KUANTAN: Civil servants should provide good services to the people and put aside their political differences, Sultan Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah said.
Sultan Ahmad Shah said as public servants, they must be committed and professional in discharging their duties to uphold the government’s aspirations.
”Bear in mind that we are there to serve the people regardless of their affiliations.
”We are also working for Allah and it is part of our ‘ibadah’,’’ he said in his speech during a dinner with government servants in Zenith Hotel here recently.
Also present were state secretary Datuk Seri Muhammad Safian Ismail, state executive councillors and other department heads.
Sultan Ahmad Shah said government servants must be “people-friendly” at all times and performed their duties diligently.
”Talk less and concentrate on completing the job as action speaks louder than words,’’ he said.
Sultan Ahmad Shah added that efforts must be made to improve the level of services and efficiency from time to time so that the civil service would be respected by the people.
”As the country is working towards a developed nation status, let’s ensure the civil service is on par and relevant,” he said.
THE STAR ONLINE
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Proposed buddy system may backfire, says Cuepacs
PETALING JAYA: Cuepacs has questioned the suitability of the proposed buddy system for civil servants, and urged the Public Service Department to review the plan.
Cuepacs president Datuk Omar Osman said the system might prove to be counter-productive as those who were assigned a buddy could take it the wrong way.
“Some may feel demoralised and demotivated to work if they find out that they were considered problematic,” he said yesterday.
He added that assigning someone from the same department to “help” an underperforming colleague might also have a negative impact.
“The buddy may highlight small mistakes and weaknesses, making the colleague unnecessarily stressed. This would make the situation worse,” he said.
Omar suggested that government departments develop training programmes instead.
He said every department should have its own plan on how to improve the productivity of its staff.
“We believe that well-designed training programmes will be more effective for civil servants than assigning a colleague to help them.”
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Cuepacs president Datuk Omar Osman said the system might prove to be counter-productive as those who were assigned a buddy could take it the wrong way.
“Some may feel demoralised and demotivated to work if they find out that they were considered problematic,” he said yesterday.
He added that assigning someone from the same department to “help” an underperforming colleague might also have a negative impact.
“The buddy may highlight small mistakes and weaknesses, making the colleague unnecessarily stressed. This would make the situation worse,” he said.
Omar suggested that government departments develop training programmes instead.
He said every department should have its own plan on how to improve the productivity of its staff.
“We believe that well-designed training programmes will be more effective for civil servants than assigning a colleague to help them.”
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Dept to introduce ‘friendly’ system to motivate problematic civil servants
PETALING JAYA: Underperforming civil servants will be assigned specially trained “buddies” from next month to guide and motivate them.
The “buddy system” to make the civil service “more dynamic and functional” is aimed at employees with attitude and other problems that cause them to be unproductive.
The Public Service Department uploaded on its website the guidelines for the system, which is an initiative of its psychology management unit.
Unit head Dr Aris Kasan said the “buddies” would be selected by a special committee comprising human resource personnel and psychologists.
He told The Star that the buddies would be chosen from more than 4,500 civil servants who had been trained in counselling for the existing Public Service Colleague Guidance Group, which organises formal activities such as team building sessions.
“The buddy system will involve activities on a more personal level such as having meals or watching or playing games together,” he said.
The programme, which supports the Public Service Colleague Guidance Group, would identify workers with attitude, work, financial and family problems.
“The buddies will motivate colleagues assigned to them or help by sharing their knowledge and experience with them.
“However, if they detect major issues such as mental problems or any form of addiction, they will have to refer the colleagues to the department's counsellor or the psychology unit.”
The number of buddies selected depends on the need of each department.
Dr Aris said he would meet the counsellors from all the depart-ments once every three months to garner feedback.
“We will then conduct an impact study on the programme to gauge its effectiveness,” he said.
Dr Aris added that the department would also look into training doctors under the system in light of the recent death of a houseman in Kajang Hospital.
The Star had reported that some housemen were overworked and bullied, sending some into depression.
THE STAR ONLINE
The “buddy system” to make the civil service “more dynamic and functional” is aimed at employees with attitude and other problems that cause them to be unproductive.
