The reprimand came from public service director-general (KPPA) Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman himself, following public dissatisfaction over the level of public service delivery.
“We were appointed to help the government to solve the problems faced by the people, and not just to aim for higher-level positions. Our salaries and allowances will be paid anyway. So, appreciate that.
“I would like to remind us all (civil servants) not to be merely perfunctory. Get rid of the old (work) culture. We all must realise and appreciate the fact that while other workers (in the private sector) are facing retrenchment during the Covid-19 pandemic, we are not even affected,” he said during the public service department’s monthly assembly held virtually today.
Khairul Adib also called on civil servants to learn the lessons from the difficult situations faced by the workers in the private sector or those who are self-employed after their sources of income were badly affected by the pandemic.
He said they should also improve their quality of service to change the negative public perception of public service.
“Improve the quality of service and determination to perform the duties of serving the people and to ensure that the government’s aspiration is achieved,” he said.
Khairul Adib said if all civil servants maintained their integrity and trustworthiness in discharging their duties, the negative public perception can be corrected and in turn help improve the image of civil servants.
To ensure that public service remains relevant, he said civil servants should also increase their knowledge, especially of new technologies so that their existing skills and competencies can be improved in line with the Digital Economy Blueprint launched earlier this year.
He also wanted civil servants to measure the productivity of their work delivery based on the Productivity Blueprint which focuses on productivity as a new source of growth for the country.
He said the increase in productivity is a result of technological advances as well as the efficiency of economic management as a whole.
This is probably the first time the highest ranking civil servant in the country has issued such a reminder, although politicians like Dr Mahathir Mohamad have pointed it out before.
In 2019, Mahathir said the civil service ought to be reduced, suggesting that technology could be used to help manage the size.
In his first address to public servants after Pakatan Harapan won the 2018 elections, Mahathir also said Malaysia’s “bloated” civil service had lost its reputation, while it was once highly regarded in the world.
In his memoirs released last year, former Attorney-General Tommy Thomas had also criticised lawyers in the chambers. “Public sector lawyers had public service attitudes (and) were civil servants, earning a fixed monthly income,” he said.