Manama: Bahrain's government employees have been told to adhere to appropriate protocol and appearance requirements when on official missions in order to better reflect the status of the country and avoid punitive action.
"Government officials are the reflection of the country's status and in this capacity, any wrong attitude from them will have negative repercussions on its reputation," Minister for Cabinet Affairs Shaikh Ahmad Bin Atiyatallah Al Khalifa said.
"While government employees have the possibility to benefit from all the rights stipulated in the civil service law, there are at the same time obligations that they have to meet. These include wearing official clothes during meetings and etiquette in welcoming or seeing off visiting delegations," the minister said.
Shaikh Ahmad, also the deputy head of the Civil Service Bureau, said that employees who fail to abide by protocol standards will face "appropriate administrative measures."
Bahrain is currently witnessing a heated debate over government officials' dress code after the assistant undersecretary for tourism was blasted in the local media for wearing casual clothes at a ceremony to welcome tourists and the crew of Royal Caribbean International's Brilliance of the Seas.
The ship docked in Bahrain this week as part of its inaugural five stop, seven-night winter cruise program in the Arabian Gulf.
However, the historic journey was initially marred by an onslaught by a horde of taxi drivers on the 1,000 tourists who opted to take tours in Manama, asking for exorbitant fares, fetching up to $400 for a five-kilometre ride.
The taxi drivers became involved in scuffles with around 30 drivers from Arabian Taxis, the local London-style taxi company, who offered to take the tourists in their metered cars.
Around 60 disappointed tourists preferred to cancel their tour and went back to the ship.
The crew also faced visa-related difficulties to enter the country, and the situation was compounded when the assistant undersecretary was photographed wearing casual clothes at the official welcome ceremony.
A local newspaper criticized the lack of organization in welcoming tourists and the official's appearance, sparking a chain of angry reactions in the country.
Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa ordered an inquiry into the incidents and gave instructions to ensure the fiasco would not be repeated.
In two separate meetings, he insisted on providing tourists with higher care and service standards and stressed that government officials had to adhere to protocol criteria in interacting with people and attending ceremonies.
The information and culture minister apologized to the tourists and ship owners and crews and pledged to take stringent action to rectify abuses and nonchalance amid statements from traffic officials that they would increase awareness campaigns and would have a tighter monitoring of taxi drivers' behaviour.
Brilliance of the Seas is the biggest cruise ship in the Middle East in terms of guest capacity. Its weekly programme, running from January to April 2010, starts from Dubai and includes visits to Muscat, Fujairah, Abu Dhabi and Manama.
