PMO's Acting Secretary

Thanks to the report by your correspondent (DS June 7th), we are beginning to get a grasp of the events that led to the untimely demise of the bureaucratic career of Mr. Nurul Islam and together with him, of some of his close associates. I tend to agree with your reporter that Mr. Islam may have fallen victim to some shocking politics at the PMO.

Therefore, after reading the report in DS, many of us now feel that Mr. Islam has fallen victim to internal politics at the PMO. It is only fair that the government looks at everything in detail before it takes action against Mr. Islam and some of the other bureaucrats whose names have come to light as those to be axed because of closeness with Mr. Islam. Frankly, the way the accusations have been levelled against the bureaucrats leave a lot of room for doubt about the basis of these accusations.

However, the whole episode does put the PMO in a very sorry state of affairs. Although the Acting Secretary may have been a victim of conspiracy rather than a conspirator, there have been stories about him too in the way he interfered in promotions and transfers. Everybody knew this for a long time that the Establishment Division or the Cabinet was just carrying on directives of these officers at the PMO, of whom the Acting Secretary was a key figure.

We call upon the PM to use this development to sort out the PMO. The PMO is an office to help her manage her time and conduct her affairs professionally. It is not a Super Ministry. It must be cut down to size and manned by professional people. The PM herself needs to be ever vigilant so that the officials at the PMO do not exert the sort of power and influence they do. Power corrupts and power exercised unlawfully as by the officials at the PMO only brings bad name upon the PM.