Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said an incentive payment would be paid pending a review of the Public Service Remuneration System. Photo: File.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has announced an incentive payment of RM2,000 ($A666) for middle and lower-ranked Public Servants “as a recognition of their services”.
He said the money would be paid pending a review of the Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA) currently under way.
“It is not reasonable to expect better performance, higher productivity, but no increase in the wage rate,” Mr Anwar said.
“If we look at a study by the Department of Statistics, we see there has been an increase in productivity, but the increase in wage rates is moderate. There is no encouragement.”
He said he wanted the SSPA to be completed before the middle of next year so that the outcome could be shared during the tabling of the 2025 Budget.
At the same time as he was praising bureaucrats, the Prime Minister had stern words over their profligate use of electricity in government offices.
“Small acts such as turning off the lights could result in huge savings for the government,” Mr Anwar said.
“We always see when there are wastages in other forms, but we forget about how we use electricity in our offices. These are public funds.”
He said when he was Minister of Finance he had outdoor assemblies at the office and would notice that some lights were left on.
“We were out for an hour, so why must the lights be on? It’s not your money, it’s public funds,” he said.
Meanwhile, several groups advocating for the disabled community have called for an audit to be conducted on the Public Service employment process for persons with disabilities.
The groups are questioning why the government has not fulfilled its promise of reserving one per cent of Public Service jobs for disabled persons, given that the policy had existed since 1988.
In a joint statement, the more than 20 groups said that after 35 years of policy implementation failure, the time had come for an audit of the government employment process for disabled persons.
“This audit must examine, among others, pre-employment, including vacancy announcements and recruitment, as well workplace attitudinal orientation and other reasonable accommodation in the Public Service,” the statement said.
Kuala Lumpur, 21 October 2023
