Malaysia’s powerful Public Service union has rejected the concept of paying Government employees bonuses based on merit, or the sector they were in, saying it could lead to a lack of motivation among those who miss out.
The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) says Government workers should be viewed as a team whose members complemented each other, as opposed to “a number of one-man shows”.
President of Cuepacs, Adnan Mat said no sector was more important than another because they all contributed to the development and economic progress of the country.
“If the criteria for giving bonuses is according to the service sector, it gives the impression that certain sectors in the Civil Service are not as important as the sectors that get higher bonuses,” Mr Adnan said.
“This will lead to debates, and is likely to make Civil Servants in certain sectors unmotivated because they think they are not important,” he said.
Mr Adnan said Cuepacs was of the view that bonuses should be given equally to every Public Servant regardless of their merit or the sector they worked in.
Meanwhile, he said he hoped the issue of information leaks from some Departments would not become politicised.
“Civil Servants are always being monitored by various relevant Agencies, including the National Audit Department, to ensure no leakage or corruption occurs while they carry out their duties,” he said.
“Apart from that, Civil Servants are also monitored by their respective Heads of Department as well as having to comply with the stipulated service circular and guidelines.”
Mr Adnan was responding to claims from the head of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Azam Baki who said that corruption cases involving leakage of Government procurements by Public Servants had reached critical proportions, with nearly 50 per cent of such cases involving Government Agencies.
Kuala Lumpur, 3 October 2020
