Be considerate and respectful towards one another, Dr M tells civil servants

PUTRAJAYA, July 1 — Be considerate, kind, understanding and respectful to everyone, even if you don’t agree with them, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad told civil servants today.

The 93-year-old said in everything that we do, there is good and bad, and the key to living harmoniously is by learning to understand one another.

“In life, it’s inevitable for one to meet and mix with all kinds of friends from all types of races. This includes crossing paths with your foes at times.

“If we are not tolerant and unwilling to be considerate, it will be difficult to do your job,” said Dr Mahathir during the monthly staff briefing at Dataran Perdana this morning.

Mahathir said he had read news reports criticising his government for being lackadaisical.

Despite the many criticisms, he reminded the people that the Pakatan Harapan government has only been in power for a year, with many new ministers in place.

He said apart from fixing the wrongs of the previous government, it also found new issues and faced a lack of cooperation from existing government servants.

“In the prime minister’s department, there were lots of problems. We found ourselves working with people who weren’t compliant,” Dr Mahathir recalled.

“Instead of getting angry, we must determine if there are any basis to these disagreements and if there are, then we must work together to fix the problem.

“No point in getting upset... the work won’t be accomplished.

“I strongly believe we must accept each others’ differences and if we can familiarise ourselves with each other, we can do our jobs well,” he said.

Mahathir added that during Raya month, the many Hari Raya open houses served as the perfect platform for Malaysians to mingle, learn about each other and form lasting bonds.

“Open houses are unique in that we open our doors to all races and religions,” said Dr Mahathir.

“We’re privileged that in this country we can still have fun and live harmoniously with each other.

“That’s why a tolerant and considerate attitude is key for our betterment,” he added.