The Public Service Department uploaded on its website the guidelines for the system, which is an initiative of its psychology management unit.
Unit head Dr Aris Kasan said the “buddies” would be selected by a special committee comprising human resource personnel and psychologists.
He told The Star that the buddies would be chosen from more than 4,500 civil servants who had been trained in counselling for the existing Public Service Colleague Guidance Group, which organises formal activities such as team building sessions.
“The buddy system will involve activities on a more personal level such as having meals or watching or playing games together,” he said.
The programme, which supports the Public Service Colleague Guidance Group, would identify workers with attitude, work, financial and family problems.
“The buddies will motivate colleagues assigned to them or help by sharing their knowledge and experience with them.
“However, if they detect major issues such as mental problems or any form of addiction, they will have to refer the colleagues to the department's counsellor or the psychology unit.”
The number of buddies selected depends on the need of each department.
Dr Aris said he would meet the counsellors from all the depart-ments once every three months to garner feedback.
“We will then conduct an impact study on the programme to gauge its effectiveness,” he said.
Dr Aris added that the department would also look into training doctors under the system in light of the recent death of a houseman in Kajang Hospital.
The Star had reported that some housemen were overworked and bullied, sending some into depression.
THE STAR ONLINE
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Cuepacs wants 35,000 to be made permanent civil servants
KUALA LUMPUR: Cuepacs has urged the Government to absorb more than 35,000 civil servants on contract, whose term ends in May, into the service.
Its president Datuk Omar Osman said they hoped to meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak before Workers Day to resolve the matter.
“We sympathise with the contract staff. The only way to settle this matter is to talk with the Prime Minister,” he said yesterday.
He said he had received many complaints from civil servants that their contracts might not be renewed although they had performed well in their jobs.
“Some of them have worked more than 10 years in the civil service and a majority of them are in the management and professional group. They might not be able to secure a job in the private industry after working so long in the civil service,” said Omar.
He said that Cuepacs had met Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan and Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Abu Bakar Abdullah, but nothing conclusive had come out of it.
“If they cannot be absorbed permanently, we hope the Prime Minister can consider extending their contracts,” he said.
He noted that there were about 700 Administrative and Diplomatic officers with contract status who had previously received JPA scholarships but failed to secure a permanent job in the civil service.
“I do not understand why they were not absorbed permanently,” he said.
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Its president Datuk Omar Osman said they hoped to meet Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak before Workers Day to resolve the matter.
“We sympathise with the contract staff. The only way to settle this matter is to talk with the Prime Minister,” he said yesterday.
He said he had received many complaints from civil servants that their contracts might not be renewed although they had performed well in their jobs.
“Some of them have worked more than 10 years in the civil service and a majority of them are in the management and professional group. They might not be able to secure a job in the private industry after working so long in the civil service,” said Omar.
He said that Cuepacs had met Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan and Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Abu Bakar Abdullah, but nothing conclusive had come out of it.
“If they cannot be absorbed permanently, we hope the Prime Minister can consider extending their contracts,” he said.
He noted that there were about 700 Administrative and Diplomatic officers with contract status who had previously received JPA scholarships but failed to secure a permanent job in the civil service.
“I do not understand why they were not absorbed permanently,” he said.
THE STAR ONLINE
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
More ads needed on civil service jobs
KUALA LUMPUR: More advertisements must be placed with Tamil radio stations and newspapers on the availability of jobs in the civil sector to increase awareness among the Indian community.
“Many Indians are not aware about the opportunities in the civil sector,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri G. Palanivel told reporters yesterday after chairing a meeting on increasing opportunities for Indians in the civil sector.
He said more Indians would be interested to apply for these jobs if they knew about the vacancies.
“Publicity and advertisements must be increased and we want to do this through television, radio stations and newspapers,” he said.
He said a special team comprising MIC members, non-governmental organisations and retired civil servants would go around the country to meet Indian youths to talk to them about how and when to apply for the jobs.
Palanivel, who is also MIC president, said the team would also be visiting Tamil schools to speak to students.
