicly at that. Part of the reason for my conclusion was this article that I read entitled “Breeding a culture of fear” in which the writer wrote about “AUKU, ISA, OSA, Printing Presses and Publications Act, Sedition Act, EO — each with specific functions that target different groups of people in her rakyat, to continuously breed an all-encompassing culture of fear.”
As I reflected on this I realize that most of these Acts were already in place when I was in the university in the 70s. And the conventional wisdom that prevailed then was “don’t get involved. Study hard, get a good job and build your life.” What was unsaid was the fear that if you don’t follow the first, the likelihood is that you will be denied the second. What followed was several generations of citizens who basically turned away, aided by an emasculated media.
Lim Guan Eng’s directness was, upon reflection, a breath of fresh air. And the number of people who stood up to take the Chief Secretary to task was a breath of fresh air.
Secondly, I note Koh Tsu Koon’s advice to Lim Guan Eng to follow Lim Chong Eu’s approach of dealing with these matters privately through established channels. “The better way is by handling them professionally,” he said.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/7/24/nation/6729976&sec=nation
It begs the question whether Koh Tsu Koon’s way got him anywhere. Lim Guan Eng actually did try to have his grievances heard through the proper channels. At least he has said that he did try. But to no avail.
It reminds me of another developing story involving Koh Tsu Koon – the inter-faith panel.
Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon confirmed today that the inter-faith panel initiated by the Najib administration had been asked to come up with a new name.
However, the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of national unity told reporters that no timeframe has been set for the panel to come up with another name.
“We do not want to make a timeframe because we feel that [for] such an important matter, they must have patience… both sides must have patience,” he said.
“We will let you know when they’re ready to make any announcements,” Koh said dismissively.
It is clear that he is not in control of the process. Even the name of the panel is not in his control.
Finally an editorial by The Malaysian Insider has an ominous warning:
Lim’s riposte to a federal officer’s rant has apparently underlined the constant call for Malay unity by Umno politicians and their supporters. They point to Lim’s outbursts as that of a dictator whose continued hold on power will destroy Malay dominance in Malaysia.
This really has nothing to do with Malay unity but everything to do with Umno and its supporters of state-sponsored racism and bigotry balking at a non-Malay leader who dared challenge their monopoly to speak freely.
The home ministry has freely allowed some newspapers to continue their racially-tinged attacks while putting restrictions on party organs, especially the Malay-language papers which might offer alternative views to that from Umno-owned publications.
Then again, Lim is not the only one being singled out. Most PR politicians are being painted as either reluctant to work on Malay unity or having betrayed the race by working with non-Malays.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/breakingviews/article/the-true-1-malaysia-the-malaysian-insider/
In my googling around I have definitely seen evidence of bloggers making this issue a chinese-malay issue. How much we need to be on our knees praying.
The Micah Mandate is a Christian-based public interest advocacy ministry that seeks a transformation of our nation through justice, mercy and humility.
