'On one hand he says civil servants have to follow the government of the day, and yet on the other hand he says the civil servants have to make judgement calls as to whether to follow the government's instructions or not.'

Top civil servant rises to Perak secretary's defence

Tan Teng Wah : Do we need Sidek Hassan to explain and defend the follies of the Umno-led blokes? We are able to see and listen for ourselves. By the way, what will the public expect when you are heading the so-called (Port Klang Free Zone) "super task force"?

Md Imraz Muhammed Ikhbal : The Pakatan Rakyat states have complained that it seems there is a directive for civil servants not to cooperate with the state government. "Oh, I am not entirely familiar with that." What is that sentence supposed to mean? That he is partly familiarly with the fact? What does he take the rakyat for? Fools? There you have it! The cat is out of the bag!

Dood: Sidek's answers and reasoning in the interview were completely unconvincing. It's pretty obvious that he was trying to appear one way ("neutral" and "professional") and yet cannot escape the fact, through his justifications, that he is giving biased answers. I mean, come on, we all know Pakatan-ruled states have complained of some uncooperative civil servants. And yet he has the cheek to say, "Oh, I am not entirely familiar with that."

And what else about his defence of the Perak secretary? On one hand, he says civil servants have to follow the government of the day, and yet on the other hand he says the civil servants have to make judgement calls as to whether to follow the government's instructions or not.

It was very clear at the time certain orders were given to the Perak secretary that the government of the day was the Pakatan one. Yet he refused to follow them but sided with the (yet-to-be-appointed) BN folks. And listening to his defence on police "neutrality", I sigh.

John Smith : First and foremost, Sidek Hassan, must come under the authority of the law. This must always be above the government, whether state or federal. Civil servants and police are not to breach the law. If the government requests something that goes against the constitution, then it is your duty to refuse to execute it.

Article 8.1 of the Federal Constitution makes all persons equal before the law and requires them to be given its equal protection. That means that despite your loyalty to the government of the day, the application of the law must be consistent between all persons, parties and states.

Selvarajoo M : I agree that all civil servants are deemed to be professionals or professionally trained. But it does not mean all these ‘professionals' know how to behave like one.

It is alarming in Malaysia that rarely is any errant civil servant be held accountable or punished for mistakes made in the course of their duty. In other more countries like Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, Europe, and the USA, even a retired civil servant is accountable and answerable for mistakes or crimes committed during his service.

Pm Moey : I am surprised that he still thinks that the police are not taking sides and that they have been acting professionally. I wonder where this guy's been.

Yum : Sorry, his jumbled answer to the question as to whether a civil servant is to serve the people confirms that there is a need to give Pakatan a two-thirds majority the next election. Then, they can change this ridiculous mindset.