CHIEF Secretary to the Government Mohd Zuki Ali recently announced the formation of a committee – comprising the attorney-general, the auditor-general, the IGP and the MACC chief commissioner – to probe an incident where a top government official allegedly hurled abusive remarks at an immigration officer, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) last week.

Are you serious?

Some reports said the official gave a dressing down to the immigration officer in front of his subordinates.

Each side gave their version of the event with the official’s department reportedly saying it was not a dressing down but merely explaining to the immigration officer, who apparently failed to adhere to the stipulated practices and procedures.

On the other side, the officer’s union said it was a dressing down, moreover, embarrassing for the officer on the receiving end.

To the layman, it is quite common and in fact a usual occurrence to see government officials, especially those who are in enforcement and of lower ranks, dressing us down because we are defenceless.

Unfortunately for us, we have no unions to boldly demand an apology or for a formal investigation.

The only avenue for us is to vent their frustrations on social media or through opposition lawmakers.

Even then, the authorities have recently said that the rakyat are not allowed to take photos or videos of operations carried out by the enforcement officers – when the dressing down generally happens – with the excuse that it could jeopardise the operations.

The rakyat has even been warned that it is an offence for members of the public to take pictures or videos of any enforcement operations.

Civil servants, whose salaries are paid by the taxpayer, work to protect, educate, provide for and assist the rakyat.  

They work for the civil service, an organisation that advises and supports the government, making sure that public services are maintained correctly and are kept in the right shape, no matter which party is in power.

Is there more than meets the eye in the above tiff between the two civil servants?

The committee consists of the person whose principal role is to advise the government on all legal matters; the top law and order officer; the guy who checks all government spending every year; and the top person whose scope is to combat corruption and bribery risks in public procurement.

The last time this occurred was during the 1MDB debacle. 

Unless the potential fallout from the tiff will result in the country suffering a financial disaster similar to the scale of 1MDB, the involvement of these four senior officials in the inquiry appears to be a waste of their valuable time and resources.

With the mountainous issues the country is facing now, these four people should be spared this and allowed to return to their duties to help the country return to normalcy as soon as possible.

The government is supposed to spend public money for the public good. – August 8, 2022.

* FLK reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.