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Does the current productivity and efficiency of the civil servant justify a salary increase?

I had a short chat with a group of them in the lift about 10 minutes ago, about 9.25am. They were only going to start their work, after wasting like an hour in the warung kopi nearby. And the chat was how their belly are expanding.

I know the cost of living is high, the civil servant together with the rakyat is suffering but a lot of this are due to the leakages and the stupidity of the government in spending rakyat's money, not to boost the economy but for bailing out companies (RM11 Billion is no small amount) and organising events like the monsoon cup.

We complaint about toll hikes, but the government was the one who allowed the toll concessionaires to increase it in their lop sided agreements. We wonder who was the joker who approved such agreement?

My take is everyone, not only the civil servant needs a pay rise. Then again we will have a new set of problem cause by inflation.

The problem will never ends.

Who cares, the straws on the back of the mule not broken yet. People will continue to votes a government that take aways people rights to voice/participate.

If the "rakyat" refuse to change now, the price will be paid by next generation.

Pay rise only with productivity improvement. say 50% pay increase if 50% of workforce is laid off, or 100% increase in productivity based on number of approvals/applicants processed.

Some of the rotten ones in the civil service are already squeezing the businesses by demanding payment for work permits from foreign investors, delay approvals, restrictions on licenses etc. They have to improve their tendency to abhor businesses and instead assist the business community.

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I beg to disagree.

Everybody is feeling the pinch of lower purchasing power. That is no reason to increase salaries.

Those working in the private sector are frequently many times more productive than those in the public sector.

On an average day, they slog their asses off and do accomplish more than those in public service.

Remuneration should be based on performance, not because it is supposed to reduce 'the inclination to be corrupt' or 'make them work harder' which is simply unnacceptable.

If they don't work hard and compound this by spending their income foolishly, then they deserve to suffer the rising prices.

Everyone feels the pinch now and will have to learn to operate his/her life on a lower budget. Of course, more money is always welcome but in this case, they don't deserve it.

Compared to what is produced, they are already substantially overpaid. Unless public service is merely a jobs program to employ a bunch of lazy people who would otherwise be unemployed and create an even larger problem.

sydput said:

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Your statement is not only provocative and insulting but utterly baseless as well. I'm suprised Jeff allows bigots like you to comment.

well i think if the civil cervants should merit wat they asked for.

yes i agree that the standard of living and cost hv gone up. but they are not de only one suffering.

increasing their salaries will trigger a chain of events, causing an even bigger inflation prob.

by de way, do you guys think that the civil servants merit the payhike, on basis of performance alone...?

i wonder...

They say that a picture says a thousand words. How true.
The above two photos say it all.Almost everyone in the top photo is not from Terengganu. They are there to enjoy themselves and rub shoulders with the PM, his family, and other celebrties, like Michelle Yeoh, Jean Todt etc. They fly in, stay at the best hotels and fly out again.Those in the bottom picture are the locals, who only see all the wealth and glamour from the outside. A few may be lucky to get a temporary hawker license to sell refreshments to the people who come for the monsoon cup. More than RM 200million is spent every year on this event, and even the organisers are not from Terengganu.
People in the east coast states of Terengganu and Kelantan have been punished by UMNO for many years, and they endure it. To make matters worse, we have many in the west coast who think that the malays are getting everything and they are not. They talk about scholarships, discount on house prices, dearer petrol, toll increases and blame it all on the malays. Most of them in the east coast have no university, no LRT, no cars, not enough food and nutrition, no clean water etc etc.
So, for those who think they been disenfranchised, treated unfairly, neglected, please make a trip to Kelantan, especially, and see how the malays there are coping, being victims of the 'aparthied' policy that is in place.

LJ

excuse me la for being ignorant la kan.

but wat has Jean Todt done to get a title of Datuk and stuff?
for building his love nest in Pulau Duyong ka?

hmmm.hw abt de villagers in Pulau Duyong ? i went thre once b4 Monsoon Cup even existed, (visited de boat building place during study visit)

and im bloody sure the pic above shows it all.

make money and glamor by startin an event, leave de villagers in de background...(they played enuff part already wat...tax payers money already used up....)

gvmnt: where got pedulik pasal them...

"apatheid policy"....nice one....

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give the government servants their pay rise. but remove all their allowances. that should balance out the budget, and it will maintain the spending power.

LJ,

I think the sufferings of the poor people - the "victims of the 'aparthied' policy" as you put it - in Teregganu and Kelantan are real.

But I think on a larger scale, many more hard-core poor are also suffering. I see it around me in urban PJ. I interact with quite a few of them regularly, and their hardships are painful.

Ditto in many other areas both urban and rural I think. So apart from the UMNO policies which are causing grief in Terengganu and Kelantan, on a national scale, many. many more Malaysians, a larger percentage of them Malaysia but including many non-Malays too, are suffering because of the many areas of rot the govt is not facing up to and addressing properly.

While "most of them in the east coast have no university, no LRT, no cars, not enough food and nutrition, no clean water etc etc.", those who have access to LRT, cars, 'supposed to be clean' water etc in the other states are not exactly celebrating either - not with sky-high LRT fares, ever rising tolls and petrol bills, murky water. Too much focus on glitz and sparkle, not enough real achievements which truly benefit the rakyat.

