The appointment or sacking of civil servants should not be deemed as political interference.

Umno MP Irmohizam Ibrahim said this in his conclusion on the question of whether there is political interference in public administration at the National Integrity Convention today.

.“The appointment, promotion or sacking of a civil servant should not be seen as political intereference.

“In certain cases, political decisions are fitting for the benefit of the people and the country,” he said.

The Umno supreme council member added that this was important to prevent the 'Little Napoleon' phenomenon which had occurred a few years ago.

His opinion comes as many critics questioned the abrupt removal of former attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail ( photo ) in July.

Gani had then headed a special joint task force which was investigating 1MDB.

A week later, two Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers were transferred to the Prime Minister’s Department.

One of them, special operations division director Bahri Mohamad Zin, was one of the prominent figures involved in the investigation into SRC International Sdn Bhd, an entity linked with 1MDB.

The duo’s transfer was however rescinded a few days later.

Meanwhile, Irmohizam in his presentation today, had outrightly said that there is no political interference in public administration.

He however admitted that the matter was subjective in nature.

The Kuala Selangor MP pointed out how politicians are chosen by the rakyat to decide on public policies.

Nevertheless, there are certain boundaries that must be adhered to, he said.

Irmohizam also believes that political interference should not exist but that political intervention was needed for the good of all parties.

“Politicians and civil servants must move in tandem while understanding their own boundaries,” he said.

Letters of support

Meanwhile, political analyst Sivamurugan Pandian said it was clear that there is political interference in public administration, whether it is done intentionally or otherwise.

The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) lecturer gave an example of the transfer of teachers from rural areas to the city.

“The Yang Berhormats who can give letters of support will be sought after.

“So are these letters of support considered as political interference?” he questioned.

Therefore, there must be a particular definition on what constitutes political interference.

“On the letters of support, are they distributed openly or are they considered invalid?

“That’s the dilemma because there is no particular definition and as a result it is considered against the norms,” Sivamurugan said.