Withdraw ‘vacate quarters’ notices – Cuepacs

KUALA LUMPUR: The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) has urged the government to withdraw the penalties and ‘vacate quarters’ notices issued to about 500 civil servants in Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya.

Its president, Datuk Azih Muda, said the Property Management Division (PMD) of the Prime Minister’s Department had acted so following the transfer of staff from Putrajaya to Kuala Lumpur or vice-versa or upon their retirement.

He said what was more disappointing was that those affected were not informed in advance so much so that some had to pay hefty fines of up to thousands of ringgit.

“They (the civil servants) did not commit any wrongdoing and the notices have landed them in great difficulty, making them depressed, stressful and much more,” he told a press conference here yesterday.

He said Cuepacs was appealing for the penalties and notices to be revoked before Jan 1, 2018.

According to a civil servant, Mohd Fadhlin Arshad, 38, he received a directive to transfer to Kuala Lumpur from Putrajaya in Jan 2016 but last August he was informed of a RM58,000 penalty and asked to vacate the Putrajaya government quarters where he had been staying.

“The notice was issued on the grounds that I was working outstation when I am actually still working in the federal territory.

“In the meantime, I have applied to extend the period to reside in the government quarters as my wife has just given birth and we are waiting for the house under the 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing (PPA1M) Programme in Putrajaya to be ready,” he said. - Bernama