Only about 5,000 under-performers in civil service - Ali Hamsa

About 5,000 of the 1.6 million civil servants were found to have a performance score of below 60 per cent since the introduction of the civil service's exit policy last year.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa said they comprised those who had committed various offences, including being absent from work for 200 days in a year and moonlighting.

"We do not immediately sack them. We give them training, courses, monitor and place them under observation for six months before they are given an option to quit," he told a media conference after the opening of the NBOS Open Day by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Saturday.

Apart from sending the civil servants concerned for training, he said, they could also be transferred to other departments or given alternative portfolios to improve their performance.

Ali said the civil service's exit policy was well-received by the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS) for the good of the public service now and in the future.

According to 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020 )tabled by Najib in Parliament on Thursday, the government introduced the exit policy for under-performing public servants to rationalise and rightsize the public sector for better productivity and capabilities.