KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 — With the economy at stake, former Cabinet member Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz urged today civil servants to buckle down and focus on governing the country as politicians from the ruling party are distracted by petty issues.

Citing the falling ringgit, Malaysia’s competitiveness and the aspirations of the youth at risk, she said the burden was now on government servants to keep the “rudderless” country moving forward.

“If in the political sphere we seem to be losing it, let the rest of the government, starting with our commendable civil servants, hold the fort,” the former International Trade minister once called the “Iron Lady” said in a Facebook post today.

While she said that the allegations and investigations were serious matters, she said the trial-by-media of the controversies surrounding state-owned 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) have become a distraction from the real issues affecting the country.

“Bottomline. Get on and continue with every aspect of the investigations. Without fear and favour,” she said, urging the authorities involved to complete the investigations.

She described the media frenzy over 1MDB as her worst fears confirmed as it had led to many “spinoffs, plots and subplots, new real, created, and arising issues that thrive in the dark realms of politics and human frailties and greed”.

“I have received so many videos and snippets etc that I no longer thank the senders. I am beginning to loathe them. I don’t regard any of the issues should be trivialised.

“But neither should they be an exercise of one-up-manship in artistic and humour creativity, or to start and create rumours amid untruths,” she said.

Public criticism of 1MDB resulted in a Cabinet reshuffle which ended with Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin dropped as deputy prime minister as well as Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal losing his post as Rural and Regional Development minister.

The issue has brought rise to a trust deficit for the ruling Barisan Nasional’s anchor party, acknowledged even by Umno members.