Public service DG reprimands civil servants for being perfunctory, inefficient at work

"We were appointed to help the government solve the problems faced by the people and not just to aim for higher-level positions. Our salaries and allowance will be paid anyway. So, appreciate that.

"I would like to remind us all (civil servants) not to be merely perfunctory. Get rid of the old (work) culture. We all must realise and appreciate the fact that while other workers (in the private sector) are facing retrenchment during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are not even affected," he said during the Public Service Department's monthly assembly held virtually today.

Mohd Khairul Adib also called on civil servants to learn the lesson from the difficult situations faced by the workers in the private sector or those who are self-employed after their sources of income were badly affected by the pandemic.

He said they should also improve their quality of service to change the negative public perception of public service.

"Improve the quality of service and determination to perform the duties of serving the people and to ensure that the government's aspiration is achieved," he said.

Mohd Khairul Adib said if all civil servants maintained their integrity and trustworthiness in discharging their duties, the negative public perception can be corrected and inadvertently improve the image of civil servants.

To ensure that public service will remain relevant, he said civil servants should also increase their knowledge, especially on new technologies so that their existing skills and competencies can be improved in line with the Digital Economy Blueprint launched earlier this year.

He also wanted civil servants to measure the productivity of their work delivery based on the Productivity Blueprint which focuses on productivity as a new source of growth for the country.

He said the increase in productivity is a result of technological advances as well as the efficiency of economic management as a whole.