Govt to improve recruitment process of civil servants
To reduce graft cases among civil servants, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa said recruitment process in hiring them would be improved to weed out bad hats from entering the workforce.
Among the areas that could be reviewed was the filtration process for candidates whenever there is vacancy to ensure only those with high integrity would be filling the relevant posts.
“We already have a filtration process in place, but, perhaps, it could be improved.
“There are cases where workers would be involved with graft only after few years of working and not immediately after joining the government workforce.
“The integrity unit in ministries and government agencies should also play an active role in creating awareness among civil servants to perform their duties with integrity.”
Ali was responding to a report on Tuesday, where 46 per cent out of 414 people detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for various offences were civil servants.
He said although graft activity among civil servants could still be contained, it was vital for everyone to play their roles in combating it.
“I can’t say that this is a huge problem, but at the same time, we cannot sideline this issue.
“We would like to bring the number of graft cases to zero.
“We understand it is a complicated process to weed out graft entirely, but we must address it head-on,” he said after visiting the refurbished block of the SJK (T) Jalan Fletcher here.
Cuepacs president Datuk Azih Muda, who supported Ali’s statement, said the recruitment process should be reviewed to ensure only those who were “clean” and serious about becoming a civil servant would apply. “Perhaps, the government could also look into applicants’ history with their universities to check if they were involved in immoral activities.
“Civil servants should also be required to attend regular workshops and seminars on religion and work ethics.
“It shouldn’t be a one-off thing as some servants only dared to be involved with graft several years after working.”
In Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of governance, integrity and human rights, Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan, said guidelines and instructions would be prepared on sponsorships by the private sector for civil servants to curb conflicts of interest.
He said the government has acknowledged the need to look into issues of sponsorship for technical evaluation abroad as highlighted by MACC.
MACC had previously raised concerns over civil servants playing golf abroad under the sponsorship of the private sector.
Recently, the commission detained a ministry secretary-general with the title “Datuk”, who played golf overseas, to facilitate investigations into alleged bribery and abuse of power.
“That why it is important for us to acknowledge this.
“We have to look at the conflicts of interest and the guidelines, to be prepared by the Integrity and Governance Committee under the Prime Minister’s Department and Public Service Department, will guide us.
“The matter has already been discussed with various stakeholders,” Low said after attending the 2017 national-level Integrity and Governance Committee Meeting yesterday.
He cited the study tour by government officers to “survey” medical equipment, devices or medicines, which was fully paid by the suppliers, as constituting a conflict of interest.
“We have already identified the problems... we want to stop that.”