SEPTEMBER 17 — In "The Seven Principles of Public Life and Malaysia Madani” I shared with readers the ethical standards those working in the public sector in the United Kingdom (UK) are expected to adhere to.

The standards are outlined in the "Seven Principles of Public Life”, otherwise also known as the Nolan principles.

The Seven Principles of Public Life are as follows:

1. Selflessness: Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.

2. Integrity: Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

3. Objectivity: Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.

4. Accountability: Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.

5. Openness: Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.

6. Honesty: Holders of public office should be truthful.

7. Leadership: Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.

I wrote that the above principles should provide an important foundation to our democracy, and the ethical standards that the government must uphold. The principles, after all, are not incompatible with Malaysia Madani.

I must add that they are not incompatible with Islam as well.

It is therefore heartening that the principles have been embodied in the draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Opposition MPs’ allocations, the content of which has been disclosed by Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof, who is also the Unity Government chief whip.

What is mind boggling must now be the Perikatan Nasional (PN)’s rejection of the draft MoU, with Opposition Leader Hamzah Zainudin citing four primary concerns.

Hamzah, however, did not specify which conditions in the MoU were particularly problematic.

Fadillah said that with the disclosure of the MoU, "the public can see for themselves that the Opposition leader’s claims regarding the drafts are completely baseless.

Is the public seeing the true colours of the Opposition?

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.