Don't bite hand that feeds you because of lies, civil servants told

Chief secretary to the government Ali Hamsa has urged civil servants not to bite the hand that feeds them, and cautioned them against being influenced by lies regarding the government.

He said this is because the government under Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has provided them with various new amenities despite an uncertain global economic climate.

"After all that has been prepared by the government for the people and for civil servants, I urge civil servants to focus on supporting the government.

"We need to support the government by delivering services to the people. We need to support the government in raising productivity and realising the government's hopes for the people.

"Let us not bite the hand that feeds. Let us not be influenced by the lies by irresponsible parties to run down the government," he said in a speech in Kuala Lumpur this evening.

Ali, who was officially opening 896 units of government quarters at Jalan Cochrane, said civil servants should appreciate the government's efforts to prepare various facilities and opportunities for the betterment of their standard of living.

His comments come in the wake of Education Minister Mahdzir Khalid revealing that five teachers had been slapped with show-cause letters for purportedly running down the government.

Asked at a press conference later, Ali denied that he was referring to the teachers, saying it was a general reminder to all civil servants.

Elaborating on his speech, Ali said some of the changes under Najib that had benefited civil servants includes, among others, a two percent per annum increment pension payments, whereas the sum paid was previously fixed until 2013.

In addition, there is a scheme to provide annual increments for civil servants who have reached the top of the pay scale for their post, whereas they would otherwise not receive any pay increase until they earn a promotion.

Demand for gov't quarters still high

Meanwhile, the newly-launched government quarters comprises three apartment blocks totalling 896 units, each of which have 1,000 square feet of floor space including three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Eight units of these are earmarked for people with disabilities.

It was built by the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) at a cost of RM220 million under the Finance Ministry’s Asset Monetisation Programme.

Construction took place from May 8, 2013 until Jan 27, 2017. The Class G units would be rented for RM377 per month to eligible civil servants.

The property sits on a 8.9 acre plot previously occupied by 538 units of government quarters originally built in 1933, which was demolished to make way for the project.

However, Ali said the demand for government quarters is still high, with some 22,000 on the waiting list in Putrajaya alone.

In addition, he said there is also increasing demand from civil servants to extend their stay in the quarters past their retirement, or to transfer the lease to their children who are also in the civil service. This is because they could not find a new home, even though they have reached retirement age.

Ali said neither of these are allowed, and they must vacate the properties within three months of their retirement to make room for those still on the waiting list.

To resolve these issues, he said the government is considering a hire-purchase scheme that would allow civil servants to first rent and later buy their homes, and is looking for a suitable model to make the scheme work.- Mkini