By Singa Terhormat
_________________
In an earlier posting, I had postulated on how the Government had screwed the Malays and the country.
Having produced numerous degree and diploma-holders that were unemployable because they lacked skills for the private sector or to become entrepreneurs operating their own businesses, the Government then proceeded to accommodate them by employing them and bloating the civil service.
With a population of 26 million, Malaysia has 1.3 million civil servants— one of the highest civil servants-to-population ratio in the world. And the numbers are growing. The PM’s Department, for instance, has a workforce in excess of 40.000 persons. In comparison it is reported that the White House has a staff strength of approximately 2,000 persons.
Taking statistics for 2009, Malaysia’s civil servants-to-population ratio was about the highest in the Asia Pacific region.
The relevant figures are as follows:
Malaysia—————————————4.68%
Indonesia————————————–1.79%
Korea——————————————-1.85%
Thailand—————————————-2.06%
Singapore————————————–1.5%
Hong Kong————————————-2.3%
Taiwan——————————————2.3%
Now those who work in the civil service enjoy various employment perks including subsidized car and housing loans, medical care and pensions. These are funded by the taxes the rakyat pays for.
Having such a bloated civil service is obviously an unnecessary burden that the rakyat has to bear.
Amazingly unknown to or ignored by many civil servants here, the rakyat are their true employers to who they owe their primary obligation to. Their bosses are certainly not the heads of their departments or superiors— many of who arrived at their positions by ‘sucking up” to the political leaders— but who in any event are also paid their salaries and perks by the rakyat. Often we find that their primary concern is in attending “lawatan sambil belajar” or seminars and conferences in faraway exotic places or organizing Hari Keluarga and the like for their respective Departments.
Many civil servants including those in the Election Commission, police force and various other Government departments and agencies think they owe a living to the ruling party and so “dance according to the music” of politicians in Government and willingly act against the interests of their true employers, the rakyat,
Having more than double the number of civil servants-to- population ratio than many other countries and whose salaries and perks are paid for by the public, ought not the public expect service from the public sector that is superior to that in those other countries?
Disappointingly what we largely get is dismal service dished out by civil servants who are ill-equipped and poorly-motivated for their jobs and who often do not care a damn about the service provided. To use part of a quotation ascribed to Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister, in describing India’s civil service under the British, our civil service is neither civil nor service.
Tun Musa Hitam once drew a parallel between those who work in Government (which will include politicians and civil servants) and housemaids. Just as one will pay a housemaid a salary and provide board and lodging to that housemaid so she can work comfortably and follow one’s instructions and perform her duties to one’s satisfaction, so too does the rakyat pay a civil servant’s salary and provide other perks so he/she can work comfortably and follow the rakyat’s instructions and perform his/her job to the rakyat’s satisfaction.
We certainly will expect our housemaid to be competent and hardworking. We certainly will not tolerate our housemaid taking control of the house and becoming bossy or ‘talking down’ to us. We certainly will not tolerate our housemaid threatening us and even locking us up in the ‘store-room’ whenever she deems fit. Such a housemaid would be disciplined and likely have her services terminated.
We certainly too will not employ two housemaids when one would suffice.
The Barisan Nasional Government in having molly-coddled our civil servants and in having bloated our civil service to unprecedented heights to accommodate the under-qualified graduates and diploma-holders it has produced has done the nation a great disservice. As a result of having an ill-equipped civil service, today we find instances galore of ill-thought of policies, poor-planning and poor-implementation, and all at great and unnecessary cost to the rakyat.
It has gravely affected the productivity of this nation. Where we were once on par with Singapore in so many matters, we have sadly been left far behind through abject mismanagement.
As in any organization that fails to perform or is unsuccessful, the management of that organization has to take responsibility and bear the brunt of its failures.
Where the management has failed miserably, then it ought to be replaced.
It is time to be rid of the Barisan Nasional.
Frankie
December 31, 2012
One civil servant told me last week, he has 18 days annual leave, Saturday & Sunday off plus about 16 public holidays, he only works 8 months in a year. Out of that, hundred of hours were spent on minum and rokok time.
I see why civil servants love their job so much.
imacivilservantsowhat?
