KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 — Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng accused Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, today of preferring to defend his “little Napoleons” instead of upholding the integrity of the civil service.
Lim mocked the country’s top civil servant for speaking up for Penang State Development Officer (SDO) Nik Ali Mat Yunus, and challenged Mohd Sidek to admit if he planned on ending his career protecting “little Napoleons like Nik Ali”.
“Is the Chief Secretary going to end his career in a year’s time by defending these little Napoleons? Or will he defend the civil service, as a professional public administrative body?” he told a press conference in Penang this afternoon.
The DAP secretary-general claimed that the state had “suffered in silence” for the past two years with Nik Ali’s uncooperative ways and would continue to do so.
“Since the Chief Secretary does not want to replace him, then the status quo is maintained,” he said.
He claimed he had attempted to meet with Mohd Sidek a few months ago to discuss Nik Ali’s behaviour but the meeting had been cancelled.
“I tried but I failed. A few months back, an appointment was made but he cancelled it at the last minute even though I was in Kuala Lumpur.
“No new date was fixed,” he said.
Lim expressed disappointment at Mohd Sidek’s apparent readiness to support Nik Ali’s use of words like “biadap” (insolent) and “dayus” (coward) on a chief minister.
The spat between Nik Ali and Lim originated from Pulau Betong assemblyman Muhamad Farid Saad’s claims last week that illegal sand excavation was taking place at a plot in Kampung Kenanga, which had been earmarked for a government polytechnic.
Lim had responded to the allegation by saying that the state would not be able to probe the matter as Nik Ali had not been cooperative.
The accusation escalated into a verbal war between Nik Ali and Lim with the federal officer retaliating by calling Lim “insolent, uncivilised and a coward” during an Umno function.
Since then, other leaders including DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, and Mohd Sidek himself, have joined the fray, turning the spat into an all out battle between the civil service and the DAP.
Mohd Sidek has so far accused Lim of being “excessive” in his remarks and has given his assurance that Nik Ali would not be reprimanded for criticising a chief minister.
Lim today also censured the Chief Secretary for supporting Nik Ali’s act of involving himself in politics, stressing that as a civil servant, the federal officer should perform his duties impartially.
In a press conference today however, Mohd Sidek said there had been nothing wrong with Nik Ali’s attendance of an Umno function and claimed that the latter had attended the event as a government officer.
“I am disappointed that the Chief Secretary is supporting Nik Ali’s act of involving himself in politics when he held a press conference with an Umno assemblyman just to threaten a chief minister elected by the people,” Lim said.
The Chief Minister said Mohd Sidek should focus on the real problem at hand, which was how the ‘little Napoleon Nik Ali’ had refused to respect the principles of accountability by answering queries on the Penang Botanical Garden, the illegal sand excavation at the Balik Pulau polytechnic and how federal projects were being carried out without approval from the local councils.
In a statement yesterday, Mohd Sidek rubbished Lim’s accusations by saying that the issues were not part of Nik Ali’s jurisdiction as the SDO.
He had also said the Chief Minister should follow the correct procedure by channelling complaints on the issues to the relevant government agency.
