KUALA LUMPUR: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah criticised today the routine extension of service for top civil servants which he said creates cults of personality and promotes a cosy relationship between senior officers and their political masters.
His remarks today come as the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) continues to step up the pressure against the government for considering a second extension of service for Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.
“This politicises the leadership of a service that is supposed to promote by its own independent processes. Those extended become, in effect political appointees. This erodes the independence of the service as a whole.
“It is by an accumulation of bad practices like this that the independent ethos of the civil service has gradually been eroded by political masters who take the ‘master’ part rather too literally,” the Umno veteran wrote on his blog today.
He said that the routine extension of service has resulted in a “log jam” all the way down the line. An extension for one person who ought to have retired, he said, was a “promotion freeze” for hundreds of others.
Extension of service is meant to be an extraordinary measure but is now in danger of becoming the norm, said the former finance minister.
“This is bad practice,” he said.
The Police Force Commission, which is constitutionally responsible for the appointment and emplacement of members of the police force, has backed a second extension of the service of Tan Sri Musa Hassan as the country’s Inspector-General of Police.
Another extension of Musa’s service is expected to draw political controversy.
The DAP’s Lim Kit Siang has urged the home minister not to renew Musa’s contract as the crime rate continues to soar.
Musa had reached retirement age two years ago and received a two-year extension of his term.
The original extension was also controversial as it came about after Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail ordered the then Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to close investigations on graft accusations against Musa for allegedly being involved in the release of members of illegal betting syndicates.
Musa was also accused last year by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of being involved in a plot to fabricate evidence during the 1998 investigation of the former deputy prime minister’s black eye beating case.
Tengku Razaleigh did not mention Musa in his blog post today.
But the Kelantan politician, who failed in his bid to contest the Umno presidency this year, said extensions were creating cults of personality in a service that used to pride itself on impersonal professionalism.
“Feudal expectations of indefinite incumbency, justified by manufactured media approval, are being imported from the Executive into the civil service.
“There is a reason why bureaucrats are rotated regularly. Since ancient China people have understood that officials too long incumbent are tempted to carve out empires for themselves.”
MI
14/07/09
His remarks today come as the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) continues to step up the pressure against the government for considering a second extension of service for Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.
“This politicises the leadership of a service that is supposed to promote by its own independent processes. Those extended become, in effect political appointees. This erodes the independence of the service as a whole.
“It is by an accumulation of bad practices like this that the independent ethos of the civil service has gradually been eroded by political masters who take the ‘master’ part rather too literally,” the Umno veteran wrote on his blog today.
He said that the routine extension of service has resulted in a “log jam” all the way down the line. An extension for one person who ought to have retired, he said, was a “promotion freeze” for hundreds of others.
Extension of service is meant to be an extraordinary measure but is now in danger of becoming the norm, said the former finance minister.
“This is bad practice,” he said.
The Police Force Commission, which is constitutionally responsible for the appointment and emplacement of members of the police force, has backed a second extension of the service of Tan Sri Musa Hassan as the country’s Inspector-General of Police.
Another extension of Musa’s service is expected to draw political controversy.
The DAP’s Lim Kit Siang has urged the home minister not to renew Musa’s contract as the crime rate continues to soar.
Musa had reached retirement age two years ago and received a two-year extension of his term.
The original extension was also controversial as it came about after Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail ordered the then Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to close investigations on graft accusations against Musa for allegedly being involved in the release of members of illegal betting syndicates.
Musa was also accused last year by Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of being involved in a plot to fabricate evidence during the 1998 investigation of the former deputy prime minister’s black eye beating case.
Tengku Razaleigh did not mention Musa in his blog post today.
But the Kelantan politician, who failed in his bid to contest the Umno presidency this year, said extensions were creating cults of personality in a service that used to pride itself on impersonal professionalism.
“Feudal expectations of indefinite incumbency, justified by manufactured media approval, are being imported from the Executive into the civil service.
“There is a reason why bureaucrats are rotated regularly. Since ancient China people have understood that officials too long incumbent are tempted to carve out empires for themselves.”
MI
14/07/09
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