Contract of Chief Secretary to t the Government is unlikely to be e renewed..

Putrajaya now abuzz over who will be appointed to topmost civil service post

PETALING JAYA: Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa (pic) is retiring at the end of the month after serving in the post for six years.

Sources in the Prime Minister’s Office said his contract would not be renewed.

“End of this month is when his contract ends.

“It was the previous administration that extended his contract,” said a source.

It is understood there was a suggestion for Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to retain Dr Ali, 63, until the end of the year.

But a source in the chief secretary’s office confirmed that Dr Ali’s last day will be on Aug 29.

As head of the civil service, the chief secretary is the most important government official after the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet members. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong normally consents to the appointment of the chief secretary on the advice of the Prime Minister.

When Dr Mahathir took office after Pakatan Harapan won the 14th General Election, he had consistently questioned the loyalty of civil servants to the government.

He made clear that “heads must fall” as some civil servants had aided and abetted the wrongdoings of the previous leadership.

Among those who had their contract shortened were former Treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah and former Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah.

With Dr Ali’s pending retirement, Putrajaya is already abuzz over his successor.

Several senior government servants when contacted said previous chief secretaries were selected from among senior secretaries-general or director-general of the Public Service Department (PSD).

However, Dr Ali was the director-general of the Public-Private Partnership Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department when he was appointed to the post.

A senior ranking officer also said at least five secretaries-general will be retiring at the end of this year and next year, while at least two ministries have yet to get their secretary-general.

“Several secretaries-general are serving their last few months and a few are relatively young.

“We need someone who has enough experience to be appointed the chief secretary,” the officer said.

A source in the PMO also confirmed that the Prime Minister is “aware” of a letter from a group of administrative and diplomatic (PTD) officers alleging abuse of power between several high-ranking government officers in promoting their “friends and cronies” .

The letter named four people in conspiring to elevate nearly 20 civil servants to higher ranks between January and May.

Describing the promotion exercise as “extraordinary”, the PTD officers proposed the setting up of an investigative committee to check the abuse of power by these high-ranking officers who they claimed had tarnished the integrity of the civil service.