PM Tells Civil Servants To Listen To Umno Delegates' Views. Why Not Appoint The Chief Secretary An Umno V-P?

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has asked civil servants to pay attention to matters concerning the country's development and public service that may be raised by some of the more than 2,500 delegates attending the Umno general assembly.

The prime minister said that such comments were not meant to attack government employees."All of us, especially those working in the Prime Minister's Department, should be listening to what the ruling government party has to say," he said at the department's monthly assembly here Monday. "The delegates may want to voice out their opinions on certain issues or they may choose to remain silent," said Abdullah who is also Umno president.

The Umno general assembly is on from today till Friday at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.

The prime minister said he was satisfied with improvements in the quality of public service following the introduction of several measures, such as the setting up of one-stop centres to expedite the processing of applications.

Abdullah said the move to raise the salaries of civil servants recently was aimed at retaining the best people in the public sector. "We don't want them to leave half-way through the service due to some bad things or doubts about their future," he said.

He said those who joined the public sector should be genuinely keen on serving the public. Abdullah said that long-serving civil servants were an asset to the government and that due rewards would be given to them irrespective of race or religion. "They are all brothers and sisters, colleagues who should help each other to attain common goals," he added. (Bernama)

***** Great! Now civil servants are not only required to lick the boots of senior Umno warlords but have also to crawl and bow to all and sundry in Umno! The façade of civil service neutrality has finally been erased and I'm sure that the umnoputeras will be deliriously jubilant.

In order to make it easier for the rank and file in the ruling party to have their collective voices heard, wouldn't it be more convenient to create an ex-officio Umno Vice President post for the Chief Secretary to the government? This way you can rein in those pesky, law abiding public servants who go strictly by the book and may be inclined to say "up yours" to interfering mini-pemimpin from Umno.

Of course such a move will make a mockery of our democracy when compared to that practiced elsewhere in the civilized world. But hey, who cares? As long as the umnoputeras are happy and will cast their votes 'responsibly', it's worth it.
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