January 5, 2013
U jealous because ur life is suck isn’t it? Pity on u. Hidup Barisan Nasional! I love my government!
Another Anak Bangsa Malaysia
January 5, 2013
imacivilservantsowhat,
Yes, some of us rakyat ARE jealous of the perks you get! Life does suck for some of us who struggle to make ends meet.
Because you are in a more fortunate position than some of us, please do not be angry with us and try to understand our situation.
But you know what? Speaking for myself, I am not angry with YOU because I know it is not your fault for being in the position you are in.
Why?
Because I know that you are used by others as a pawn in the scheme of things.
You are being parked in the civil service because there is nowhere else to put you despite the years you have spent gaining your academic qualifications.
A person like you should have greater opportunities in commerce and industry and yet your skills are languishing in a deskbound paper-pushing role going nowhere. It is not fair to you.
This is why we MUST change the policies which have robbed you of a brighter future. This is why we MUST change the Government.
Another Anak Bangsa Malaysia
January 1, 2013
Singa Terhormat,
Firstly, I am curious as to how Korea, Thailand and Hong Kong have a negative ratio. Presumably, this means that the private sector provides the service?
Secondly, the poor productivity in Government departments is not entirely the fault of the civil servants themselves – they were put in that position by a hopelessly inept Government as you rightly pointed out. There are only that many paperclip animals one can make before one runs out of things to do. Apa boleh buat? Minum dan rokok, lah.
After a few months of this, even the most ardent civil servant slips into sloth and shoddy habits 
When PR takes Putrajaya, there will need to be thought as how to improve productivity without mass dismissals or witch hunts or other morale-sapping measures. It will be a most unenviable task.
And a Happy 2013 to all. This year is it!!!
shakuntala
January 1, 2013
The latest is that they are being sent to Oxford to get a quickie degree of sorts…..in short it is more a short sweet junket for the civil servant, to make him or her feel good….expression of the boss’s pat on the back for dutifully obeying orders, “well done good and faithful servant”.
Also, one hears, they are given one night stays and two night stays in world capitals, like London, and other European cities via government paid for tickets.
,
Nice job, if you can get it., and you can get it, if you try…..No Haris, not Our Civil Service….Barisan Nasional’s trained and grovelling Civil Service
Can’t imagine there would be at least some good ones?
imacivilservantsowhat?
January 5, 2013
Shakuntaala where r u come from? Are u a civil servant? I bet u’re not. Your lack of IQ & rubbish knowledge tells it. Don’t talk rubbish if you have zero knowledge. Tell me which gov servant that has been sent to Oxford?
shakuntala
January 1, 2013
Sorry again…I overlooked Singa Terhormat …….again. Just an oversight, a New Year eye-sight lapse!!!.
Great fireworks outside,blasting away, or shall I say same old stuff….all left-overs being burned..
Happy New ABU Year…..to all
Taipan
January 1, 2013
Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set. How I wish there was a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence. The “brightness” knob doesn’t work here.
The soul of our country needs to be awakened. When leaders act contrary to conscience, the people must act contrary to leaders.
Jonathan
January 1, 2013
Najib committed one fatal mistake…that of appeasing the civil service who continue to sodomise the general public. The disgust Average Joe out on the street has for the civil service is so great they will now do anything to get rid of the BN.
Paul Warren
January 1, 2013
A perfect example of the ….
Sorry,
I viewed this comment as downright racist and had it sanitised.
Blower
January 1, 2013
i agree but beg to differ…bloated staff@stuff maybe but mainly the scheme that suck too much tax payer money was a few i.e. Biro Tata Negara, KEMAS, Jab Perpaduan & Integrasi, JASA and etc that doing political subversive works for their so called master…. Pegawai Tadbir Diplomatik should be abolished, it’s high time that we streamline the service according to their academic/professional background…..i dare to say the current pay for malaysian civil servant are much higher than the malaysian private sector….and i’m not proud of it…..
bigjoe99
January 1, 2013
The civil service is heading in EVEN WORST direction in the future. I have dealt with many young graduates who has entered the civil service after having tried the private sector or their own business and failed. The really really sad thing is that so ,many of them look at the civil service NOT as a career but as a means to ‘get cable’ so that they can abuse eventually..Its not a majority of them but there are many..From the start, their goal is entirely malicious.
its the same even with the police and other enforcement agencies – many enter the service FOR CORRUPTION – not a career choice..
