It was reported in Daily Express 24th July 2004 that, all State government officers are barred from political involvement, said State Secretary Datuk K. Y. Mustafa.
“Our policy is based on the General Orders Section D stating that no government officer is allowed to be involved in political activities. This is not something new and not only concerns Umno but other political parties as well,” he said.It was interesting to note that, the complaints of government officers missuing their position and authority only come about during the UMNO Divisions election and not during the last General Election. Of course it is not difficult to understand that some parties are being threatened by their own men from the government sectors. Their loyalty has been questioned.
Mustafa said he would be reminding all State government officers on this.
“I will announce this properly and then let them make a choice. If they want to do politics, we will ask them to retire or else stop (their) political activities. There is no compromise and no differentiation of grades (of who can and cannot), this is very clear,” he said.
Mustafa was asked about the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman asking him to investigate allegations by the Tenom Umno division that senior government officers were involved in the election campaign recently.
Datuk Rizalman Abdullah, who won the Tenom Umno division chief post, was reported as claiming that senior government officers had campaigned for his rival and in the process used government vehicles.
“That’s why if the allegations are true, all those things are not proper. We will investigate but it is not correct for me to name any person right nowÖ but it is under investigation,” said Mustafa.
Mustafa said he would announce the findings of the investigation but stressed that this was an ongoing process.
However, he acknowledged that it would also be a bit difficult to prove government officers were actively involved in politics because some might be present in the course of duty.
“Its a little bit difficult to identify but we will go into the details,” he said.
It has been an old practice that Sabah Government (SG) vehicles are everywhere during unreasonable time and found at unreasonable places which has nothing to do with official duties.
Official vehicles are used for personal purpose; sending children to school, wives to work, entertaining family members, going on holiday and so many more examples. The public is tired and sicked of the irresponsible attitude of the government servant. Not only do they misuse their vehicle, they even go against traffic rules by over speeding, illegal parking and over loading.
Besides that, office hours are spent for drinking and golfing. Official telephone and faxes are used for personal purposes. Party meetings are held in government premises. Personal visit or leisure visit are made into official duties which later claim a big sum from the government.
No wonder the government, Sabah Government is so poor that they could not pay its debts, still making empty promises about bonuses. The truth is, it is itself poor not only in monetary wise but management.
If the head move sideway, so does the body. That is also why K.Y. Mustafa see difficulties even before he study the matter in details