PETALING JAYA: Staff at ministries can still function without their ministers, albeit within their roles as civil servants.
Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said the civil service is capable of administering and maintaining order within the public administration as Belgium had done so for 541 days without a proper government.
“However, Cabinet ministers need to be appointed to carry out policies. They have authority higher than civil servants. They lead and represent the voice of the ministry as well as the government,” he said yesterday.
He added a minister’s role is not the same as a civil servant in terms of tackling urgent public issues, as ministers look into policies and direction of their ministries.
He was responding to the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, which called for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to prioritise the appointment of a health minister.
“The new government must place the response and management of the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak as a matter of the highest priority to protect the health and safety of all Malaysians,” said the centre’s chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib.
Universiti Utara Malaysia political analyst Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani said the best way forward is to have ministers to lead their ministries, but Muhyiddin has to take time to finalise the Cabinet. “There is an urgent need to address economic issues and Covid-19.”
However, he said civil servants could implement previous as well as the most recent policies such as the stimulus package.
He added the head of civil servants, such as the Health director-general, could still carry out their usual tasks and engage the media on issues related to Covid-19.
G25 founding member and former Khazanah managing director Tan Sri Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim said the people are now looking to the civil service as a beacon of hope for good governance.
“They expect it to take its own initiative to protect its professional integrity and independence based on the established principle that while politicians come and go, the civil service stays permanent.” He called on the legal service to ensure that the rule of law continues to operate by proceeding with court trials of those politicians charged with financial offences despite the change in government.
