Civil servants have expressed fears that the good conduct contract which the government plans to enforce on them by March will legally bind them to future, unspecified orders.

Lobotomising civil servants this way will make them the arms and legs of Barisan Nasional, reacted a young academic who declined to be named.

Will this good conduct pledge do away with the need for monitoring? Wouldnt punishing more corrupt officials more consistently and publicly be more effective? he asked.

The nine-point pledge is a compilation of various rules under the General Orders to which civil servants are already bound to.

It is generally accepted that the pledge has nothing new except to remind civil servants not to bite the hand that feeds them.

But the pledge also stipulates that civil servants must abide by laws and orders made by the government from time to time.

The exact clause in the contract says that civil servants are required to declare that they shall comply with the provisions of the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993, General Orders, circulars and circular letters, regulations and orders issued by the Government from time to time throughout their period of service.

Disciplinary action

Besides pledging their loyalty to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the country and the government, the contract also states that civil servants are to be meticulous, dedicated, efficient, honest, trustworthy and responsible.

Other points require that they not subordinate their public duty to private interests or use their public positions for personal advantage.

The contract says that those who breach it will be liable to disciplinary action under the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993.

Last Monday, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that cabinet ministers would be required to sign the good conduct pledge too.

Everybody is making commitments to serve the government in a proper way. Surely the topmost people must also be made to do the same, Mahathir was quoted as saying by The Star daily.

Mahathir had revealed the good conduct pledge on Oct 8 along with the requirement that all civil servants, teachers, university lecturers and undergraduates would have to sign it.

The premier said the move was to check the poisoning of the minds in the countrys educational institutions.

Pro-active

The good conduct pledge sparked a volley of protests from those affected by it including from Cuepacs, the umbrella body for some 850,000 civil servants.

Several senior Universiti Malaya staff were the first to sign the pledge on Jan 16. UMs vice-chancellor Prof Dr Anuar Zaini said the university was being pro-active in signing the pledge before March 1.

Six top UM officials, led by Anuar, signed the pledge at the universitys Perdanasiswa auditorium before a crowd of 800 staff.