PUTRAJAYA: Administrative and Diplomatic Service (PTD) officers have been told not to blindly follow orders that are against the laws and government policies.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad issued the directive today during a townhall session with more than 3,000 (PTD) officers, here.
"When you are asked to do something that you know is wrong including hiding any wrongdoings and even campaigning for certain parties, you should say no.
"Granted, the government expects you to be loyal. But, if we ask you to do things against the law, you should reject. Don't do it.
"If I ask you to murder someone, will you kill?" he said, to which members of the floor replied with a solid no.
If the PTD were to unanimously reject orders that were wrong and against the law, Dr Mahathir believed action would not be taken against them.
"When something is blatantly wrong, you should not do it. A crime is still a crime. Only abide by orders that conform to government policies and the law," he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir said PTD officers and those in the Armed Forces as well as the police must be loyal to the government, but the loyalty must be within the scope of the law and policies.
Report by Azura Abas, Hashini Kavishtri Kannan, Mohd Husni Mohd Noor and Zanariah Abd Mutalib