Keep civil servants out of political spats, say Kian Ming, KJ

Former Deputy Minister Ong Kian Ming and former Minister Khairy Jamaluddin have cautioned against involving civil servants in political disputes, citing the potential demoralising impact on the Malaysian civil service. The pair commented on a dispute surrounding the Rural and Regional Development Ministry's expenditure, arguing that development spending adheres to established processes and that disagreements over allocations typically do not escalate to the ministerial level.

Ong, who served as deputy international trade and industry minister, decried the development spending debate as unprecedented and warned that it could create a negative atmosphere and dishearten civil servants. Khairy concurred, stating that the matter should be resolved internally and posing questions about the reasons behind spending exceeding the approved allocation.

The issue arose after Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed frustration over delayed payments to contractors working on rural development projects. The Treasury's Secretary-General, Johan Mahmood Merican, clarified that most of the year's allocation for rural road projects had been spent, leading to payment constraints, while Deputy Prime Minister Zahid's aide, Fadzmel Fadzil, disputed the Treasury's claim, prompting the Prime Minister's Office to defend the Treasury's position.

Khairy emphasized that turning the matter into a political issue would not solve the problem, and the Prime Minister himself intervened to encourage an amicable resolution between the relevant parties.