Varia Ranah - Sorotan Ilmiah Perkhidmatan Awam

579 Varia Ranah: Sorotan Ilmiah Perkhidmatan Awam A task force to draft the act, preferably the Public Service Department include participation and input from non-government organisations must be established. It also can include participation from the Malaysian Bar, CUEPACS, or maybe even retired judges. All these participations may as well help some “grey areas” governing the relationship between civil servants and the political administration. The Act could also draw up to make the promotion process of senior civil servants more transparent and preserve integrity, as well as to stop the practice of appointing politicians as ambassadors or high commissioners. A clause of penalty also should be suggested as punishment. For instance, a RM2,000 fine or jail term for ministers and deputy ministers involved. This will act as a deterrence as under the law, any person fined RM2,000 and above by a court will be disqualified from contesting elections. In place, it can highlight the importance of separation of powers and ending political intervention. CONCLUSION Moving forward, civil servants need to continue to work professionally and independently, without interference from any parties and more importantly, each must perform his duties without compromising his integrity and impartiality. Keeping politics out of the service and ensuring there is no political interference, is the key. It is indeed an uphill task, but civil servants must uphold “the principle of neutrality of service, regardless of the political circumstances existing and prevailing around them. The implementation of such a law may start with a simple process of drafting and developing an Act that would be apolitical and result in a win-win situation. The Act may also reduce the rate of corruption based on the expected decrease in the country’s number of corruption cases. It is hoped that the civil service’s performance, especially those who are God-fearing, morally upright