[Hence my comments to "Another Malaysian success story", and my follow up comments that I see no reason to change them.]

He added that the salary differential in the Malaysian civil service is among the worst in the world.

Hongkong and Singapore have one of the highest paid civil servant, because of that ,their government are able to deliver efficiency and without corruption.

Most of the HK civil servant are able to afford to sent their child to UK for further education.Even a HK firemen are able to sent his child to UK

same goes to the police force in Malaysia.Give them pay rise and they will stop taking corruption and deliver better policing.

I feel so sick when i saw the headline "PM: Good 3 years but more to be done"

Good 3 years???

well, my little brudder need some servicing...

The question is why should civil servants only be paid an increase in salary. What about those that are not in the civil service? We have also been hit by the high inflation and is suffering too. My salary is not up because the govt has not attracted enough FDI and stimulate the country's economy enough.

JEFF OOI says: My context is my sympathy for civil servants who draw RM500 salary per month, and the medium-rung ones who draw up to RM3,500+ per month. While the former is the hardcore poor, the latter no better groping with the daily grind in Klang Valley. Those in the private sector, especially the greedy ones, will not be able to fathom their hardship. I have many friends in these two categories.

Instead, it has wasted a lot of public funds that cause other things to be increased eg fuel, toll, etc and these have directly or indirectly made other price of goods go up.

Also, why should the govt bailed these privatised projects/companies out using our funds? Shouldn't the govt evaluate and only give out these privatisation to capable companies in the first place? This will cause the raayat further grief and sufferings. Why can't the govt put these heads of such privatised companies in jail for mismanagement of funds? It seems the govt is using our funds to do exploratory businesses and awarding such privatisations to people who are not capable in the first place. There should not be any crutches given and the people and these privatised companies that failed should be made 100% accountable for any failures. If not, the govt should give me the privatisation. If I fail, what's the problem and whats the diference? Is there cronyism, favouritism and nepotism in play?

I feel that instead of giving out an increase in salary to only civil servants, the govt should used that money to reduce inflation and lower prices of goods via subsidies or give greater subsidies. This then will benefit everyone. Non-civil servants are humans too and we need to survive as well.

I wonder what we have got for the '3 good years' he had said? Fuel hike?, toll hike?, increase inflation?, increase inefficiencies?, increase corruptions?, increase cronyism?, increase nepotism?, increase denials?, increase wastage of public funds?, increase racism and seditious remarks by UMNO? etc.

Perhaps the '3 good years' were meant for him only. He did say: "I am rich".

"JEFF OOI says: My context is my sympathy for civil servants who draw RM500 salary per month, and the medium-rung ones who draw up to RM3,500+ per month. While the former is the hardcore poor, the latter no better groping with the daily grind in Klang Valley. Those in the private sector, especially the greedy ones, will not be able to fathom their hardship. I have many friends in these two categories".

While i agree with your context and your sympathy with the civil servants, I also feel for those in the private sectors - the not greedy ones and there are many, who only wants to provide for the families and themselves their daily subtanance. If the Govt gives in to the civil servants, what about the private employees who also has bills to pay and families to feed? All I am saying is while I sympathise with the plight of the civil servants, it would be better that the govt help used the funds to reduce inflation so that everyone benefits irregardless of whether you are a civil servant or not.

JEFF OOI says: When was your last salary adjustment? The civil servants had their last one in 1992, with a regimented RM30-RM80 annual increment based on their respective salary scale. What was your year-end bonus? The civil servants has theirs at the mercy of the government as an ampun kurnia and not a mandatory entitlement. Where do you live? I have many civil servant friends who live in low-cost housing areas, not mentioning San Peng flats after toiling for 15 years in the government offices. And BTW, what's your starting pay compared with theirs -- even as a graduate?

I am sure you will agree with me that there are also those that are NOT in the civil service that earns RM500 or less and are living from hand to mouth each day.

Referring to the top picture, is it not 'Haram' in Islam Hadhari to be in contact with a woman's bare skin without any cover?

think we should increase the civil service pay by at least 200% and lower level to 300%
The amount spent for this could easily be defrayed from more efficient spending and competitive bid/tender process.
Also it maybe time for us to review the toll concession agreement and if need be bite the bullet to buy up these companies with OUR Petronas money

Jeff,
I agree with what you say that civil servants need to have their plights looked into. However, I also agree with merdeka that those who are in private sectors are also suffering.

I work in the private sector and my salary is within the RM500 - RM3,500 range. Furthermore, I don't get government benefits like civil servants do. So, should I complaint about my plights? I have to think 100 times over whether I should change my running down 5-yr old Kembara due to its high fuel consumption. Knowing that I can't afford a non-national brand, I've decided to keep my old car. Partly it's because my trade-in deal would not be able to cover the loan of the car itself! Now, should I feel screwed up?

All I can say is this: "Everyone, if you think you are screwed by the current government, come next GE, vote for change."

Have a nice day.

Perhaps the government should set a minimum wages like other country does.

Seriously, corruption do play a big part in driving down our economy, hence, our purchasing power. Anyone care to comment?

nothing related to this topic but noticed SG is in higher placing for the Asian Games than us
Hope this would not give reasons for our govt to pursue the 1/2 billion ringgit offshore training
Will be dead shocked if this could even be bumped to RM1B!!

