KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 — The government needs to provide clear guidelines or a system for civil servants to provide information on misconduct in the government administration.
Cuepacs president Datuk Adnan Mat said it was to protect civil servants who reported the misconduct from facing backlash if it was known to the highest officials or ministers involved.
“That is why it is important to have clear guidelines or a system by the government to enable civil servants to be involved in combating misconduct, especially involving the highest government officials and ministers.
“The government needs to ensure the confidentiality of the complainants as well as the authenticity of the complaints,” he said in a statement today.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said that civil servants should criticise actions by the Unity Government which are found to be in violation of the law.
Adnan said it would not be well received by civil servants if there were no clear guidelines on the complaint system, especially regarding the confidentiality of the complainant, the period of investigation, the type of complaint and transparency in the investigation.
He said that under the existing circulars and policies, it was very difficult for civil servants to give constructive criticism to their respective departments or agencies.
“If you want to report a minister, it is certainly more difficult, because the civil servant himself may receive certain pressure not only from department heads but also the ministers’ officers,” Adnan said.
There are cases where civil servants were not promoted, transferred, or had their work schedules disrupted after reporting wrongdoings in government departments and agencies, thus resulting in many civil servants today being afraid to make a report, he added.
— Bernama
