Improve succession plan of state civil service — Madingkir

THE succession plan of the state civil service is in need of improvement to ensure an ef��cient and effective continuation of service.

Datuk Abidin Madingkir, who is the Paginatan assemblyman and a former Kota Kinabalu City Mayor, voiced his concern in the State Legislative Assembly sitting yesterday, saying that the civil service is the backbone of the state administration.

“As a former civil servant, I’m very concerned about the wellbeing of the state civil service. The gap between senior officers and lower ranking officers is too great, and when the time comes for senior officers to retire, there are no successors with experience.

“That said, I hope the state government would recruit new officers in all categories, including technical staff, to ensure a smooth transition,” he said.

The current effort of introducing Training Programme within the State and Overseas or Program Latihan Dalam dan Luar Negeri for civil servants is a good start, he said, although they should also be exposed on the matter of Sabah’s rights.

This is so that they would be able to provide accurate information on State’s rights and defend those rights, besides making decisions and conveying information to officers at the federal level.

In addition, Abidin urged the state government to seek more allocations for education and healthcare in Sabah, and to demand for the devolution of power from the federal government to the State, so that urgent matters in the State could be dealt with immediately.

He urged the relevant ministries to bring to the attention of the federal government the condition of schools in the rural parts of Sabah, the poor state of clinics and hospitals and the short supply of doctors.

“Many schools in Sabah, especially those in the interior, are in very poor condition and are far behind schools in West Malaysia.

“The quality of healthcare and social welfare protection should also be brought to the attention of the federal government, specifically about facilities at hospitals and clinics in Sabah.

“Sabah not only suffers from a shortage of doctors, but also on facilities and hospital buildings that need upgrading. I hope the State government would request for these facilities to be improved,” he said.

Abidin added that inadequate space at clinics and hospitals, coupled with the increasing population, could potentially cause more health problems when patients with contagious illnesses are not separated in the waiting areas.