Jeff, I do see your reason for the call of civil servant pay rise, however I do not agree that we should raise their salary just because they are poor.

You get paid what you are worth, because IF you are worth much more, you would have easily gotten another job with higher pay.

If you have good planning and strong ambition, you would have study hard, work smart and voted for the right government. So if you are getting RM500 and complaining that life isn't fair... Wake Up, you ask for it.

I am all for pay rise, but not because they are poor. Pay rise should be given based on performance.

u r right jeff..some of the civil servants they need an increase in their salary..RM500 per month? it is not enough. then i wonder if the govt. had so much money in building up all those mega projects, why the didn't increase the salary of their workers?

Our civil servants need more than just the pay raise to improve their lives in the long run. A better and fairer system of performance appraisal should be in place as a start. What is the point the majority at the same scale get the same amount of increment without proper appraisal of their performance? Salary increment has to tie to performance which should be appraised fairly to provide motivation factor for them to improve themselves. Is this not obvious for the government to see ? Or the government just lacks the will to push or drag our overly bloated high inertia civil service to move ahead ?

Jeff,

Don't forget the old and poor pensioners

LKJ

Jeff,

Even if the CS get their pay rise, there's nothing much to cheer about.
Saviour this which just came in:
U R G E N T

Toll rates at five highways in and around the Klang Valley would be
raised between 30 sen and RM1 from Jan 1, Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy
Vellu announced in Kuala Lumpur today.

-- BERNAMA

Folks

Salary increase of civil servants should be limited to those who are on TIME-SCALE.

The increase should limit to those earning Ringgit 3,000 per month AND LESS.

Generous increase to those earning Ringgit 1,000 and less

Recommended per month

500 and less - increase by 90&

501- 750 - increase by 75%

751-1,000 - increase by 50%

1,001 -1,500 - increase by 35%

1,501 - 2,000 - increase by 25%

2,001- 2,500 - increase by 20%

2,501- 3,000 - increae by 15%

3,000 and above: NO INCREASE... these are the guys who sit on their bums 80 % of their time in the office and instruct the lower staff to do the work for them while they themselves spend time moonlighting on shares and politicking during office hours. No increase for them until the completion of the next general election.

Folks

If we don't i for those below Ringgit 1,000 and below, those UMNO cronies are going to use Petronas' profits to become instant millionnaires.

Folks

This is class issue even though we know the majority of the civil servants are our Malay brothers and sisters.

GreenJellyBean

You said.... I am all for pay rise, but not because they are poor. Pay rise should be given based on performance.

What performance??? In the govt service ???

Govt jobs are for poverty alleviation. Otherwise, they are quite unemployable in the highly competitive corporate world.

The problem for Malaysian public service that govt jobs are for propping up UMNO's instant millionnaires.

Folks

For those who say country cannot support the generous increases I have outlined, the solution is simple:

Those suspicious instant millionnaires' assets should be subject to ACA and the law, and if found guilty, confiscate their assets.

Close monitoring of where Petronas profits and the use of EPF funds have gone to. Most of these monies are being used to further enrich the UMNO cronies.

Stop the nonsensical buying up companies by Govt own entities in the name of bumiputra ownership. Its rubbish.. its disguised criminal exploitation to create an ultra-rich bumiputra layer from an already rich bumiputra.

The poor bumiputras are those in the less than Ringgit 1,000 income bracket in Govt service and those bending their backs in the rural kampungs.

You cant have the pie and eat it.

One hand, the government is providing a job to all rakyat regardless of needs and performance etc etc. You can work for life.

Of course, many of them are duplication of works, inefficiency. Then at least rakyat got a job.

Now we have one of the world largest civil force vs per capital.

Give them a 50-100% pay rise and trim the workforce by 40%

Given the final total bill if salaries are increased across board, there's an alternative they can do but it will be tough to implement - allowance increases pegged to cost of living index based on location. However, one is not sure if they even have that sort of omnibus at the moment, so it's just a thought for something they will have to do in the near future; perhaps Cuepacs can help there.

Meanwhile, another round of inflation-busting activities - wholesale purchase of essentials for the civil servants under some revived, but transparent, cooperatives scheme. And put the accounts on the web.

Having said that, one of the mindset changes that needs to take place is that the civil service is a safe harbour for indifferent services and attitude. It isn't and mustn't because it's not sustainable in this age.

If this govt can insist on KPIs for its GLCs, it can insist on KPIs for itself. No position should be spared from measuring up to productivity increases before there be justification beyond cola-adjustments for salary increases.

Furthermore, bonuses should be based on the same principles as applied in the private sector - merit, capability and performance/results actually delivered.

So far, bonuses have been given out without using them to prod the sort of service improvements that will lift up the investibility of this country, with attendant increases in profits in the private sector that then can translate to higher tax revenues for the government which can then spend more to pay higher salaries to the civil service.

All this however takes time and time is something the rakyat do not have when faced with the spectre of another round of price increases they can no longer afford.

So many of us here and in other blogs have sounded this out years ago. Our concerns and fears have fallen on deaf ears.

