JULY 13 — On Sunday, Agriculture Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said something I agree with: civil servants should be the first line of defense for the government. Though perhaps differently from what he had in mind.

They are already the first line of government presence out there. These are the guys who greet you from behind the glass counter when you want a new MyKad. The doctors and nurses at public hospitals going through dozens of patients before lunch. 

The civil servants are both the parts and the lubricant that keep the administrative machine operating. They keep our nation functioning and do the heavy-lifting. While ever-changing ministers set policies and decide on direction, they are the ones who get us there. 

And I believe – on occasion, at least – that the smarter people in the public service are also the ones laying out the big choices for politicians just coming into his portfolio. They say a man makes his own choices but what choices he makes depends on what options are given to him.

So yes, they should also be the first line of defense for the government institution at large. At the end of the day, the rakyat pay their salaries and it follows that they should first and foremost be the rakyat’s eyes and ears against any attempt to screw the rakyat from within the government institution.

They should be the first to resist any and all attempts to corrupt the government machinery to serve personal agendas.

They should be the people’s main line of defense against those who would abuse public money and resources, whether to enrich themselves or those they favour.

They should be the first to cry foul against those who pretend to uphold the man on the street’s best interests when everything they do really furthers their own first and foremost.

So yes, Datuk Seri, in that sense I agree with you. The civil servants should be at the front lines when it comes to fighting these corruptive elements and those who bring them into the halls of governance. 

But how can they do that given how we treat whistleblowers? The Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 notwithstanding, recent controversies are a shining example of our misguided priorities when it comes to such people speaking up.

Instead of focusing on allegations that surface, we scrutinise the messengers so much and go out of our way to discredit them, even before substantive proof against the allegations are made known. We question how they knew and why they speak out even before we determine for sure whether they spoke the truth.

We shoot the messengers before we read the message. By such stupidly misguided priorities we discourage others to step forward and raise their hand. Why risk your career and livelihood if you’ll just end up figuratively flogged for having the audacity to speak up against the wrong you see?

No, before civil servants can become that bulwark of defense for our government institution, they need empowerment. 

They’ll need to be assured full anonymity. They’ll need to be assured of not losing their jobs over raising an issue. They’ll need protection against reprisal from those with interest in silencing them. 

And they’ll need assurances that issues raised will be taken seriously, not put away under No Further Action by the very people they complain against.

One way to do that last one is to have a separate body handling whistleblower complaints, operating outside the federal bureaucracy. 

In June Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar proposed in Parliament that the public lodge reports to the Integrity Enforcement Agency Commission. This would allow protection of identity while complaints are pursued, he noted in saying the government wishes to amend the whistleblower Act.

Talk is good, action is better.

Your move, sir.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.