No downsizing of civil service workforce due to e-government system - Muhyiddin

The 1.6 million-strong civil service workforce will not be downsized as a result of the ongoing implementation of the electronic government system (e-government), Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.

He gave an assurance that while an increase in productivity and public service effectiveness was important, this must not be linked with making the civil service workforce smaller.

"Civil servants can carry out multiple tasks to enhance public delivery services.

"The use of technology cannot be avoided, but the civil service workforce must also find ways to improve work quality," he said at a gathering with civil servants here today.

The prime minister said this in response during a question and answer session to whether numbers in the civil service workforce will be reduced once the e-government system is fully implemented.

"For example, if before this three people were needed to accomplish a single task, only one would suffice once the e-government is implemented, while the other two can work on other tasks," he said.

While acknowledging the fact that job scopes may differ once e-government fully takes off, the prime minister said the technologies applied would add value to the public delivery service.

Muhyiddin said he was satisfied with the performance of civil servants, but nevertheless expressed confidence that the bar could be set even higher in line with current developments.

-- BERNAMA