Those jokers and hyenas continue to spend what the country cannot afford on schemes and dreams the rakyat cannot subscribe. As the Unseen One would have said if He could stop laughing at our mess, 'you elect monkeys, you get peanuts'.

These simians approve projects with scant regard for good fiduciary practices and clear risk analysis. Just on personal whims and political winds. Who gives a shit for a multimillion sports complex in a former colonizer's land? Why build another istana at almost four hundred million when there're so many new ones around? How much are the rakyat getting back from the F1 racing event against the money that has been burnt staging it to such an extent the rich and famous of foreign lands who come to view it are being subsidized no less than the way we're subsidizing our car exports to the same countries? Likewise the regatta. Likewise the two submarines with tribute money amounting to over a hundred million euros paid for unspecifiable services to a local company. Likewise those projects under the banner privatisation now reborn private financial initiative. Likewise that 21 million ringgit tower in the town so that people can see the surrounding shanty roofs that spell our historical heritage; how much entrance fee can you collect in a day that will pay the interest to raise that sum? And what has happened to Open Tenders, Mr OpenTender? Can you prove that the 'negotiated' tender price reflects real-value pricing benchmarks that presumably your govt machinery has been keeping when you decide some of the open tender candidates can be quietly converted to mano-a-mano's? Like the way one ex-minister converted leasehold land to freehold because his house sits there in that housing estate near a golf course? Which idiot of a private enterprise will quote you the least profitable price it can exact the users of its service when it knows it has your undivided attention in its pocket?

When they psyche themselves to come out with hairbrained schemes, did they take a second to weigh the costs of benefits foregone from doing other things more directly related to revenue generation, productivity increase and rakyat welfare?

Now everyone's going to suffer the tsunami of economic disruption and social disintegration. It's not a joke, that which can come any minute, that which is building up now.

This PM is like the emperor without clothes. He thinks he is doing well; he yearns for the same adulation he thinks the last election had delivered to him. But his thoughts are not coherent before he speaks so that he has to invent what he wants to say as he goes along. It shows he has no position on anything; it shows he's just reacting without a plan. These are recipes for a national public relations disaster. It also reflects that the planning exercises are suspect not only on content but also on objectives and final beneficiaries.

He should realize people are not fools for seeing that his 'apparent' focus on moving the 9MP and his 'apparent' mumblings about 'vision' and '2020' and 'developed state' are all falling flat. The 9MP is a continuation of the other MPs; with a budget, you cannot avoid spending to develop and build infrastructure. Such spending is part and parcel of running a country. It is not part and parcel of raising the country above the quagmire we're in. You cannot open some land in a very badly pr'ed country and say, 'come' - even to locals with money. Because people must be blind not to see that you have been saying one thing and doing another.

And we have plenty to contend with. Let's take this and many other issues and controversies that will be coming up - soon - and put it in some context:

The socialibilities of the alliance is finished. Stop talking about national unity and solidarity. Start worrying about what remains inside places like umno that continues to bleed the sensibilities of people of all races, once called Malaysians long ago. No more exists species that, says Yoda.

The competitiveness of the country is under threat. Tell the rakyat how many of the wells sunk by Petronas overseas at indescribable cost are dry. Clarify the national emergency plan post-2009 when this country may start becoming a net oil importer. Given that commodity's role in our national reserves, that's not an economic shift; that's a tectonic fracture. Expose the actual bleeds in the GLCs. It's not only the water pipes that are leaking. Explain what methods are being used to separate politics, race and religion from governance in this country. Clarify to all the rakyat what Zakaria Deros meant when he said 'others are also doing it', said when he was holding a position that was a political appointment made by Umno, a position amongst many that Umno a political party said would not be given to election in order to prevent it being 'politicised'. How many more Deroses are there in the woodwork of Umno? How many more HM Sultan's of Selangor would be needed to bring sanity and sense back to the governance of state and federal?

Someone said that the Chinese here are being systematically marginalized.

How else could he have come to this conclusion that this is a hidden agenda applied by the twin method of denial, neglect, coercion and affirmation? Oh forgive me, that's not twins but quadruplets.

A group of senior citizens sit at one of those benches, whiling away their twilight years. Asked where are their children, one said Singapore, another said China, yet another said Australia, then another Canada. Asked if they would be coming back, they chorused: 'you got to be joking.' Are we talking here about Pakistan, Iraq, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, Nepal? is it still 2 million who have left permanently in the last decade, or is it really 3.3 million at the last count? Productive, brainy, hardworking, law-abiding, loyal citizens. If we are the only nation in the world that practises bodysnatching, expect no one will be surprised if we are also the only nation in the modern world that continues to force an entire community of its citizens to be so fed-up as to leave. Who loses in the end?

You go to Petaling Street, so strewn with rubbish at night you wonder how much MPKL was trying to save by not putting wastebins there. We're having real value-adds now; we can see that - the Chinese kid with dyed hair and poor english has outsourced his stall to the cleancut Bangladeshi who speaks with semi-oxford english; the kid has moved upmarket; he's now selling handphones in Sg Wang Plaza.

