MALAYSIA
Malaysian Public Servants have been told they must commit to lifelong learning if they want to remain relevant in a technological society and keep their jobs.
The warning came from two retired senior Public Servants who said today’s workers had a responsibility to stay abreast of the latest developments.
A. Jayanath and Ramon Navaratnam were commenting on Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad’s recent remarks that the Public Service was too big and could be reduced, given the current trend in automation and data exchange.
Minister for Home Affairs, Muhyiddin Yassin later explained that this did not imply an immediate downsizing, saying he personally felt this should not be done within the next five years.
Mr Jayanath, who was an officer in the Administrative and Diplomatic Service from 1973 to 2005, said it was silly to expect most jobs from his day would still be relevant now, citing clerical work as one example.
“This issue is nothing new. For example, the education sector will benefit from technological changes so most routine jobs in that industry will become redundant, affecting a large chunk of the Civil Service,” Mr Jayanath said.
“So, they can do one or two things now. Either commit to some sort of lifelong learning to keep themselves relevant in their fields or think of taking up alternative careers. Otherwise, they’ll be stuck.”
Former Secretary-General in the Minister of Transport, Mr Navaratnam said the Government must carefully plan any downsizing efforts or risk getting a serious backlash.
The economist said the Government should go for the “unproductive and lousy” workers first.
“If they do not change their ways after being reached out to, they should be warned, then let go,” Mr Navaratnam said.
“At that point, the Government can offer them a voluntary retirement scheme. That’s the easiest way to go about this. Of course, if they are delinquents and corrupt, taking action is the best way forward.”
He agreed with his colleague that the Government must also come up with a plan to get redundant Public Servants ready for the new “alternative jobs” once they were out of the Public Service.
Kuala Lumpur, 26 February, 2019
