When politicians fight civil servants
This drew the ire of MIC president S Samy Vellu who countered in the media, asking for members of the National Union of Teaching Profession (NUTP) to stop supporting Siva who was then their secretary-general.
An open tirade broke out with various quarters offering their insights, some supporting Samy Vellu while others said it is unfair for a politician to pick on a public sector unionist.
The federal government had come to the defence with the then-education minister Anwar Ibrahim, urging his then-colleague (Samy Vellu) to use discreet or inhouse channels to vent out his displeasure with Siva, instead of relying on the media.
Does this sound familiar?
Last week, the Penang State Development Officer Nik Ali Mat Yunus in an unprecedented move, lambasted Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng through the media, describing him as rude and a coward.
He held an impromptu press conference and managed to distribute his own press statements after attending a state development committee meeting where the members were state Umno leaders.
Nik Ali simply got fed up with Lim for constantly linking him to the various bureaucratic shortcomings in Penang.
Internal channels available
Siva, now a retiree, but who remains a social activist at heart, said both sides are wrong and as the saying goes, "Two wrongs do not make a right."
There are proper internal channels to use, Siva said, adding that having an open dispute before the public is not ideal for a politician and a senior federal officer, especially when the civil service is bound by the General Orders requirements.
In turn, Lim said! the dis pute remains a status quo as he cannot do anything against this stubborn federal officer.
The state government has exhausted all means to resolve it. So, an impasse has emerged but the main crux is, whether the problems of the people in Penang are addressed.
State PAS deputy commissioner Mujahid Yusof Rawa had lamented that problems in Penang seem to keep on emerging like "lava from a volcano" even before the state can resolve previous ones.
After over two-years of heighten politics amid the rise of Pakatan Rakyat as a formidable alternative to the mighty Barisan Nasional, the people of Penang now just want promises delivered and good governance.
To be fair to Lim whose reputation as a straightforward personality tends to rub people the wrong way at times, his grouse with Nik Ali has nothing to do with politics but rather over performance, the delivery system.
Lim wants the country to be performance-orientated and not digressed into one where political leanings dominate how administration and enforcement are conducted.
It's old argument
This episode between Lim and Nik Ali, sets the country 25-years back as both are merely indulging in what had transpired previously, yet no solution is in the offering.
Sacrifice is a big word and a practise, which both Pakatan and BN must learn to embrace if the country wants to champion and accept the two-party system principle.
The civil service must be allowed to perform to the expectations of the people who are their paymasters and not the politicians.
Siva said politicians come and go based on the people's inclinations but the civil service remains.
They carry out the policies, they carry out the services and they enforce social order such as upholding law and regulations.
They cannot be seen as political allies and neither, should their role be politicised, he added.
Both Pakatan and BN must learn to sacrifice as watching on the sidelines are the people who a! re badly in need of leadership, commitment and an unrelenting willpower for the country to be progressive in the age of globalisation.
Sacrificing also means compromising. ao the fervant hope of the people is for Pakatan and Barisan to compromise, swallow their pride and move on in ensuring Malaysia lives up to its potential as a noticeable Third World nation.
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