Meet another one and he looks sad and pale. Ask him if he's been in the joint lately for being caught selling those CDs. His sad eyes tell you the answer; he adds he has not much education; the only consolation you can give him for the injustice done to him by Life-In-Malaysia is that you have not much education yourself. And when the MPs say that in future, mechanics in this country must have certificates from those government vocational schools, populated only by malay students, in order to be called 'mechanics', you wonder how those Chinese and indian kids slaving away at the hundreds of run-down motor workshops across the land, will survive a future that has already been strangled right now by the pythons of this country.

If you depoliticise education in this country, you can help revive the brain and skill assets to rebuild a new direction for the economy so that there be more funds to pay salary increases for EVERYone.

Does it matter whether it's a malay or a chinese who succeeds in Malaysia from government support? Both come to the world from the same maternity ward with stained leaking ceiling and overworked housemen. Is the government of Malaysia still practising the zero-sum game with regards educational support, scholarship awards, bank loans?

That kid of a president in that political party exudes 'happiness' that the number of chinese schools will be increased by 2 (yes two, primary) and a munificent sum of RM2.1 million will be given to chinese education in this country. That total can't even pay for grass-cutting of the UITM campuses. What's he so happy about? Would he like to explain to his cabinet colleagues a day in the life of the chinese school principal - tell the national school principals to go out and canvass for donations as well so that the poor students can continue to suffer under bursting-point conditions in order to get a measly education to become motor mechanics and cd-sellers in the primes of their later lives when their schools could have been given better facilities so that they can develop better skills to earn better money. And they're not joining those national outfits because people have already stopped believing there isn't a hidden agenda against the other races behind Umno governance.

This is written while thinking about the poor civil servants from Kangar to Kota Kinabalu.

And the message is this: don't forget, ever, the private sector too.

Though the basic pay might be RM500, I believe you can't ignore all the other benefits like free medical etc. I do believe that the lowest rung should be more than that though. However, it is important to overhaul the whole pay scheme. A pen pusher should nopt be paid the samer as a doctor, teacher, nurse or policeman. These 4 categtories should be considered as crucial services and paid accordingly. Then we would get better quality people applying to become teachers, police who wouldn't think so readily of increasing their income by dubious means, and doctors and nurses who stay where they are vitally needed.

yothemans

you said....same goes to the police force in Malaysia.Give them pay rise and they will stop taking corruption and deliver better policing.

Not necessarily so.

Bukit Aman cahps should only be considered for pay rise on ONE critical condition: The demonstrated ability to be unbiased, neutral, apolitical application of the laws of the country, and demonstrated show of being un-influenced by UMNO.

Pay rise for civil servants is a good idea as long as they agree to get at least some work done while they are at 'work'. Current productivity levels at Govt. offices/organisations must be pretty pathetic. I always notice that the majority of Govt. employees are either on their 'tea break' or chatting away oblivious to the fact that a customer is standing at the counter awaiting their services. There just seem to be too many employees at Govt. Depts. - maybe they are just following the precedence set in Parliment by our beloved, cherished PM Badawi who seems to be keeping himself pretty much 'entertained' at the party. As for Islam Hadhari - it must be enforced for only the 'ordinary' citizens of Malaysia & not the VVIPs who can have all the fun they want & later literally 'blow' up the 'trouble makers'with a grenade or two! Long Live my Beloved Malaysia.

Maybe the govt will say that Dr Lim Teck Ghee's method was wrong....again.

Why all the negativity for these folks who are paid pittance for work that most of us will not do? People here talk of inefficiency and laziness, but try doing menial adminstrative work day in and day out and see how motivated you could be, especially on the salary scheme that the guys Jeff are looking out for getting.

Where would any of us be if we can't get our ICs done by the lowly paid clerk at the JPN, or our passports stamped and approved at the immigrations department who by the way has managed to bring down their approval times to 1 week.. and now are striving for 3 days?

We blame the enforcement agencies for not enforcing the law, we blame them for taking bribes, we blame them for abusing their powers, yet almost everyone I know have never actually been understanding for fines and summonses that they recieved, be it a parking offence, traffic offence etc. A few months ago people were all for jumping on the police constable who told a woman wrongly identified as a PRC citizen of nude squatting... even though that was part of their procedures. So much for unbiased interpretation of the law.

Most of us here at one point or another made a choice not to enter the civil service, what does that say about us? And we have the nerve to deny these people some compensation for doing the work we shunned to do. Shame on us all.

our pak also forgot to say the monsoon cup is a way to help his son in law to recover the losses incurred in selling of the ECM libra shares...

Do the civil servants deserve a pay rise?? Now let me ponder. Who the hell are civil servants anyway? Are they the ones who are supposed to serve the people? Or are they the ones who serve the UMNO Politicians?

Lets just try some things for size.

Now was it not the dereliction of a civil servants duty that saw the Port Kelang MP Zakaria Deros get away with his palatial bungalow in Pandamaran without any submission of plans? Are the civil servants te ones who are not even bothered to make sure the delinquent MP and councillor pays the fine that he up to now has not paid?

Is it not the civil servants who have lost billions in foreign exchange gambling with our monty in Bank NEgara? And isn't their silence that is ensuring the second finance minister to get away with all that?

Isn't the civil servants responsible for all the dirty streets that we see and the pot holes all over the place?

