Friday 7 January 2011

Chief Secretary Sidek Deliberately MISLEADS Public with Half Truths on Khusrin's Appointment as Selangor Secretary

Read here for more article by Kim Quek in Malaysia Today


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- Tidak Boleh diPercayai
dan Tidak Boleh di Harapkan
Oleh Rakyat Malaysia

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HERE ANOTHER RELATED Article on Sidek Hassan by Dr Bakri Musa, "Chief Secretary, Nik Ali Baba and Malaysian Civil Service- July 2010"


Quote:


PENANG: Sidek Hassan's Unprofessional Squabble with Penang CM Lim Guan Eng (July 2010)

"...Chief Secretary Sidek Hassan did NOT acquit himself honorably... in his very public and ugly squabble with Penang’s Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

Sidek’s reaction reflects more of a “mother hen” instinct of protecting its brood rather than the cool considered judgment of the head of an organization of professionals, as our civil servants would like us to believe them to be.

Had Sidek acted professionally, he would have realized that the request came not from an opposition politician but the chief executive of a major state. If Lim’s assertion were true, then Sidek owes the public an explanation for spurning Lim.

Sidek should have been more respectful of federal-state relationships.

Incredibly, Sidek also did not find anything unusual or a breach of the civil service code for a federal officer to be addressing partisan party gatherings.

Sidek obviously FAILED to grasp the essential difference between Najib the Prime Minister and Najib the party president. Sidek should NOT be seen or be in any way officially or unofficially associated with the President of UMNO.

Sidek is a career civil servant, supposedly politically neutral and a professional. If he were a political appointee, that would be a different matter.


Sidek’s incredulous assertion and crudely inappropriate behavior did not end there. As Chief Secretary, he manages matters to be discussed at cabinet meetings. That he saw fit to bring this to the highest level revealed Sidek’s warped sense of priorities.

As leader, a major part of Sidek’s responsibility is to solve problems, not create them. He should also be able to anticipate them, and thus try to avoid or at least be ready.

With the Penang issue, Sidek not only fails to solve it but he also AGGRAVATES it.

More deplorable, Sidek FAILS to anticipate the potential ugly racial undercurrent to this conflict. This is Malaysia and any conflict quickly acquires a racial hue unless intelligently and sensitively handled.

Sidek’s management of this crisis FAILS on BOTH counts.

The nation (would have been) spared a potentially destructive racial crisis, had Sidek been wise, restrained and professional.

In failing to have the earlier scheduled meeting with Lim, and not hearing both sides to the dispute, Sidek FLUNKED the most elementary test of leadership – nipping a problem in the bud......"
-Dr Bakri Musa

SELANGOR: Khusrin’s Appointment Void Without MB’s Acceptance

06 January 2011

Excerpts:

On 27 Dec 2010 the Federal Government’s Chief Secretary Sidek Hassan announced that the least acceptable candidate - Khusrin Munawi - was appointed the new state secretary of Selangor.

Khusrin was considered by the Pakatan Rakyat state government as hostile and incompetent.

Then on Jan 5, Sidek defended the legality of the appointment with the claim that:
  1. there was NO legal requirement to consult or seek approval from the Sultan or the Selangor state government.

  2. the federal Public Services Commission (PSC) did in fact consult the state government prior to the appointment, which contradicts claims to the contrary by the state government.
SIDEK’S PAROCHIAL INTERPRETATION OF THE CONSTITUTION

Sidek said:
  • Khusrin is a federal civil servant who comes under the jurisdiction of the federal Public Services Commission (PSC),

  • his appointment by PSC has complied with both the state and federal constitutions.

  • consultation or approval from the Sultan or the state government is not necessary because there is no such stipulation in the state constitution.
While I agree that the Sultan plays no role in this appointment constitutionally, the same cannot be said of the Menteri Besar.

The problem with Sidek is that his interpretation of the constitution is parochial, missing the wood for the tree.
  1. (IF) this is a case of seconding a federal officer to the state government, WHY should he have ignored Article 134 of the federal constitution which governs the secondment of officers from one governing body to another?

    Article 134 Clause 1 states:
    “The Federation may, at the request of a State, local authority, or statutory authority of any organization, ….., second any member of its public services to the service of any State, authority or organization, as the case may be; and a State may, at the request of the Federation, another State, a local authority or a statutory authority or …….., second any member of its own public service to the service of the Federation, other State, authority or organization as the case may be.”
    We observe from this Clause that secondment of officers from one governing body to another can take place in a free-flow manner, without restriction, and that it takes place only when a party requests for it.

    In the present case, Selangor is the principal party as well as the employer who needs to fill a vacancy, and it has the option to fill that vacancy from a source it chooses, which need not be a member from the PSC.

    Did Selangor ask PSC to second an officer? The answer is NO.

    Then why did PSC second an officer without being asked?

    Sidek MUST first answer this question.

  2. The truth is that the Selangor state government had already started the process of selection and had narrowed down the candidates to a short-list of three which was sent to the Sultan for assent by mid-December.

  3. Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim was actually WAITING for the palace feedback for him to forward the finalized candidate to PSC for making the formal appointment, when Sidek made the shocking announcement.

