Employment Relationship And Politicisation: Views Of Malaysian Civil Servants Working In Penang

This paper examines the issue of the politicisation of public servant employment in the context of the Malaysian public service. Based on a survey of the Administrative and Diplomatic Service (ADS) officers the elite civil service the papers suggests that the employment aspects of the ADS officers is not as 'non-political' as many Malaysian public management commentators claim. The ADS officers perceive that politicians substantially influence such employment matters as recruitment, selection, promotion and dismissal. The paper argues that the political influence on employment matters is related to the manner in which the governing political parties cooperate with each other and the way some of the public service management processes have been implemented.