Public Service Department (PSD) director-general Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman said corrupt acts committed by a handful of civil servants could smear the image of the majority who had been upholding their integrity and discharging their duties in a trustworthy manner.
“We used to see it as isolated cases because it involved a minority group of civil servants. But we can no longer sit back and relax as, sooner or later, it will affect us all.
“This minority group should be removed. We are the majority group and there are many more of us who abide by the principles of civil service,” he said in his virtual 2021 message entitled “Facing Challenges, Beyond Expectation” today.
According to Khairul, there were civil servants who were arrested and charged in court last year for alleged involvement in corruption and abuse of power in matters regarding the issuance of identity card, the influx of foreigners into the country and the water supply disruptions.
“So, we can no longer adopt the ‘mind your own business’ attitude. We should be mindful of the behaviour of our colleagues.
“If we don’t do something (about their corrupt act), it will become an incurable cancer, which is detrimental to our country,” he said.
Khairul also reminded civil servants to always uphold their personal integrity and to stay away from corruption and breach of trust, to be mindful (of others), and to improve their work procedures and systems.
“If we were aware of any corrupt act or a breach of trust, we have a choice to take the appropriate action.
“We can offer our advice if it involves our colleague or someone we know and if the case was serious or involved someone unknown to us, we can lodge a report either to our head of department or the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission,” he said.
Khairul added that civil servants should not be scared or wait for any reward before exposing or lodging a report on misconduct committed by their colleagues or any other civil servants.
On another issue, Khairul said every public organisation should improve their work procedures and systems, because red tape, non-transparency in making decisions, and unsuitable and obsolete policies had contributed to the issue of bureaucracy in the workplace.
“Bureaucracy issues are among the factors that will lead to misconduct, such as in giving quick approval for foreigners’ work permit. There were public officers who would solicit and accept a bribe just to expedite the approval for certain applications.
“So, we have to think about how we can improve our work processes and procedures without compromising national security and rule of law. We have to close the doors for any possible abuse of power by these officers,” he added.