KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — A tiff between the Penang chief minister and a federal employee is turning into a full blown row between the DAP and the civil service.
The party’s parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang has now accused Chief Secretary Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan of taking sides by defending Penang state development officer (SDO) Nik Ali Mat Yunus, who had been trading barbs in the press with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Mohd Sidek yesterday described the allegations by Guan Eng against Nik Ali as “excessive” and said they should not have been made public.
“It is Sidek who is guilty of being ‘excessive’ in taking sides, instead of reprimanding Nik Ali for doubly violating the civil service code of being strictly non-partisan, non-political,” said the Ipoh Timur MP.
He pointed out that Nik Ali had breached the General Orders by appearing at an Umno press conference, where he reportedly attacked the Penang chief minister.
At the press conference, Nik Ali had been quoted as having called Guan Eng insolent, uncivilised and a coward, in an apparent response to allegedly being called the same by Guan Eng.
The ongoing argument between Lim and Nik Ali had escalated following a recent outburst by the federal civil servant, who also said that Guan Eng had lowered his own status of a chief minister by criticising a SDO.
Kit Siang pointed out today that it was only on Tuesday that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had said that there was no place for “little Napoleons” in the public service who did not understand the importance of innovation, if the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) was to succeed.
“It is regrettable, however, that when Little Napoleons rear their ugly heads, they are given full defence and support instead of being reprimanded and put in their proper place,” said Kit Siang.
Kit Siang said that what was most shocking was that no Cabinet minister appeared outraged and all seemed to have sanctioned the “Little Napoleonic” conduct of Nik Ali.
“Is there not a single Cabinet minister... who dares to speak up against ‘Little Napoleons’ in the public service of the Nik Ali genre, just because of Umno patronage?” he added.
