ABSTRACT
Mahathir became Prime Minister in 1981. During his first year or so in power he strove to impress his personality, and priorities for governing, on his colleagues, the civil service, and the country generally. He wanted to run a “clean, efficient and trustworthy government”, in the words of the Barisan Nasional election manifesto of 1982. He made ministers and civil servants wear name-tags, insisted on the observance of office hours, and stressed urgency, particularly in conveying information. Hard work and discipline were to be the order of the day. Government employees were not workaholics, but they ought to be.1