Do their job on our behalf? We are doomed to an abusive civil service eventually if things continue..
sunwayopal
January 1, 2013
Relating to this process of replacing Barisan Najis, i want to make a point across.
I know we are generally supportive of Pakatan in its quest of reach Putrajaya because come what may, despite its many shortcomings and failings, Pakatan is still a better choice as UMNO is totally proven to b corrupt!!
There has recently and will in fact b more more efforts to highlight differences between PAS and DAP to drive a wedge between them , issues like use of Allah, like Kelantan’s imposition of certain laws etc.
People and esp Pakatan supporters should realise one thing here. In DAP’s fights in the coming PRU 13, it will b probably 95% against candidates from MIC, MCA or Gerakan ! No matter what happens , I am almost certain 99% DAP is going to whitewash and blanket sweep the carpet with wins against those running dogs from MIC, MCA and Gerakan.
PAS however , in 95% of its contests will come up against UMNO. Say what u will , corrupt UMNO still can mobilise its supporters and is a totally different animal to MCA, MIC and Gerakan.
What I am trying to say is while we may all agree that what DAP says is the morally the ‘right’ thing to support, PAS needs more of our help ‘politically’ in its fight against UMNO. DAP needs ‘less’ in its fight against MCA or Gerakan. DAP needs to realise this and realise this soon!
DAP is living in fear so much that it repeats its mistake in 1994 and is being so ‘firm’ and against PAS so much now that we risk losing it all now in the bigger quest for Putarajaya.
DAP should realise the end game is not for DAP to win 100 % of the seat it contests and for Pakatan to win 49% of the seats and thus fall short. It is far better that DAP wins say 70% of the seats it contests but for Pakatan to win 51% in total and thus take Putrajaya.
Morally we may say something sometimes but dont go to extremes! Politically we need to get behind PAS!.
The bigger evil in Malaysia is UMNO. Remember that!
sunwayopal
ahmad Fauzi
January 1, 2013
I applied for civil servant job, but never got reply.. during my younger days.eem!
S. Menon
January 1, 2013
Our civil service? They are neither civil, nor do they provide service!
Soon Y
January 1, 2013
In a private sector business scenario, if the worker’s action goes against the business he is warned, and if it persists it’s the sack. Similarly, if our employees steals from us and tarnishes the country’s image and after having being warned so often, they are given three months notice to pack.
Muhid Ibrahim Muhid Ibrahim
January 1, 2013
Malaysia has the highest civil servants in the Goverment sector. Some Department are overstaffs and wasted of manpower and has to do other jobs which are not relevant. There are staff which has to do other jobs which are not relevant. There are also staff which has to do outstation jobs and office work has to be pended for a long time. There are also staff which are overloaded with work and has to overtime and priority work has to be pended. Malaysian teachers are sometime overwork because they have to look after teaching knowledge to 30 – 40 odd pupils or students in a class. An ideal class is around 20 pupils or students. How can knowledge be imparted to such a number of students. So the cvil servants have to be revamp and number of schools and also teachers should be increase to meet the better of Malaysia. We will never be a developed country by the year 2020 as being vision. If we still mantain this type of civil servants let us vision 3030 not 2020. I know that now thousands of graduate are jobless and it is the Goverment job to give them job and also to create jobs for them, let it be the government sector or private sector.
givemeliberty
January 1, 2013
That is 1.3 million fixed deposit votes for BN. Now, is this another form of wholesale bribery, paying millions to the obviously grateful passengers on the gravy train to stay in power?
Muhammad Azman
January 1, 2013
Dear Singa Terhormat,
I am forced (againts my will) to reply your article.
Do you realise that this article in a prominent pro PR blog acts as a effective ammunition for BN to propogate fear factor among civil servants. My understanding of this article leads me to believe PR lead government will downsize our civil force by half. That is 650,000 and this translates 650,000 direct votes and probably another 650,000 votes indirectly.
