A circular sighted by FMT said officers in essential services must be rotated after serving between three and five years in a post, while those in other services will be involved in the move any time between three and eight years.
JPA director-general Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman said this move follows the directive by chief secretary to the government Mohd Zuki Ali on April 6 asking the department to implement it to curb malpractices and inefficiency.
“In view of this, all ministries and departments must carry out the internal rotation of at least 50% of the staff who are eligible to be moved. This involves officers below Grade 54 and the order comes into effect immediately,” he said in the circular.
Khairul Adib said all movements will be in accordance with existing orders on the transfer of civil servants, and asked heads of department to submit names for the move.
Last month, Zuki directed JPA to implement the staff rotation system after news reports on the crippling of a syndicate monopolising government tenders made headlines.
He expressed disappointment that some civil servants had allowed themselves to be used by unscrupulous people for the sake of getting big kickbacks.
“I assure you that firm action will be taken against any government servant proven guilty in this issue or other cases of misconduct which mar the image of the civil service,” he had said.
Zuki said it was worrying that this syndicate had obtained government tenders worth RM3.8 billion before it was uncovered by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
Cuepacs secretary-general Abdul Rahman Mohd Nordin said while the civil service union agreed with the intention of the directive to help curb corruption and increase efficiency in the civil service, he hoped it will not disrupt the family lives of the staff involved.
“We are suggesting that such transfers be within a distance of about 25km which will not involve moving house or transferring of children to other schools. This will cause logistical headaches and increase the cost of living for some,” he told FMT.
He said many of the civil servants had also bought homes in districts where they were working and it would cause inconvenience if they are moved 50km or 100km away.