Chief secretary to the government Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said the Demerit Performance Evaluation (DEEP) system was previously implemented only for secretaries-general of government agencies.

Shamsul said the expansion is in line with the government’s reform agenda to ensure more effective governance and improved performance at every level of public service, Utusan Malaysia reported.

He also said the evaluation results will affect the civil servants’ salary increments.

“If an officer does not perform well, there will be no pay increase,” he said.

“The evaluation not only considers demerit points when mistakes occur, but also merit points when the officers demonstrate good performance or receive recognition from the public.

“DEEP is not meant to punish civil servants, but serves as a mechanism to improve service delivery to the people.”

Shamsul said teams will be formed to carry out on-the-ground checks to assess service quality and compliance with regulations, as well as gather information on government initiatives.

Under the system, evaluations will begin with a 100-point score, from which marks are deducted through the demerit process if an officer fails to meet set objectives.