A HIGH-LEVEL independent body is needed to vet transfers of senior officers to avoid victimisation by ministers for personal reasons, said the Malaysian Trades Union Congress.

In a statement today, congress secretary-general J. Solomon said such a unit, or even a mechanism, is essential in view of the frequent accusations of civil servants not co-operating with the Pakatan Harapan government, or of there being a deep state within the government.

Solomon said the MTUC agreed with the recent statement by its affiliate Cuepacs that poor communication from ministers results in accusations of sabotage.

“We do not agree with allegations of civil servants sabotaging government ministers.

“Hence, it is unfair for certain ministers to act against senior civil servants based on emotions and hearsay. This includes immediate transfers from their present departments,” he said.

Additionally, there have also been instances of senior officers placed in cold-storage with reduced power, claimed Solomon.

“In view of this, there is a dire need for the government to protect these officials from being victimised by certain ministers who are seen to abuse their powers blithely.

“The affected officers have not been given a chance to defend themselves as they are forced to follow ministerial orders,” he said.

Adding that there was limited scope for public sector employees to seek justice in such instances, he said civil servants did not have a collective agreement that lays down the terms and conditions of employment, to fall back on unlike their counterparts in the private sector.

On that note, Solomon said this has to be rectified to protect their rights.

In line with that, the MTUC is proposing a mechanism that requires ministers to publicly state the specific reasons for actions taken against civil servants to the high-level independent body before a final decision is made.

“It cannot be merely because a minister is not happy with certain officers. This will lead to an abuse of power,” he said.

“I know of a senior officer, extremely dedicated to his profession, being give a 24-hour transfer with health problems as the reason without allowing the officer to recover from the stroke he suffered,” he said.

Solomon also alleged another instance where a minister had taken disciplinary action against a senior officer without any investigation, although the officer had an excellent track record and only had two years to serve before his retirement.

“This is tantamount to cruelty as the adverse impact on his life is huge. These are among the actions that are deteriorating the relationship between the ruling government and government (sic) machinery,” he added.

While there were many ministers who have administered their ministries well, there are still some who need to break away from the wrong perception that their leadership was not accepted by civil servants, he said.

He also reminded ministers to be professional when amending or introducing new laws.

However, he said it was not too late for PH ministers to shed their negative views.

“Consider them your team-mates to bring about a ‘New Malaysia’ that PH had promised in its campaign and manifesto,” he added.

Meanwhile, Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Liew Vui Keong recently told the Dewan Rakyat that, contrary to public perception, there was no evidence of a deep state within the civil service.

Statistics do not support claims of a deep state as most of the disciplinary action taken against civil servants is for non-performance and attitude, he said.

In recent weeks, several high-ranking senior servants have been transferred following complaints from their respective ministers. – December 15, 2019.