The impudent behaviour of the Perak state secretary to the former menteri besar on the day he was ‘dumped’ as the mentri besar should serve as a warning to all the chief ministers and menteri besar of the Pakatan Rakyat-ruled states.

That this top civil servant of the state had the temerity to charge into a press conference chaired by the menteri besar at his office and with two claps of his hands shouting and ordering the pressmen to leave the menteri besar's office is definitely not acceptable.

It is an act of contempt by this state secretary who has completely no respect for the institutions of governance, let alone, the menteri besar. This is kurang ajar at its height

What manner of civil servants are we producing in this country these days?

Let me say that what we have witnessed, this rude and disrespectful behavior demonstrated by this state secretary, could be replicated in the other Pakatan-ruled states in future should a similar situation ever arise again, as in Perak

It is not unreasonable to say that lurking beneath the surface of many of the senior civil servants of the new Pakatan-ruled states are die-hard or hard-core sympathisers of the previous administration. It is not hard to understand why one cannot blame these officers either

Having been under the fold of one administration for 51 years since independence, these officers have been used to working only under one ‘master’, that is, initially, the Alliance and then the Barisan Nasional governments. They are too set in their ways and have been too satisfied working in such a cozy and complacent environment for years.

Therefore, when a new ‘master’ comes in and one that is, understandably working hard to try and effect changes in the new administration, the latter will inevitably face resistance, as it is facing presently

It is a fact that the newer generation of officers in the higher echelon of the civil service today have mainly reached the top of their positions mainly via the route of being subservient, too compliant and too deferential, all very much of the ampu bodek culture that Malaysians are totally sick with. This goes very much against the grain of the type of the impartial civil service that we once had

When the crisis in Perak arose, it seemed so telling to see that the Perak state secretary and his band of officers just could not wait for the opportunity to evict their 11-month-old political masters as quickly as possible.

Look at how efficiently the civil servants quickly booted out the menteri besar, the exco members and their officers – even got gates locked, door code numbers changed, their offices ransacked, office and car keys taken away. Where is the impartial conduct that the civil servants, an important part of the executive branch of government, are expected to exercise? It is obvious that today's breed of civil servants do not seem to understand their job description.

I guess this is understandable – a consequence of the weak governance and puerile leadership that this country has had the bad luck to endure particularly in the last couple of decades

The Tunku, Tun Ismail and Tun Tan Siew Sin would not have allowed this less than mediocre quality performance of the Malaysian civil service to function as they are today. They would have crucified the inept

So, this is a warning to the leaders of the Pakatan-ruled state governments; that you cannot be naïve enough to believe that the civil servants you have inherited today possess the same qualities of the decent-minded and impartial civil servants that we once had. The reality is - they are poles apart

My advice is to get rid of all the senior officers in key positions appointed by the previous administration. Select your own candidates. Set your own standards of excellence. This is not a problem as one can select able and competent officers, from a list of over 1,000,000 civil servants, which today are in the employ of the government!

The Pakatan-ruled states have to undertake a ‘cleansing’ programme in their house and get a new and loyal team of civil servants to work with them

For, more than mere survival, Pakatan Rakyat must engage civil servants whom they must have confidence in, to help them fulfill their vision and implement programmes in their respective states. They cannot afford to have civil servants who are constantly trying to second guess them when they implement their agenda.

This is a tricky issue the Pakatan-ruled states face today. But these issues have to be over-come if the Pakatan states want their programmes implemented by the civil servants, unimpeded

The political upheaval in Perak serves as a dire warning to the Pakatan Rakyat-ruled states: do not take things for granted. Put responsible people in the key positions. Do it now before it is too late.