Politicians think they are 'better' than others

SHAH ALAM - Ministers or politicians need to eliminate the attitude of thinking that they are 'better' than government officials and wanting to have dominance in decision-making.

Administrative and Diplomatic Officers' Alumni Association (Alumni PTD) president Tan Sri Abdul Halim Ali said this kind of unhealthy behaviour must be curbed to ensure that the value system in the public service was not damaged.

"I'm sorry to say, but sometimes these politicians feel that they are ‘bigger’ than the public officials and want to have dominance in making a decision.

“I don't think that's right because ministers as politicians are policy makers but the implementation will be carried out by the public officials.

"We have been trained not to take sides of any political party so that the implementation would be fair and made without interference of political sentiments," he said during the 'Bersama Johan Jaaffar' interview programme which was broadcasted live on all Sinar Harian digital platforms, on Wednesday.

The show which lasted for about half an hour was conducted by National Journalism Laureate (Tokoh Wartawan Negara) Tan Sri Johan Jaaffar.

Commenting further, Abdul Halim said the top government leadership at the political party level should be aware that the civil servants' duty was the most important part in implementing government policies.

Therefore, he said government officials should be given the opportunity to express their opinions and give advices for the betterment of the country.

"Ministers or politicians need to take the matter seriously and can't simply ignore the opinions or recommendations given," he said.