Just when we thought that situation in Penang couldn’t descend any lower we see our chief executive get himself embroiled in an ugly spat with a junior civil servant by attacking, humiliating and castigating him via the media.

As a Penangite I am shocked that the chief minister can behave in such an arrogant and bullying manner towards the State Development Officer (SDO).

Worse still, Lim chose to make the statement in the media and his press conference video clip was made available in many websites on the Internet.

Listening to Lim’s rationale, it is very clear that he does not understand the role and the jurisdiction of the SDO but went on to blame him for various problems that have nothing to do with the officer. Worse still, some of the reasons he gave for his fury, like not being given a seat in an official function, come across as incredibly petty.

Some commentators had blamed the SDO for his own response which was also delivered at a press conference. Though SDO’s response might seem rather strong, it is only expected as he had to defend himself against such a public attack lest it appear that he’s guilty of the misdeeds as charged by the CM.

I would like to remind Lim that respect has to be earned and not demanded. By bullying and humiliating a federal civil servant in such manner, he has antagonised the entire civil service.

Many Pakatan leaders have often complained about the civil service not being fully aligned with the new administration in the Pakatan Rakyat run states. Well, I can tell them that by acting in such a callous manner, Pakatan has nobody but only themselves to blame if the situation gets worse.