All BN has to do know is to remind the civil servants of this threat from PR. God knows the lost to PR. Despite your factual article, it is PRU13 that should be of outmost concern. And this article has disturbed me a lot as it might derail my personal wishes as well
Let us not do anything that might jeorpadise the March to Putrajaya.
PS. Surfers, no comments, please. Thank you.
This, a pro-PR blog?
shakuntala
January 1, 2013
Gotta catch them before they are sent away on government ‘scholarships’. Those in the know that their un-civil service is being talked about or scrutinized will certainly make plans for a quick getaway .
By now they would have enough overseas contacts..
ahmad Fauzi you need to know how to butter the special ‘bread’ before you can get to taste such a job. Thank your stars you are not in this prison house of multiplying, grovelling worms, especially the 40-thousand in the pm’s department..
Ellese
January 1, 2013
I am surprise that haris deems fit to suppress the truth. My previous comment pointed out the following:
1) singa misleads the readers
2) Singapore civil servant ratio is between 3.3 % to 3.6%. The contention that Indonesian civil servant ratio is more efficient than Singapore is unbelievable.
3) singa purposely mislead by not comparing apple to apple. Our civil workforce includes teachers police armies etc etc. other countries have different definition. US don’t include armies. Uk don’t include police armies and NHS workers. It’s a false comparison and thats why the numbers make no sense.
4) PR has declared not to downsize the civil servant. Salahuddin went againt tony phua and tony kept quiet since. So PR is ok with the current number. Again I point out that we don’t know what we want.
I see no reason for haris to censor. I’m not being racist or providing false information. I may attack the stupidity of the argument and thus the writer, but it’s in the same vein as the disdain showed by haris and others on their opponents. It was never civil and so I reply in kind.
Please justify your basis for censorship. Remember your premise of freedom of expression and free media. I’ll await your reply.
Paul Warren
January 1, 2013
IT was not even sanitised. You downright deleted it altogether. But it was meant to be racist in nature. Tried very much to say what I have heard ten thousand times and the reasons given for not wanting to hire Malays. The statistics above as well as others given of the constitution of the staff in various department leads one to have mischievous interpretations of the necessity of having so many people in each department. Mostly, if not all of one race. Trying to be politically nice sometimes just does not get anywhere.
Having said that I also partner Malays and hire Malays who are competent and efficient. Have no problems at all when working with them. Fortunately for me my encounters have been with those to whom I don’t need to give a quarter and sometimes I might need an handicap even.
What i wrote was just so those who need to, read it and will see for themselves how they are spoken of behind their backs. At the same time I have to admit that this has come about not of their own doing. Mostly UMNO which looks at them as a vote bank.
KKLim
January 1, 2013
I think there are a number of myths being perpetuated here about our civil service that needs to be demolished, namely :-
1) the civil services seemed bloated but do you know that the service encompasses many services such as, the teaching service, the security service including the armed forces, the health service and many others
2) for all the faults labelled upon it, shouldn’t we must pay tribute to the civil service for having kept this nation going, whenever politicians fight their battles and caused chaos now and then ?
3) the quality of the civil service today is bad but is it not a direct co-relation to the quality of graduates produced by our universities ?
4) that all civil servants are necessary BN supporters and will vote the BN ?
5) all the civil servants draw their pay from government coffers, but do they not also pay taxes like all others, and suffer from all the bad poliicies promulgated by politicians ?
In conclusion, don’t bash them too hard and irrationally if you want ABU to succeed.
Ellese
January 2, 2013
By now my second comment was not published and a later comment was allowed publication.
You are now not true to your words. You suppress truth. And this must be told. As a lawyer you should have defended the right to express after proclaiming you’re the defender of free speech. Instead you allowed falsehood to spread and prevail. You publish what you want to hear only. My second comment was in no way harsh, and even then you have censored it. Shame on you haris.
Yellowmountain
January 2, 2013
The people of USA do complain of their expanded civil service both at Federal and Local level. It always happen when the Government wanted to reduce the unemployment factor. In our case, we have added in BN’s objective of using the education policy as a political tool simply to create better results with watered down public examinations. So what can they do, when so many ‘graduates’ could not find employment? Hence the current problem. I was told by the people in relevant industry that we have failed to implement the EDI system since the early 90s until now, merely because the ministries concerned are fearful of being ‘caught’ by such system!
