I read with amusement Brendan Pereira's column regarding how decisive Mr Nice Guy, our prime minister was in immediately transferring an allegedly errant senior civil servant on the spot while at a briefing by the latter.

The questions that come to mind are firstly, is the PM not busy enough that he has to decide on an officer's transfer which should be a routine matter? Whatever the reasons for the transfer, if the PM had to be the one to decide on it, than it doesn't speak much of our civil service heads of departments, the secretary-generals, the director-generals and the chief secretary himself. What were they all doing?

Secondly, if the officer concerned did in fact commit any offence, why the punishment of a 'transfer'? The General Orders governing disciplinary action that can be taken range from 'a warning' to 'dismissal'. Nowhere do you find 'transfer' as a punishment.

Contrary to the logic that the transfer in question had sent 'fear down the spine of all civil servants', it actually means that other inefficient, corrupt, incompetent and non-performing public officers need not fear any loss of salary, rank or privileges but only a 'transfer'. How nice and convenient. If this is called disciplining, you be the judge.

If the press wishes to do some service to the PM or anybody else, let it be on solid and sensible grounds. We Malaysians are not so stupid as to believe all stories we read.