The chief secretary to the government (KSN) Ali Hamsa has been urged to step down after a series of bad publicity and criticisms from the new leadership of the civil service.

“We feel that the KSN should not ignore the strong public statements from our leaders and instead, he should admit to himself that he is personally responsible to act in the best interests of the whole civil service by stepping down.

“We, therefore, call upon the KSN to take the honourable step of offering his resignation without any hesitation to save the civil service from further disgrace and bad publicity.

“His offer of resignation will allow the prime minister to make the right decision for the administration of the country,” the G25 secretariat said in a statement today.

The secretariat, many of whom are retired civil servants, said it is the KSN’s duty to ensure discipline and professionalism among the civil service, especially the top ranks of secretaries-general.

As such, the criticisms against the civil service reflect badly on him, they said.

All government servants, G25 said, would appreciate Ali’s personal sacrifice as it will make way for a new KSN who should make all efforts necessary to restore the civil service’s reputation.

The secretariat said it believes public confidence in the civil service is eroding due to criticisms from the new administration.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had implied that the civil service is unreliable in its commitment to the reforms his cabinet wants to introduce as their loyalties may still lie with the previous leaders.

In an interview, Mahathir had also said that most of the top civil servants have been deeply corrupted by the previous government, making it difficult for the new administration to trust them on the reform policies.

There were also criticisms on social media on the unprofessional behaviour of several top officials during the campaigning season for the 14th general election, G25 said.

“We are sad that whereas previously the civil service was seen as the pillar of strength and stability for the administration, now some senior civil servants are seen as part of the problem facing the country.

“Although they are few in number and the majority of civil servants are professionally neutral in performing their duties, the bad apples have done much damage to the whole public service."