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The advent of the 21st century sees Malaysia in a state of flux. Party politics is changing. Then, the Civil Service is facing challenges.

A ruling party can come and go. But, the Civil Service remains. That is why it has to remain impartial to political party.

From 2 February, 2001, Tan Sri Shamsuddin becomes the head of 850,000 civil servants. We congratulate him. We hope that he can identify and correct weaknesses in the service.

Since the British left Malaya in 1957, the world has changed so much. But, the Civil Service changes slowly. The Malaysian Government talks about knowledge economy, e-government and e-commerce. However, the service responds slowly.

There are many weaknesses in the service including corruption, bureaucracy, the ratio between civil servants and the population, the retirement age, and the New Remuneration System, NRS. Some people still have feudal mentality, mediocrity and bloody-mindedness. The Government says that since 1983, over 100,000 civil servants have been transferred to the privatised companies.

IRREGULARITIES

People still complain of irregularities and lack of efficiency of some civil
servants, from peons, technicians to department heads. Can the
Anti-Corruption Agency cope?

Malaysia has a population of 22 million. There are 850,000 civil servants,
including the army and the police. Is the ratio compatible with the
international standard?

After 44 years of Merdeka, Independence, the retirement age is still 55.
This was a British policy to cater for colonial officers who had to return
to Britain. Now, the conditions are very different. Countries such as
U.S.A., Singapore and Thailand have fixed the retirement age between 60 to 65.

Meanwhile, Malaysians are living longer, with life expectancy of up to 72
years. This will reach 80.

Some civil servants are not happy with the NRS that selects about 3% of staff members for promotions. There are complaints of bias. The Public Service Department spends about RM 490 million each year. It is reviewing the NRS and other matters.

 Dr Tan Seng Giaw