    So the fact before us is that the Selangor government has decided to source its candidate from the pool of federal officers ALREADY serving in the state government, and in due course it would make its request to PSC upon finalizing the selection.
SIDEK'S DEFECTIVE INTERPRETATION OF CONSTITUTION

Now, the crucial question:
Can PSC appoint the new state secretary even before receiving a request from the state government with due consideration to the fact that the appointee is detested as a political threat to the state government?
The answer must be a resounding NO!

It not only contravenes Article 134 which states that PSC can only act upon request , but it’s an abominable act that defies all logic and decent values.

Common sense tells us that such an appointment is an unworkable proposition that will jeopardize the functioning of the entire state government, since the head of the civil service is held with such serious misgivings by the state’s political leadership.

No wonder the entire Pakatan leadership has called this appointment an act of unabashed sabotage.

Sidek’s contention that NO consultation is needed due to the lack of such mention in Article 52 of the Selangor constitution is naïve and defective.
  1. Firstly, not all mandatory steps in a legal act are described in a constitution, which by its nature must be brief as it is an outline of fundamental principles.

  2. Secondly, a part of the constitution should not be read in isolation, without regards to the rest, in particular, without regards to the underlying spirit of the entire constitution upon which the law was written.
The present legal case presented by Sidek is an excellent example of such IMMATURE reading of the law.

SIDEK TAKES THE ROLE OF A STUMBLING BLOCK TO GOOD GOVERNANCE


With regards to Sidek’s surprise claim that PSC did in fact consult and seek approval from the state government in earlier correspondence, the first question that springs up in anyone’s mind is:
WHY THE HELL HE DIDN'T SAY SO ?
If the Mentri Besar could react within hours (on Dec 27) that he had no knowledge of such appointment, why couldn’t Sidek do the same?

Sidek could have instantly doused the crisis by simply contacting the MB to work out a solution, which by common sense and by law, could not be anything else other than a candidate who is acceptable to the MB and who could work smoothly with the Selangor government.

Instead, the opposite was done to compound the crisis.

SELANGOR PALACE OFFICIALS ILL-ADVISE THE SULTAN AND AGGRAVATES THE CRISIS

Private secretary to the Sultan, Munir Bani, suddenly announced on Dec 30 that the new appointee would be sworn-in at the Palace on Jan 6.

The dishonourable intention of such hurried arrangement is obvious when there is no apparent justification to rush through while the issue is still boiling, articularly when the contract with the outgoing state secretary ends only on Mar 30 (according to the MB’s political secretary Faekah Husin).

SIDEK MUST UNDO THE MESS HE CREATED TO RECLAIM PUBLIC CONFIDENCE


Even now it is not too late for Sidek to undo the wrong that has been done to the government and people of Selangor, despite the swearing-in of Khusrin at the palace.

All he needs to do is to contact the MB and agree on a candidate that, in the opinion of the reigning Selangor government, best serves the interests of the people.

As for Khusrin, there are plenty of places he can be assigned to without causing distress to the Selangor government.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

A typical ULU MALAY way of thinking. Sidek taught that all Malaysian are like the folks back in Cheroh Paloh 60 years backward. He was in such a hurry to sabotage that he has forgotten that Selangor has not requested for the SS. This is a clear case of espionage of the highest degree of BN.

Anonymous said...

Sidik is talking cock and bull. As KSN, he knows next to nothing about public service matters. Two questions need to be asked to determine whether the PSC has jurisdiction to 'appoint' a PTD officer as the Selangor State Sec.

Q1. Is the State's SS post a State's post or a Federal post. If it is a State's post then the remuneration of the holder is payable by the State gov't and if it is a Federal post by the Malaysian Gov't.

Q2. Is Kushrin being posted as SS on 'appointment' within the meaning of Art.144(1) or is he being seconded to the State u/d Art.134.

Q3. Why did Sidik says, the clause 'appropriate Service Comm' refers to the PSC and not the State's Service Comm? On what basis did he says that since this Q can only be answered if Sidik is able to answer Q1.

Any half-past six PTD officer, will tell you that the PSC will only have jurisdiction if the State's SS is a Federal post. AS such the SS's remuneration will be payable by the FEd Gov't. State's post

Anonymous said...

Sidek an ass....

Anonymous said...

The KSN must learn and re learn to do his work without creating new problems. He is the top Civil Servant, and by definition first among equals in the sercice, and we the citizens do not expect him to make such a basic error at the behest of his political masters.We all must be remindd that there is a higher loyalty to the State. Nothing in this world in pemanent. Even the invincible GOLKAR me its waterloo at the hands of the people despite the elaborate security provided by the State Security Apparatus for is continued survival.

History is now a compulsory subject for all Malaysians. So study it well and learn and profot from the mistakes of othersfrom.

Anonymous said...

When Proxy voting becomes law all this will be covered up.Forget about these small issues. The mother of all issues is going to be the introduction of proxy voting. This what the Eastern European countries used to remain in power for ever. It may not be the same but the principle is the same. If you know that you are not going to win the first time CHEAT.

Anonymous said...

Just ask one simple question to Sidek: Can a civil servant of JUSA C
like Khushrin be appointed as Selangor SS which is of the level JUSA A?