Johor MB bars state civil servants from holding positions in political parties

JOHOR BARU, Oct 30 — Johor’s state government employees should not hold any active positions in political parties, Mentri Besar Datuk Osman Sapian said today.

He said the ruling was not new and was based on existing guidelines for the civil service.

“We do not forbid any civil servants to support political parties, but it cannot be openly done such as holding office.

“As a civil servant, they need to serve the current government that has been elected by the people. It is the people’s mandate,” he said.

Osman said this after attending a Johor Community Development Department (Kemas) event at the Taman Bukit Indah community hall here.

Present at the event was Johor Housing and Rural Development Committee chairman Dzulkefly Ahmad and Perling assemblyman Cheo Yee How.

Meanwhile, Johor Kemas state director Taufik Mohd Yusop said there were a total of 1,650 Kemas staff in the state, with 179 identified as holding various positions in political parties.

“From the 179, five staff has since tendered their resignations, while the remainder 174 have left their respective positions in the political parties,” he said.

The Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 governs the conduct of political involvement of public servants and employees of statutory bodies and government-linked companies (GLC).

At present, civil servants are not totally prohibited from participating in party politics with those below a certain rank being allowed to hold positions up to a certain level, while those above certain positions are not.

Source: MalayMail