Civil servants, retirees can be penalised for issuing slanderous statements which give negative perception of govt

KUALA LUMPUR: Action will be taken against civil servants or those who have left the service for making slanderous remarks that could give a bad perception of the government. 

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, in a statement today, said this was in accordance with Rule 19, Rules of the Civil Service (Conduct and Discipline) 1993. 

"The rule provides that civil servants or those who have left the service are not allowed to publish or make any statements without the agreement from the respective Minister or department," she said. 

"The rationale behind this is to avoid any misunderstanding from unverified sources and wrongful interpretation related to decisions made by the government," Azalina said, adding that the rule applies to all civil servants who are still in service. 

For retirees, they are bound under the Official Secrets Act 1972 (Act 88) that says it is wrong to divulge any information that is related to official secrets, she said. 

She said the provisions under Act 88 was created to penalise those who reveal official secrets they had gathered from the civil service after they retired.

NST Online