He said the highest number of Indians in the civil sector were in the legal, teaching and medical sectors.
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“Many Indians are not aware about the opportunities in the civil sector,” Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri G. Palanivel told reporters yesterday after chairing a meeting on increasing opportunities for Indians in the civil sector.
He said more Indians would be interested to apply for these jobs if they knew about the vacancies.
“Publicity and advertisements must be increased and we want to do this through television, radio stations and newspapers,” he said.
He said a special team comprising MIC members, non-governmental organisations and retired civil servants would go around the country to meet Indian youths to talk to them about how and when to apply for the jobs.
Palanivel, who is also MIC president, said the team would also be visiting Tamil schools to speak to students.
He said the highest number of Indians in the civil sector were in the legal, teaching and medical sectors.
THE STAR ONLINE
Civil servants told to rectify problems in state
JOHOR BARU: Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman delivered a stinging message during his annual gathering with Johor civil servants recently when he hit out at the Opposition not to use the civil service as a “punching bag”.
Ghani reminded the state’s more than 8,000-odd civil servants to buck up and improve on the delivery system as the Opposition was already going to town making all sorts of accusations against the civil service and Government in their talks and ceramah’s.
Among the points raised were on corruption, poor delivery system, leakages of public funds, discrimination against people in the state and also on bureaucracy.
The Mentri Besar also reminded the state’s 15 local councils to immediately address issues such as clogged drains and rubbish collection.
Ghani’s tone to the civil service did not come as a surprise as it showed that the Mentri Besar had a grasp of what was happening on the ground and needed all of this settled especially with the looming general election.
He wants to deliver most of the state’s 26 parliamentary seats to Barisan Nasional in the next elections.
Ghani knows that this is no easy feat given the fact that the Opposition is also trying to break Barisan’s “fixed deposit state” by making it their front line state in the next elections.
With the Opposition already moving some of their heavy-weights including PAS’ vice-president Salahuddin Ayub to Johor and regular visits by Opposition leaders including Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to various parts of the state.
Ghani, who is also state Barisan chief, has taken all this in his stride as he too started working the ground early settling issues in all the 26 parliamentary areas.
He has already completed one-round to all the parliamentary areas in 2010 and since October last year, started another round with Gelang Patah as the first and moving on to Kulai. Both are described as black areas. He has covered most of the constituencies.
Ghani, who spends between three to four days in each parliament depending on its size, has a packed schedule everywhere he goes and does not travel light.
His entourage comprises top state officials including local politicians, the state secretary, local council presidents, district officers, state treasurer and other top officials from various departments namely land, public works, drainage and irrigation and the police.
An aide said that Ghani wants to know everything happening in the constituency and also gives the officials time-lines to help settle issues especially with regards to land titles or localised issues.
“His few days in each parliament area is packed with about six to 20 party meetings and also meeting the people sessions.
“Before the 2008 election, Ghani listened to briefings from elected representatives during his visits to the constituencies.
“Now he listens to the grassroots and sometimes the picture is not as rosy as painted by the politicians,” he said.
There have been times when grassroot leaders have openly hit out at their elected representatives claiming that the local politician is never seen in his constituency or not working.
After his morning and afternoon sessions, Ghani then met local representatives from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from various races to find out and settle their problems in the evenings.
“Besides giving them direct allocations for their community work or even to repair damaged school roofs or community centres, Ghani also wants to make good all election promises in the past,” the aide said.
But to solve all these problems, Ghani needs the support of the Johor civil service who act as the implementers to get all the work done before the next general election.
Localised issues such as potholes, no proper street lights, parks not properly maintained, clogged drains, rubbish not collected on time are issues that need to be addressed immediately.
Agencies like Iskandar Regional Authority (IRDA) should be emulated when it comes to infrastructure projects such as roads and flyovers that are completed on time or earlier.
One delayed project which has irked thousands is the Senai Flyover project which has been delayed despite work going on for four years.
This has caused a lot of inconvenience for thousands of motorists commuting daily between Kulaijaya and Johor Baru.
Although some projects are supervised by the Public Works Department, the state government could look at imposing a special levy or penalty on projects which take too long to complete to ensure contractors do not drag their feet in completing projects.
