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.