Time for civil servants to fulfill mandate - Najib

Civil servants need to set a new standard by shifting to a new paradigm, reflecting the mandate, expectation and demand of the people said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

The reminder to move forward came in the wake of almost 30 days after the 13th General Election (GE13) which was held on May 5.

Najib said civil servants cannot afford to look back and waste any more time on excessive politicking because it would derail the task of fulfilling promises and aspiration of voters who have given the mandate during the GE13.

As for the GE13, the Prime Minister said the government had taken several steps and measures in accordance with the law to ensure a transparent, fair and just election, including accepting recommendations from the opposition parties.

"However, there are still some who dispute the results of the GE13 claiming electoral fraud. If we know the procedure, it is almost impossible for anyone to cheat in a big way," he said in his speech when addressing the staff of the Prime Minister's Department during a monthly gathering at Dataran Perdana, here, today, the first since the GE13.

Najib said allegations by some with regard to the GE13 were ridiculous and baseless, especially claims that the Barisan Nasional (BN) had brought in 40,000 Bangladeshis as 'phantom voters' to ensure victory.

He said similar accusations were in the 'air' for months before the GE13, leading to a paranoid situation among those who believed, to an extend of even attacking a local who looked like a Bangladeshi, apparently to prevent the 'phantom voter' from casting his vote.

"It is not fair for a local with tanned skin colour to be labelled as 'foreigner'. We can laugh about it after the GE13 but during that time people were convinced by stories of phantom voters which were created just to tarnish the credibility of the election process," he said.

Najib said the decision by the people of Malaysia to give the BN government the mandate to continue has been accepted by world leaders.

"Right now let us show that our country practices matured democracy, not by saying it but showing that we accept the process of democracy after the election," he said.

"The government will continue its efforts to change and the transformation will continue because the people have shown that they want changes and that it can be done without changing the government," he said.

Najib said weaknesses that were previously identified could have been centered around the government's machinery which may have not been effective in addressing the 'war of perception'.

"We can rectify the situation and find way to fight the war of perception - not reality but perception. Perception can be moulded in various ways, not only through a face to face approach, now there is face book.

"Maybe we should give more attention to such approach because we may lack expertise in such areas. But we can plan and use our expertise so that we can succeed in the future to 'display' the actual success - not perception but reality," he said.