Wong soon foh
January 2, 2013
Attitudes of civil servants changed after they were to told to sign off their letters from to the old format of ” Your obedient servant ” to ” Mingikut Perintah ” . The old form remindered civil servants that the public are their real bosses while the present form is too obvious to require further comments . So being faithful to their political bosses to the point of doing things against their conscience became the norm . So long there is a Perintah , they will blindly follow no matter the consequences to us members of the public .
Daniel
January 2, 2013
Frankie,
What’s wrong with having 18 days of annual leaves and Saturday and Sunday off?
Go check out the average annual leaves of the companies, 18 days is not a lot. I once work in a bank and started with 21 days of annual leave and the number gets bigger after working for a few years. My colleague who worked there for more than 10 years eventually had annual leave of 28 days before he quit.
It is also not uncommon that in UK you get 25 days of annual leave. Yes, they only have 8 days of public holiday, they call it bank holiday. But not many people know that they can just call in and apply for sick leave, no mc required.
It’s the most stupid thing to do to shoot the public servants if you want to win the election.
Leave them alone, and like Singa pointed out, if you want to reduce the number, do it via “natural death”. Replace 2 retired ones with 1 new recruit.
Ai Tze
January 2, 2013
I work for HMRC (Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs) in the UK.
The single biggest difference between the UK and the Malaysian Civil Service is that the UK civil service does not practise racial discrimination. It is hard to believe I know, but to prove my point, I attach below an “Introduction on Race” by my department, HMRC.
Introduction
HMRC wants to represent and reflect the community it serves. One way the Department can do this is to employ, at all levels of HMRC, the same proportion of ethnic minority people as that of the general UK population.
Ethnic minorities are underrepresented at some levels of the organisation and the Department must take a positive approach to address this imbalance.
To achieve this HMRC must
• take job applicants from the largest available pool of talent and appoint people because of their suitability and competence
• not treat job applicants or staff less favourably because of their race or ethnic background
• develop the skills and abilities of all staff
• give all staff the same opportunities for promotion, secondment etc
• raise awareness of equality issues promote diversity
• use a range of initiatives to help people from ethnic minorities develop their skills and confidence
• deal with unfair discrimination
• monitor how the Department is doing against its objectives.
HMRC will not tolerate discrimination or harassment on the grounds of race or ethnic origin. It will treat such behaviour as a disciplinary offence, which could, in some circumstances, lead to dismissal.
Compare the above to the mindset of the current Malaysian government.
Many Malaysian MPs (ministers included), have this misplaced idea that somehow it’s only natural for every country to favour her own core community or core racial group. Take this quote from Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz for example, “Whether you like it or not, in every country, there must be a core racial group. You talk about the US, it’s the WASPs (white Anglo-Saxon Protestants). In Thailand, it’s the Thai Buddhists. This is the core community. It is the same in Malaysia. This is not to say the Malays are superior to other communities. But the Malay community is the core community.”
I can only dream that Malaysia will one day be like the United Kingdom and treat her ethnic minorities with the same compassion and fairness.
shakuntala
January 3, 2013
Ai Tse, THANK YOU for that sharp reminder. I know for sure that HMRC….in UK the HM is given great weight, that is why there is respect, deals quickly and fairly with problems…friends and relatives are there to attest to this fact. One has to admit that the average Englishman has a strength to his convictions, an outstanding quality..
Nazri Aziz is simply wiping a grave disorder in the community, under the carpet, it shows lack of will to cure ills.Such a simpleton’s point of view. It is the same with some of our Malaysians, they shrug their shoulders when you point out a discrepancy and say blithely, carelessly, ” Ah yaaa, it is like that everywhere, lah.” You resist boxing their ears, or giving them a good shake.
In our country, the bad examples are being tutored and pushed down throats….
Do well, come back home with fresh ideas…..Malaysia needs people like you Ai Tse…happy new year, bet it’s cold out there?
Malaysian overseas
January 5, 2013
Ellese
Comparing to UK??
With 1.3 million civil servants to a population of 28 million, Malaysia has one of the highest civil servants-to-population ratio in the world by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development standards.
