Aide Pm Friendly To Civil Service Harapan Govt Threatened Them

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Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has been very friendly with civil servants and rewarded them accordingly, unlike the confrontational approach taken by the Pakatan Harapan administration where officers were threatened with termination and scapegoated when things went wrong. 
This is according to Ismail Sabri's special aide, Kamarul Zaman Yusoff, in a column published in Utusan Malaysia today. 
He said Harapan had failed to treat the civil service right as it pledged it would in its 2018 election manifesto.
“After being in government for 22 months, various statements and actions by Harapan leaders, particular from DAP, showed that the civil service was not well respected but subjected to pressure, criticism and intimidation,” he said. 
Without naming any leaders, Kamarul Zaman said he recalled how a DAP MP described civil servants as a burden while another demanded the Harapan government downsize the public service. He also cited noted how a DAP lawmaker proposed in Dewan Rakyat for the government to reform the pension scheme benefits.
Scapegoats
He also alleged that civil servants were made scapegoats when the Harapan administration failed to resolve issues, such as the ratification of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the controversy surrounding the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, among others.
“Civil servants were said to be sabotaging the Harapan government, namely they were the cause of the planned reform agenda being delayed or failed to be implemented. Those who said it were Harapan leaders, be it from DAP, Amanah or PKR,” said Kamarul Zaman.
Kamarul Zaman Yusoff“Worse still, they transferred and froze on a whim any key officers who were steadfast in defending the ethics of the public services, including ministerial secretaries-general,” he said. 
Kamarul Zaman further said such a confrontational approach taken by the Harapan government was clearly reflected by the absence of the Civil Service Premier Gathering (Mappa), which was held annually during BN’s time but was not organised during the Harapan administration.
He said the then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who attended a Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) conference in 2019, urged civil servants to “tie their stomach” so that the national debt, which reached RM1 trillion can be reduced.
‘Harapan reneged on pledges’
Even worse, he said the Harapan government also did not honour a wage increment pledged by former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.
“Ismail Sabri took a different approach from Harapan by being very friendly with civil servants since taking office. There were several occasions where Ismail Sabri paid tribute to them,” he said. 
“He pledged to focus on overhauling the image of civil servants as well as the landscape that public sector organisations operate in,” said Kamarul Zaman.
In his meeting with Cuepacs president Adnan Mat, Kamarul Zaman said the Ismail Sabri pledged to consider implementing an RM1,800 minimum wage for civil servants and other suggestions brought up by the union. 
“Cuepacs also raised some of the problems faced by civil servants during the Harapan government and Ismail Sabri committed to help them,” he said. 
“Ismail Sabri also approved an annual grant of RM4 million to Cuepacs and agreed to officiate the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Cuepacs office building besides promising to revive Mappa,” said Kamarul Zaman. 
The Malaysian Reserve reported in October 2019 that Putrajaya terminated 2,263 civil servants from Jan 1, 2018, to June 1, 2019, in a bit to trim the bloated service and improve the country’s finances.
In his book ‘Capturing Hope: The Struggle Continues for a New Malaysia’, Mahathir admitted the challenges he faced when dealing with the 1.6 million-member civil service and said some had lost their professionalism. 
“The civil service was saddled with low levels of productivity, and up to 40 percent of the annual budget went to public-sector emoluments including salaries, pensions, various allowances and financial benefits. We had to do something about this, but it wasn’t going to be easy,” he wrote. - Mkini

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