Isn't it the civil servants who ensure that government scholarships are denied to non-Malay deserving pupils?

Isn't it the civil servants who ensure developers charge non-bumiputra buyers of their property 7-15% more than what they do for bumiputras?

Isn't it the civil servants who make sure that the universities are filled with Malay students only?

Isn't it the civil servants who uphold the aparthied that is practiced in MAlaysia?

Isn't it the civil servants who make sure the schol system is almost entirely made up of only a single race of teachers?

Isn't it the civil service that casued the ruckus over the Rayappan corpse?

Isn't it the civil service that through their own apathy and participation ensure corruption remains rife?

Isn't it the civil service that by its own failure allow the seditious seeches of the UMNO GA recently go unpunished?

Aiya....hand also tired already la...you guys are probably better at putting things together and extending this list.

AS for me...I think they all should be sacked and for those who remain their salaries deducted.

Fact of the matter is all the work that is produced by the civil service can be done by aybe 60% of them.

All of them are basically rent seekers in a way, and desperately seeking government cover for their own inadequacies.

Fact of the matter is Malays in the private sector have done well. I wil not give those I have to deal with any handicap or advantage just because they are Malay because they are all as god if not better than any other race. Left on their own they all as good as you can get from anywhere and they are just as good and competitive. I have my regard and respects for tem. For those who dare not face the truth, hide away in civil service, adn some of whom are making asses of themselves.

Maybe its a minority are the ones to blame. But ou see, it is the silence of the majority which enables the minority to flourish.

But let me say this, I am prepared to take away all that I have said here if teh civil service, based on just the powers they already have act on that Zakaria Deros with the full force of their powers and authority without reference to any politician....maybe I will change my stand.

I agreed with the pay rise if government departments revert back to 5.5 work days.

i forgot to add a smaller note to my last comment.

no MP should be given a raise in any percentage, although I think the one from Jasin can claim a disability allowance for his selective eyepatch.

jararaca

Yes trip the highly bloated civil service by 40 % and procure more computers.

But what do you do with them?

Unemployed civil servants are what Govt Ministers are afraid of: these 40 % will know all the secrets and hanky-pankies of the Ministers... eg drivers, peons and the clerks.

Neil, well written. And I can tell that it comes very much from your experience and observation. If only, there is an avenue, other than blogs to channel this.
How is it that only people like us can see these realities?
Is it so difficult to see that we as a Nation can rise much higher if not for these 'unwritten' policies?
I use to work for a GLC..it practised a promotion by quota! Not that it was in the manuals! Cept that you could always tell that it was a 6-3-1 promotion policy, 1 being filled by Dan Lain Lain and MALAYSIAN Indians! One person (a dll) was passed over for that promotion, and you could see those others that filled the shoes were not examplary employees! This dll I know does not have an unwarranted MC (it probably totalled 6 in her 14 years of service). She knew her job, her Managers had good things to say, but unofficially, her 1 slot was taken up by non deserving you know whats..

If there is any future for us, the Gov must wake up and smell the roses! Malaysia is not going to go anywhere if we continue like this. Me? I guess I will have to look south for a job in CISCO soon!!

Jeff, as for the pay hike? Yes they can have it, provided that it is not coming from increased taxes!
If the gov can see, rather save the monies that it is throwing away, then I don't see why not?

Its all very well to accuse the civil servants of dereliction of duty when incidents like our Dato Zakaria comes out into public knowledge. But we all know that the lower ranks that Jeff is fighting for has almost no say in such things, that they really could not avert their superiors actions even if they want to.

Its all very well to say such things about the public sector, but the private sector is not immuned to such things as well. How many of you have tried to go against your bosses wishes but found yourself towing the line? Don't kid yourself, this is not a unique phenoemenon to the public sector. We're a couple of schmucks to even think so.

Its high time those civil servants get their pay rise. Not only do they need it.. but how else would you attract better grey matter if u don't make the wages attractive??

Great comments Neil. Well done.

BTW, if those failing GLCs are being bought up by the Govt, are they going to count in the NEP statistics now that they are made Govt? Does that mean the NEP targeted goal has fallen? Or is it a ploy from the govt to 'revise' the NEP statistics 'quietly'.

i'm all for helping all Malaysians - civil servants or not, to make a decent living wage. That said, the size of the civil service does need to be looked at. I think we have something between 750,000 to one million civil servants and I read somewhere that our cabinate is larger than that of India's cabinet!

I know of a very honest ketua polis daerah who earns a mere RM 3000/mth in his senior years. Yep a ketua. With the humongous responsibility of a peacekeeper for the entire daerah, one can only have nothing but awe knowing all those sacrifices only earned that guy a kembara and cheap a house. Imagine if he worked for a multinational corp, with the motivation and leadership, he could easily earned 5 digit salary per month.

"Isn't it the civil servants who make sure that the universities are filled with Malay students only?"

I'm hurt by Observer's statements. As a Malay-Chinese multiracial anak watan, I am deeply hurt.

My mom's a civil servant.
Some of my chinese friends are civil servants.
And certainly we do not condone systemic discrimination to any race.

Observer should note that anti-competitive and anti-equal-opportunity actions are not to be blamed on all Malays.

