DAP may take SDO to court
PETALING JAYA (July 22, 2010): DAP National chairman and Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh supports the call by the Penang government for the removal of the state development officer (SDO) Nik Ali Mat Yunus and said that DAP will not hesitate to bring him to court over his conduct.
In a statement to the media, Karpal said he was disturbed by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan openly coming to the defence of Nik Ali.
Mohd Sidek, who is also secretary to the cabinet, said on Wednesday that the cabinet took a serious view of Lim’s statements against Nik Ali, and said the SDO was forced to defend himself before the media because of Lim’s statements, which he termed as “rude”.
“A civil servant publicly flexing his muscles at a chief minister, coupled with the use of uncouth language, has been unheard of until the emergence of Nik Ali,” Karpal said.
He pointed out that the cabinet should rightly impugn the conduct of Nik Ali who, as a public servant, cannot make press statements.
“The code of conduct under regulation 19 of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 ought to have been brought to the attention of the cabinet by Sidek,” he said.
The cabinet should direct Nik Ali to withdraw the uncouth language and words like ‘biadap’ (insolent) and ‘dayus’ (coward) he used against Lim and apologise to the chief minister, Karpal said.
In KUALA LUMPUR, the Administrative and Diplomatic Service Officers’ Alumni Association (PTD Alumni), in a statement today, said Lim should not have been embroiled in a public spat with the Nik Ali, reports Bernama.
It said the proper procedure would be for Lim to report to the Public Service Department or the chief secretary to the government.
That way, he could express his dissatisfaction over Nik Ali’s performance and make a request for him to be transferred out, said PTD Alumni president Tan Sri Sallehuddin Mohamed.
Sallehuddin also defended the SDO’s public outburst against Lim, saying it must have been as a result of “extreme frustration and provocation as reported in the press.”
However, he said there are procedures and principles of conduct that civil servants are required to adhere to.
“One guiding principle is that civil servants are expected to serve the government of the day, whichever political party may be in power.
“Thus, in the context of the situation in Penang, it is the obligation of all civil servants, including federal officers, to serve the state government,” he said.
theSun - 22 Jul 2010
http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=49730
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