‘Civil servants must maintain their professionalism and neutrality, and serve the government of the day’
THE media has reported that our Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has admonished senior civil servants who went overboard to support the former Barisan Nasional government in the last General Election.
Their blatant acts of partisanship had gone viral on social media and shocked many of us, including me, (I was a civil servant for 15 years) who are brought up to believe in the concept of civil service neutrality.
These, I gathered from social media and were not denied by those concerned. Our civil service was introduced by the British, whose integrity and independence is unquestionable.
After having been under the same coalition government for so long, perhaps our civil servant have lost that understanding of how they are supposed to act, particularly the younger ones.
Hence this short article.
What is civil service neutrality? It means that civil servants must be non-partisan. They must serve whoever is the elected government of the day. They must be responsible and responsive to the government’s policies. They must obey the lawful political wishes of whomever is in power and serve governments of any party with the same degree of commitment. At the same time, they must exhibit political impartiality. They must not campaign for or against a political party. It need not be said that they must not misuse state resources or state powers for partisan political purposes.
They must act in the interest of the government and no other alternative public interest. Their own political leanings must not stand in the way of diligent translation of the ruling party’s political goals into workable policies and plans. They must understand that politicians have democratic legitimacy while civil servants do not. Officials must accept that politicians have the last word.
Civil service neutrality casts duties not only on civil servants but also on ministers. Ministers must articulate clear goals and strategies for the respective ministries and provide guidance to public officials to deliver results. Unfortunately, sometimes the policies are not clearly expressed. At the same time, the political leaders must protect civil servants from political interference and must not involve them in political activities or debates. Politics is the realm of the minister, policy is the land of the civil servant.
The minister must believe, exhibit and practise the values of meritocracy, clean government, multiracialism, inclusive development and economic growth.
In the United Kingdom, civil service neutrality is a constitutional convention since the Northcote and Trevelyan Report of 1864. Indeed, the political neutrality of the civil service is the foundation and rationalisation for the concept of permanence in the civil service. Governments may come and go but civil servants enjoy security of tenure. This is in contrast with the system in the United States where when a new president is elected and a new administration takes over, 8,000 public officers are made to quit and 8,000 new appointees take over.
In Malaysia, the idea of civil service neutrality, though not explicitly mentioned in the Constitution, is woven into the fabric of our law.
The historic English concept of service “at the pleasure of the Crown” does not apply here fully. Except for those holding political or contractual posts, employees in the public services outlined in Article 132 of the Federal Constitution (the armed forces, the judicial and legal service, the general public service, the police, joint public services, the public services of each state and the education service) enjoy a high degree of security of tenure. The government may change but civil servants retain their job and continue to enjoy a steady and assured income.
Under Article 135, they have several procedural safeguards against unfair dismissal or reduction in rank. In any disciplinary proceeding they are entitled to a fair hearing under the rules of natural justice.
Their appointment, confirmation, service conditions, transfer, emplacement on permanent or pensionable establishment, promotion, discipline or dismissal are in the hands of (what are supposed to be) impartial and independent Service Commissions under Articles 137-144.
Under Article 136, there is protection against discrimination. All persons of whatever race shall be treated impartially.
Under Article 147 and the Pensions Act, many categories of public servants enjoy life-long pensions and free medical benefits.
Public servants are accountable to ministers who are accountable to Parliament. However, during the parliamentary inquisition, civil servants enjoy political anonymity. When a ministry is criticised in Parliament, the minister concerned is held vicariously responsible. Under Article 43(3) he takes the rap and the public servants involved are spared the political vitriol on the floor of the houses.
Under the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 (as amended) senior civil servants are required to observe a reserve in politics. Though they have a right to vote in the General Election, they are forbidden from contesting or holding a seat in Parliament and in political parties and participating in party politics.
All the above principles and rules are predicated on the assumption that civil servants must maintain their professionalism and neutrality no matter who is in power.
As said earlier, perhaps our civil servants lack such an ethos due to the uninterrupted 61-year rule of the same party at the federal level. It is time, therefore, to come to terms with the new political realities.
A new Code of Political Ethics for civil servants must be drawn up. Public servants must be loyal to the new government and implement its policy and if they have any problem about complying with it, they should resign. They must distinguish between loyalty to political parties and to the government.
Perhaps a commission should be set up to relook the rules and practices of the public sector that hinder meritocracy, clean government, multiracialism, inclusive development and economic growth.
The Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 must be amended to tighten rules against political involvement. At the moment Malaysian civil servants are not totally prohibited from participating in party politics. Those below a certain rank are allowed to hold positions up to a certain level while those above certain positions are not. I wish to suggest that all government servants must be prohibited to even register as a member of any political party. If he or she wishes to be one, he or she should resign from the civil service.
The duty to observe reserve in politics does not apply to those in GLCs. This freedom often leads the employees in GLCs to indirectly participate in partisan politics. This must change. I know that low-cost housing is often distributed not based on the household income of the applicant but on his party inclination. This is a mild form of political bribery and patronage using taxpayers’ funds.
As chairman of Astro, I can narrate a counter experience. On election night we are proud to say we played our role to air the true picture of what was happening at the counting centres at the risk of upsetting the BN government. Astro have had many accolades for this.
Malaysia stands on the threshold of a new era. It is time to review the role of our public servants and employees of statutory bodies and GLCs.
The writer is retired chief justice.