UK with 444,000 civil servants to a population of 63 million.
http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/facts/statistics
Malaysia 4.6%
UK 0.7%
Who is trying to spin on UMNO behalf and provide misleading misstatement !!!!!
forrrestcat
January 6, 2013
You are spinning facts. Every country have a different definition of civil service.
Malaysia have 500 000 workforce in its public education ranging from teachers , lecturers and administrators from pre school to university levels, 30 000 active soldiers ,40 000 civil servants in Putrajaya while the balancare in many supporting roles.
On the contrary, in reality, the civil servant workforce in Europe and the US is roportionally higher if the headcount of civil servants follow the Malaysian headcount.
Its shameful that peopke in this blog who pretend they are smart but unabke to use facts at least find people who can digest it for them to swallow.
Fortunately, there are many bloggers out there who that the effort
http://planetofthemonyets.blogspot.com/2012/10/is-malaysian-civil-service-really.html
If you can go through, Malaysia civil service ratio to its population is relatively normal. Even our neigbour Thailand have similar ratio.
Ellese turn forrrestcat
January 6, 2013
Hey,come down to reality.The number of civil servant affect the government’s ability to help the majority of the Malay and others which is not civil servant.
Your truth that no comparison should even be made because of unequal composition is irrelevant.
The truth is.beside efficiency.whether certain services should even be considered civil service.
Nothing is wrong to compare civil servant (apple) to civil servant (apple).
Another Anak Bangsa Malaysia
January 6, 2013
Troll-Ellese turn forrrestcat,
Thanks for advising me of your change in nick. I will debate with myself as to whether I continue to sully that beautiful name “Ellese” or turn my attentions to your new nick. After all, the name “Ellese” probably belongs to some poor innocent child who has no idea you are using her name to troll.
As usual, you adopt the double standards which your puppet masters are so fond of – accuse others of spin whilst spinning furiously yourself.
Troll-Ellese, you seem to be unaware that ABU has declared war against UMNO and BN. As such, the rules of engagement are somewhat different from what you may expect.
As far as I am concerned, you are no friend to Malaysia and it’s rakyat because you seek to maintain the status quo of corruption, thievery, murder, hatred and other crimes against the rakyat.
That makes you fair game to me.
Taipan
January 6, 2013
Err………AABM, I wouldn’t be so fast as to go for the ‘kill’ if I were you!
forrrestcat
January 7, 2013
Its really sad that you people now try to associate me with Ellexe. I concur ellese is a woman whilst I am a man.
Pakatan people time and again in thiblog failed to show ratinale in debating in issuethat they themselves brought forward. I feel sorry to the people who think I am ellese.
This is my second post in Haris, yes, I was brought here by another referencin another blog anI thought I could provide some input, but seems the people here prefer to discuss abput who I am and judge me just because the information I put do not coincide with your beliefs.
Another Anak Bangsa Malaysia
January 7, 2013
forrrestcat,
I have no problems with anybody who wants to change their nick.
Think of it as a reincarnation of sorts if you like
You get another chance in life, so to speak.
I don’t think it is about the failure to show rationale but more about how one presents one’s views across.
If you want to help normal average everyday plain old Malaysians have a brighter future, by all means help in a way that works.
If all you want to do is hinder, well, you know what happens, eh?
See, I told you I am a nice guy
I am also very handsome but that may not be relevant in this case 
Another Anak Bangsa Malaysia
January 6, 2013
Taipan,
I am a nice guy. Really, I am – just ask me
When I see Ellese, the little troll, provide some constructive criticism, I am more than willing to respond with constructive dialogue.
There are no rules of engagement other than those I have made up myself
It’s no good browsing any ABU websites looking for them 
I am not in the business of “killing” Ellese, the little troll, as I believe there is a place for a person like that in the new Malaysia that is coming.
By all means criticise BUT please do try to provide some suggestions. If a Troll-Ellese has nothing beyond mere criticism, at least make the criticism constructive.
Criticisjng for the sake of criticising is nothing more than taking a cheap shot. Anybody can do it – even me. Look at all the cheap shots I have taken so far.
Claiming to be the devil’s advocate requires, amongst other things, skill and finesse. Ellese, that little troll, has neither.
ambien
May 8, 2013
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