Mahathir warns govt employees

Mahathir warns govt employees

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Monday warned bureaucrats against joining the ranks of political dissenters, saying government employees were bound to obey policies, a news report said.

Mahathir, 73, facing the toughest political challenge in his 18-year rule from supporters of ousted Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, said he was aware that some members of administration had begun demanding reform.

Last week, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told dissenters among the powerful civil service in the Southeast Asian nation to resign or face punishment. He did not specify what penalty they could face.

The warnings came in the wake of protests that erupted after a High Court judge last month sentenced Anwar to six years in prison for abuse of office. Many government employees and teachers in state-run schools and universities were among the demonstrators.