Tony Pua should clarify Pakatan Rakyat’s stand

Tony Pua should clarify Pakatan Rakyat’s stand that they will not reduce the number of civil servants should they take over the federal government

I urge DAP National Publicity Secretary Tony Pua to clarify the stand of Pakatan Rakyat leaders promising that they will not reduce the number of civil servants should they take over the federal government as previously he had said otherwise.

Sin Chew Daily (4 Apr 12) reported that in Kota Bharu, PKR Secretary General Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had promised that Pakatan Rakyat will protect the position of the 1.2 million civil servants in Malaysia and that they will maintain the number of civil servants as it was under the government of Barisan Nasional.

This decision is a big slap to Tony Pua. While he had followed closely the different government departments and had constantly made mistakes, this time however, the Pakatan Rakyat leadership had promised not to reduce the number of civil servants.

From the issue of teaching Maths and Science in English to the reduction of government servants, Tony Pua has constantly been held in-check by PAS until finally, DAP had no choice but to dismiss Tony Pua’s utterance as his own personal statement in order to cover up their embarrassment. This shows that DAP is placed in a tough situation, and that they will make a big fuss whenever they are caught making mistakes in an attempt to redirect the public’s attention. DAP knows that they have to constantly change their stand and decision to keep in line with their partners, PKR and PAS.

PKR vs DAP views on retaining or slashing public sector size

This is also not the first time Tony Pua has been sidelined. PKR Secretary General Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had claimed that 1.2 million out of 28 million Malaysian citizens are government servants and that Pakatan Rakyat will not downsize this number. This promise is in direct contrast to Tony Pua’s claims of reducing the number of civil servants if Pakatan Rakyat wins.

Therefore, I urge Tony Pua to clarify the stand on whether or not Pakatan Rakyat does plan to reduce the number of government servants. If DAP has no plans to reduce the number of civil servants, then Tony Pua should retract his statement and apologize. This is the way things should be, instead of allowing their leaders to simply shoot off from their mouths, attributing such remarks as their own personal stand and later pretend that nothing happened.

Senator Chew Lian Keng, JP
MCA Youth Federal Territory Chairman