Many complaints despite wage increase, says chief secretary

August 28, 2024

Many complaints despite wage increase, says chief secretary

PUTRAJAYA: Chief secretary to the government Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar says many citizens have taken to social media to complain that the services provided by civil servants “remained the same”, despite the recent announcement of a salary hike.

“Malaysian citizens are craving better service from the public sector. So we need to give them that,” he said after presenting appointment letters to officers from key ministries and departments today.

On Aug 16, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced that civil servants will be getting salary increments of between 7% and 15% under the new Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA) from December this year.

Shamsul also called for civil servants to show greater dedication to their work and not be absent from duty during office hours.

“If they come in late, take extended breaks for breakfast, or spend too much time at lunch, they need to make up for those lost hours,” he said.

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He also emphasised the importance of public servants displaying more “charisma” in the workplace, especially since the public can easily record their behaviour.

“When videos like these are shared, they reinforce negative perceptions of public servants, which is detrimental.”

Meanwhile, Shamsul called for other agencies to emulate the road transport department’s (JPJ) decision to extend its operating hours at its counters on Mondays and Fridays after the wage increase.

Last week, JPJ said its counters would remain open for an extra hour on these two days in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Penang, and every Sunday and Thursday in Johor.

The department’s director-general Aedy Fadly Ramli said these particular days were high-traffic days with a significant number of customers and that the initiative would be implemented in stages in other states.