Cuepacs dismisses claim of civil servants under pressure over GE14

KUALA LUMPUR: Cuepacs today dismissed an allegation from the opposition that civil servants had been put under pressure to vote for no other party but the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 14th General Election (GE14).
Its president, Datuk Azih Muda, said a statement made by Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Zainal Rahim Seman had been manipulated and taken out of context.
"Their (opposition) action is an attempt to slander and seemingly interfere in government affairs and to drag civil servants into politics.
"Tan Sri Zainal Rahim Seman's statement touched on the need for civil servants to appreciate the existing government, meaning they should respond in terms of productivity, hard work and commitment for the government having taken care of their welfare," he said at a press conference.
DAP Labour Bureau vice-chairman Amran Ahmad Nor had issued a statement recently saying the democratic rights of the 1.6 million civil servants had to be safeguarded with the setting up of a Civil Servants Defenders Action Committee.
He claimed to have received complaints from teachers about attempts by certain quarters to intimidate them into not voting for any other party but the BN.
Azih said the government of today always looked after the welfare of civil servants by providing various forms of assistance and had made improvements to the public service sector.
"We are deeply indebted to the existing government which has always opened up opportunities for negotiations between workers and employers," he said, adding that the government had also given consideration to many matters that had enabled civil servants to get out of poverty. — Bernama