MALAYSIA
The main Malaysian Opposition political party, Pakatan Harapan (PH) has promised not to cut the size of the 1.63 million-strong Public Service should it win power in the country’s General Election.
PH said the role of Government and the number of PS employees varied from country to country depending on its needs and circumstances.
Malaysia’s PS employee ratio is 1 to 19.37, compared with 1:71.4 in Singapore, China (1:108.3), Indonesia (1:110) and the UK (1:118).
PH said it would instead focus on improving Public Service delivery, as well as rationalising the roles and functions of Ministries.
Meanwhile, a former senior PS employee has urged all political parties to avoid politicising the country’s Public Service.
Ramon Navaratnam said the current public sector structure needed to be constantly reviewed and revised.
“When it comes to the Civil Service, all parties and Governments, both State and Federal, must insist on efficiency, transparency, competition and meritocracy,” Mr Navaratnam said.
Now Director of the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute, Mr Navaratnam called for independent studies by bodies such as the World Bank to determine whether Malaysia’s Public Service was oversized.
“When we talk about improving the Civil Service, there are norms which can be adopted,” he said.
“This is a matter for professionals to advise on, not politicians.”
Mr Navaratnam said like any organisation, the Public Service must be sustainable and, if need be, restructured to keep up with the times.
The Government has allocated MYR78 billion (A$26 billion) for PS staff remuneration this year, up from MYR42 billion (A$14 billion) in 2010.
Kuala Lumpur, 25 April 2018
