Former International Islamic University (UIA) law lecturer Aziz Bari has urged the Malay rulers to actively ensure that the caretaker government does not exceed the limitations of their roles.

"The head of states must play the main role in ensuring that politicians do not cross the line that has been set.

NONE "At the same time, civil services must also do their duties and remember that in principle, the civil service is neutral," claimed Aziz ( left ).

He said this during a conference on the 13th general election in Kuala Lumpur today. He had been one of the panellists during the session which discussed about the best practices to be taken on by the caretaker government.

Aziz, a constitutional law expert, said both the rulers and civil services are tasked with ensuring the caretaker government functions properly because such a mechanism has not been outlined in the federal constitution.

Another panellist, PKR deputy president Azmin Ali, commented that the caretaker government should not abuse the civil service for their campaigning agendas.

'Best practices'

For example, he said that the caretaker government, a role taken up by the incumbent ruling party, should not use government-owned vehicles and intelligence reports from security agencies for party purposes.

NONE "They have to avoid using public resources to achieve their political campaign objectives," said Azmin ( left ).

He added that all governments should observe such a practice, particularly after the legislative bodies are dissolved.

Azmin stressed that another 'best practice' for a caretaker government to perform was to avoid awarding any contracts during that period, nor make any major appointments to the civil service.

When commenting on the ruling party's criticism of Pakatan Rakyat's attempt to rule Putrajaya, Azmin said that BN was denying the entire point of holding elections.

"The point is, the basis of holding elections is for the public to choose the party that will form the government," he said.

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