More than two months into the job, political appointees to the new government have yet to receive their salaries or contracts confirming their employment.
The appointees include special secretaries and aides to the first 13 ministers sworn in two weeks after Pakatan Harapan (PH) took over Putrajaya.
Several of the appointees asked the Public Service Department (PSD) and Public Services Commission (PSC) and were told that their applications would take time to process, as the government needed to do background checks involving the police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and Insolvency Department.
But the appointees are wondering why the checking, which is supposed to be a formality, is taking so long.
Fingers are being pointed at top bureaucrats aligned to the former Barisan Nasional (BN) administration who appointees fear are trying to sabotage the new PH government.
Dr Mahathir himself had expressed concern about the loyalty of these senior officers PH inherited, saying that some had openly supported and campaigned for BN.
The prime minister also said the rot was so deep in the civil service that he and the new administration had trouble finding capable officers to replace corrupt department heads.
Meanwhile, the G25 grouping of prominent retired civil servants urged Chief Secretary to the Government Ali Hamsa to resign for failing to protect the integrity of the civil service.
The group said the recent revelations made by the new PH administration of a civil service which was corrupt and unreliable reflected badly on Ali’s leadership.
Today, the PSD responded in a statement that some political appointees were not getting their salaries because their appointments were affected by incomplete documentation or they did not meet the requirements of the services.
“There are also cases where the officers disagree with the terms of their appointment which have already been approved by the Public Service Commission due to a different grade from what they applied for,” it said.