With millions being pumped into the state for infrastructure development in Iskandar Malaysia, the civil servants need to be careful and thrifty in awarding contracts so as not to waste public funds.
Weaknesses and recommendations suggested by the annual Auditor-General’s report about the state’s administration and running of agencies also needs to be rectified to ensure that no party takes advantage this general election and blames the Johor civil servants that they are rendering poor service to Johoreans.
THE STAR ONLINE
Ghani reminded the state’s more than 8,000-odd civil servants to buck up and improve on the delivery system as the Opposition was already going to town making all sorts of accusations against the civil service and Government in their talks and ceramah’s.
Among the points raised were on corruption, poor delivery system, leakages of public funds, discrimination against people in the state and also on bureaucracy.
The Mentri Besar also reminded the state’s 15 local councils to immediately address issues such as clogged drains and rubbish collection.
Ghani’s tone to the civil service did not come as a surprise as it showed that the Mentri Besar had a grasp of what was happening on the ground and needed all of this settled especially with the looming general election.
He wants to deliver most of the state’s 26 parliamentary seats to Barisan Nasional in the next elections.
Ghani knows that this is no easy feat given the fact that the Opposition is also trying to break Barisan’s “fixed deposit state” by making it their front line state in the next elections.
With the Opposition already moving some of their heavy-weights including PAS’ vice-president Salahuddin Ayub to Johor and regular visits by Opposition leaders including Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to various parts of the state.
Ghani, who is also state Barisan chief, has taken all this in his stride as he too started working the ground early settling issues in all the 26 parliamentary areas.
He has already completed one-round to all the parliamentary areas in 2010 and since October last year, started another round with Gelang Patah as the first and moving on to Kulai. Both are described as black areas. He has covered most of the constituencies.
Ghani, who spends between three to four days in each parliament depending on its size, has a packed schedule everywhere he goes and does not travel light.
His entourage comprises top state officials including local politicians, the state secretary, local council presidents, district officers, state treasurer and other top officials from various departments namely land, public works, drainage and irrigation and the police.
An aide said that Ghani wants to know everything happening in the constituency and also gives the officials time-lines to help settle issues especially with regards to land titles or localised issues.
“His few days in each parliament area is packed with about six to 20 party meetings and also meeting the people sessions.
“Before the 2008 election, Ghani listened to briefings from elected representatives during his visits to the constituencies.
“Now he listens to the grassroots and sometimes the picture is not as rosy as painted by the politicians,” he said.
There have been times when grassroot leaders have openly hit out at their elected representatives claiming that the local politician is never seen in his constituency or not working.
After his morning and afternoon sessions, Ghani then met local representatives from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from various races to find out and settle their problems in the evenings.
“Besides giving them direct allocations for their community work or even to repair damaged school roofs or community centres, Ghani also wants to make good all election promises in the past,” the aide said.
But to solve all these problems, Ghani needs the support of the Johor civil service who act as the implementers to get all the work done before the next general election.
Localised issues such as potholes, no proper street lights, parks not properly maintained, clogged drains, rubbish not collected on time are issues that need to be addressed immediately.
Agencies like Iskandar Regional Authority (IRDA) should be emulated when it comes to infrastructure projects such as roads and flyovers that are completed on time or earlier.
One delayed project which has irked thousands is the Senai Flyover project which has been delayed despite work going on for four years.
This has caused a lot of inconvenience for thousands of motorists commuting daily between Kulaijaya and Johor Baru.
Although some projects are supervised by the Public Works Department, the state government could look at imposing a special levy or penalty on projects which take too long to complete to ensure contractors do not drag their feet in completing projects.
With millions being pumped into the state for infrastructure development in Iskandar Malaysia, the civil servants need to be careful and thrifty in awarding contracts so as not to waste public funds.
Weaknesses and recommendations suggested by the annual Auditor-General’s report about the state’s administration and running of agencies also needs to be rectified to ensure that no party takes advantage this general election and blames the Johor civil servants that they are rendering poor service to Johoreans.
THE STAR ONLINE
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