RESCINDING the transfer of two senior Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers to the Prime Ministers Department was not exactly a smart move on the part of the Public Service Department (PSD). To give the impression that its earlier pronouncement of wrongdoing by the officers was a mistake conveys the message to the public that, indeed, there is undue influence exerted on PSD. For, it is generally assumed that every disciplinary action is based on standard operating procedures (SOPs), which ensure that justice is served and transparency guaranteed. Instead, here, there is a sense that the decision was made in haste and the two officers were not given a chance to defend their action, especially now that there is admission on the part of the chief secretary to the government that the reasons given by the officers for the perceived breach of discipline were credible. Why were they not asked earlier, before action was taken? Is not a show-cause letter part of SOPs? If a civil servant is found guilty of misconduct, action must be instituted based on SOPs. Failure to do this would render PSD guilty of misconduct as well.
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