I symphatize my Chinese friends who have to pay more for houses and have fewer opportunity to get scholarship.

Similarly, to say that all Chinese are responsible in creating interethnic business barriers is very wrong.

I saw many non-politically connected Malay friends got intentionally discriminated (despite their merits) by Chinese business owners and trade collusions, especially in several popular local direct marketing companies, in small scale retailing through mandarin language-requirement, and in Malaysia's most popular IT shopping center in KL.

Wow! Great comment Neil. It should be a blogpost/article on its own.

On the matter of civil servant salaries, has anyone actually seen what they're advertising as starting salaries for various job functions? Last year, out of curiousity, I checked out the HR site for govt positions. Imagine that the highest figure you can get is abt RM4k, and that's if you're a doctor (or a very qualified scientist). Accountants make a decent enough - RM2k+, but I think that's with experience.

A friend of mine, upon his return to Malaysia, was thinking of going off the beaten path and with his fresh grad "nilai2 murni" mentality in tow, applied to work for a government job in state government. He was offered a position with a monthly salary of RM600. This was after they reviewed his resume - the fact that he was a chartered acct didn't matter.

It's no wonder that the country is in this state. Add this to the existing batch of 'quality' politicians that we have, and you have a recipe for disaster.

No matter what we think of civil servants, there is something wrong when the entry point is so misaligned with the real world. You want people who are good at their jobs, pay market rate. Reassess the existing workforce and see if anyone's skills are wasted in the wrong positions. Arrest the problem of wastage quickly - weed out corrupt staff first (and start at the top).

It's pitiful that a govt staff can be paid RM500 a month, in this day and age. When his bills are piling up, and his kids need new shoes, or his rented flat sprouts a leak, and someone comes up to him and offers him RM500 to put through forms to convert leasehold land to freehold, what do you think he'll do?

As is often repeated in this forum, you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Or at the very least, you tempt otherwise sane and moral people to behave like monkeys.

JEFF OOI says: Got it Najah!. If REFORM is expensive, try REBELLION that will come Umno's way one day, by this Magic Middle class people, starting from the city.

Folks

The civil service is in reality a tool of the rule party of government.

That is true in all countries.

Over the last 30 years, the civil service is the tax-payer's fully funded arm of UMNO, not even Barisan National. All the policies and decisions made by the Minister of Education, Minister of Higher Education on places in universities, jobs, contracts, APs, they are made to just ONE political party. Even the other ruling component parties don't get the crumbs.

For years, the civil service is the place of last resort for those unemployable graduates who cannot find a job in the private sector and whose useless command of English is not required in the civil service

The point I want to make is that,in reality, civil service in Malaysia CANNOT be judged for its PERFORMANCE.. it is irrelevant in Malaysian context.

The professionalism of the civil service envisaged by the British colonial masters was and is continually been hijacked for political interests and convenience of the ruling dominant political party. And thats the brutal fact.

You and I can whinge and idealise what the CIVIL SERVICE SHOULD BE. The days have passed and the rot in the current civil service is beyond repair, unless there is a change of government that believes in the rule of law, the neutrality of the civil service, ensures the accountability of the civil service to Parliament and to the public and that it services for the public good and national interest instead of political interest.

That day will NEVER under the present govt.

Meanwhile, fight for the pay increase of those lower rung workers in the civil service and damn those Datuk Ketua Pengarahs and Tan Sri Setia Usahas, who are the spineless and brainless Ministerial and Dept heads we have aroudn the country. Their salaries should be reduced to offset the increase in the salaries of those RM 500 and below/month.

The

if the 'orang besar' knows how to spend on projects and etc, i'm sure they could get an increment.

when there is an increment, there would be a better service and productivity. maybe this really demotivates them from providing a better service to us.

lastly, all these poor service is caused but these 'orang besar'

Jeff you wrote about the Govt having to cough up RM11 billion to save those GLCs. I have a question. Does GLC's consitute direct ownership in part?
Having Khazanah as the 'administrators' by buying up these shares, the Goverment is indirectly bailing out its commercial interest. Now if these companies are public companies, how do they account these bail outs?
My question comes, as I was told that I do not have any right to take the Government to Court (Here as part owners of Malaysia Airlines, whilst it practised gender discrimination by terminating my pregnant wife...now that it is USING MY HARD EARNED TAX as a bailout to a company that terminated my wive! I AM PISSED!...sorry for going off tangent, but thats what they are doing, using our hard earned money and giving it away to MORONS!

Salary increases can only be justfied by productivity and efficiency, and serving the rakyat.

Mis-utilising tax payer money for helping ailing companies is wrong, but so is rewarding insolence.

Yes the cost of living is high, but its also because of the waste of resources. Productivity losses on Friday aren't repaid, for instance. All those "tea" breaks. Its a wonder how much the civil service actually works in a day.

Those people making snide comments about efficiency and performance of civil servants should try living on RM500 a month in this day and age. How can you even think about performing at your job when you're paid that much?

You're more likely to think about taking side jobs or even taking bribes to pay bills and feed yourself(or even worse, a family). Where would the motivation come from when the salary tier is such that you have trouble considering buying a house or car with even if you work your arse off?

In the public sector, their career progression is not only subject to the politics in their workplace, it is strongly subject to politics out of their workplaces as well.

