PETALING JAYA: The Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led government is facing a loyalty issue with civil servants in the country.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that many civil servants had actively campaigned for Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 14th general election, which raises questions as to where their loyalties lie.
"Many government officers took part in the election and campaigned for BN in a voluntary capacity. We are suspicious of their loyalty now," he said to reporters after chairing PH's presidential council meeting here today.
Also present was PKR de-factor leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Dr Mahathir added that the loyalty of civil servants needs to be determined, as it may "affect the government's administration."
He added that the government must determine whether it can get the full cooperation of officers when doing their job.
"We do not want to punish them unnecessarily, because that is not the way we do things. But we need to know where their loyalties lie because they have committed themselves to propagating the agenda of the previous government,” he said.
Dr Mahathir added that the government has videotape evidence of many civil servants wearing blue shirts and campaigning for BN.
He said that as civil servants, they should have been neutral and not campaign for any political party.
"They should not… campaign for any particular party, but they can vote for whichever party they wish," he added.
The prime minister also said that the 17,000 politically-appointed civil servants are eligible for special Hari Raya aid.
He added that the government will not be unfair to them even though they were political appointees of the previous government.