Minister: Reshuffle of ministry heads normal, not politically motivated

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 4 — Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad has denied today accusation that the upcoming reshuffle in government departments is politically motivated, explaining that such a move is simply routine.

He said the decision was made by the Public Service Department under Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Ismail Bakar, independent of the ministers and deputy ministers.

“Some of the secretary-generals were changed as they have reached pensioning age, others were rotated as part of normal procedures,” Khalid said during the launch of the new weekly newspaper Wilayahku at the ministry complex.

He added that some of the former deputy secretaries-general have been promoted when they changed portfolios, becoming secretaries-general themselves.

“This is not unusual, although it may surprise those not in the know when announced, even if it was planned for some time.

“In the case of civil servants who do not support the government and do not wish to work with us, they can either be let go or put into cold storage,” Khalid said.

He said those being rotated indicated they are still able to serve, despite being transferred from one ministry to another.

“We can safely assume [the rotation] is not a question of not cooperating with the government,” Khalid said.

Some 15 ministries were affected by the rotation, which will come into effect next Monday following the new appointments yesterday.

The Chief Secretary to the Government reportedly handed the letters of appointments to the 12 in a ceremony yesterday at the Prime Minister's Department, during which he explained that the ceremony was done after receiving the prime minister's consent.