My father was a civil servant for 30 plus years before he retired. He spent much of his career teaching the blind. His students loved him. I don't see how anyone can accuse him of being lazy when he spent most of the day after school on his Braille typewriter. It's wrong to label all civil servants as lazy and inefficient.

I came out of public schools and while I won't say all teachers are good, there were certainly people who would be doing better for themselves in the private sector.

The government is doing little to lure talent and skill into the public sector which is why we're left with what we have working in it. The public sector is not a viable career option for people with ability.

Most of the people at the top did not earn their places by merit of performance, it's swayed by their place in local politics(UMNO). The state of the civil service is the direct result of the goverment's neglect and careless attitude towards it.

Why is it that we only hear of the goverment spending money buying up failed enterprises? When are they going to invest it wisely on ones that are thriving instead? Why don't they buy up the toll companies so our money goes back into the goverment instead of having to pay subsidies and let the taxpayers be subject to extortion?

[someone said]
I saw many non-politically connected Malay friends got intentionally discriminated (despite their merits) by Chinese business owners and trade collusions, especially in several popular local direct marketing companies, in small scale retailing through mandarin language-requirement, and in Malaysia's most popular IT shopping center in KL.
[/someone said]

As someone who's not Malay or Chinese, I can say from my observation that most Chinese bosses, while may hold stereotypical views at first, but if you can make money for him, he'll take care for you. For most malay, otoh, race and religion is the most important factor. This is the reason, imo, why a lot of Chinese companies are successful, but a lot of Malay companies are not.

I know an Indian guy from a GLC who worked solo to create a marketable product, and the product won a best product prize at an Asean level contest. They sent a malay guy who had nothing to do with the product to receive the trophy, and sent another malay guy who had nothing to do with the project to manage the product, and transfered off, the guy who conceptualized and worked his ass off to develop it, to somewhere unimportant. Of course the new manager knew nothing so the product ultimately failed.

Don't go asking for a job in a Chinese business and then hope they find something for you to do. Prove your worth first. As an analogy I've seen plenty of pirate VCD vendors who hire malays and indians when the area has a lot of malays/indians customers. Don't go to a place where all the customers are Chinese and hoped to be hired. The government is not going to come running to bail them out, extend loans etc. And for your part, if you become a business owner, instead of getting all malays employees, try looking for the best people to do the job, you'll be more likely to succeed.

I'm not saying all Malays are bad or all Chinese are good or all Indians are good, etc. This is just my observation.

Oops, while I was ranting away with an OT post, I forgot to mention the civil service salary problems.

I've very little opinion of civil service staff and that's primarily attributed to the british sitcom, Yes Minister. I agree with the MP, iinm, who said general administration staff, of which ther are lot of, should be reduced and increase others like police and firemen and nurses. Redistribute the savings from the reduction to improve the salary of others. Instead of hiring more people use ICT to increase productivity, especially in the administration side. Reduction doesn't have to mean termination, can offer VSS or wait for natural retirement, all while reducing intake. The high costing monsoon cup, F1 is not a waste if it can indirectly generate income for Malaysia. Rich guys will have their fun, and I've read that these are the kind of events where a lot of the business deals are done, prospoects discussed, and the fruits from the deals are the ones which will translate to job for the poor. I think it's very narrow sighted to stop events like monsoon cup/F1, what we need is sustainable income, not charity. The government should launch projects in rural areas only if there's a good chance it'll succees.

cic_lemur: while you might have a good example from your Indian GLC product example, as a DLL (non Malay, Chinese or Indian), I too have examples where I have seen Chinese businessmen/women isolate other races.

And it is happening not only in the traditional businesses, but also in MNC where they make up the top portion of the management. I had an Indian friend who was very good, but was forced to leave his job for something else after he was bypassed for promotion after one too many times.

Just like the quota system that someone said the Gov practises, chinese companies is also suppose to have the token Malay in the BOD (preferably with strong cables to get more contracts) while the rest is made up of chinese.

To say that one race is better, harderworking or more intelligent then the other is rubbish. I have studied overseas with all these three races, and do not really see a disctinction among the top people.

I also have a friend, a self made businessman who has been trying to expand his optical shop franchise. But being a malay, he is often sidelined by shopping complex owners (who invariably belong to one race) and he is forced to seek political help to expand his business. Trade collusions are real, very real. It covers not only IT, but many other areas and for a non-malay to break the hold that the Chinese business have is very very difficult if not impossible. And they manage to keep others at bay, in what ever way possible.

While the chinese boss will look after you well if you are a performer, he will never allow you to be the main person. You know that you are there to fit the need of making money for the boss, thats all. The moment you become a threat, you can expect to be shown the door.

Thats why my malay friends in Singapore can earn good money, life a comfortable life, but at the end of the day, leave feeling like a second class citizen.

All races should wake to the fact that what is happening was not brought about the last few years, but has a long history. As people get more educated, they will realize that they are being downtrodden, either by the gov class or the business class.

To expect one side to give up their 'power' without the other to do the same is utter folly.

pontius, yes I agree with you, a non-Chinese working for a Chinese boss may not be a bed of roses, this may be true for all races not just the Chinese.