Stay loyal, civil servants urged

PUTRAJAYA: Although some of the country’s civil servants may have felt uneasy and seemed lost after serving a government that had been around for the past 61 years, they will now have to work, support and place their loyalty on the new administration, says Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

He asked the civil servants to be loyal to the country and called on them to lend support to the government of the day so that the work for the betterment and prosperity of the nation could be delivered.

In his speech at the Prime Minister’s Department monthly assembly here yesterday, Dr Mahathir said that loyalty to the country should take precedence above the support and allegiance to certain leaders and political parties.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Bakar and Public Service Department director-general Datuk Seri Borhan Dolah.

The Prime Minister had before this, raised the issue of sabotage to serve as a reminder to all government servants to carry out their responsibilities with trust.

On having to serve a new government, Dr Mahathir said the main issue was not the change of administration, but the people’s well-being as well as progress of the country.

Calling on civil servants to change their perception, Dr Mahathir said: “Civil servants should work alongside the administration so that more good things can be done for the country.

“We must not be too obsessed with certain leaders or parties so much so that we forget about the country and our responsibility towards her and the people.”

The Prime Minister said while loyalty to certain political figures was understandable, he reminded civil servants that these leaders deserve their support only if they do good for the country.

“We need leaders, but what matters most is this country. Yes, there are times that we need to be loyal to them, but the country deserves our loyalty more.

“This is where we were born, live, raise our families and this is the country that we are going to leave behind for future generations,” he said.

Dr Mahathir said this reminder was not just to the government machinery, but also politicians, adding that the country needs to be administered efficiently and for this to work it requires support and loyalty from them.