Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today warned civil servants of a possibly bleak future if the opposition were to come into power.
Addressing some 5,000 civil servants at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) today, Najib said the ruling coalition and the civil service are inseparable.
"This is why when the opposition accuses and slanders civil servants, it is as though they are insulting the government as a whole and vice-versa.
"This is why we are particularly insulted and angered when certain quarters, especially the opposition, accused the country's civil service of being a bloated civil service if compared to other countries, and say that they want to reduce the number of civil servants by half, Najib said.
He added that it is unfair to compare the number of civil servants in Malaysia with that in other countries, as Malaysia's civil service includes educators, as well as those from the health and security sectors.
"The opposition has even labelled civil servants as 'inefficient', makan gaji buta (getting paid without working).
“Even worse, there are opposition leaders who have the audacity to insult civil servants as kucing kurap (useless).
"Just imagine what will happen to the majority of civil servants if the opposition is allowed to administer the country.
"Are you willing to gamble away your future as well as the future of your descendants to such quarters?" he asked.
Najib also stated that it was important to appreciate the things they have achieved.
"We shouldn't let our country fall to the hands of those who do not appreciate the contributions and hardships of civil servants.
"This is why the existing government highly appreciates and is highly thankful to civil servants who have long been with the government," he added.
Earlier in his speech, the prime minister explained that the civil service acts as the main machinery in informing and implementing all policies and initiatives of the political master of the day.
"There is a perception that the political master of the day has nothing to do with the civil service, or as some would say, the political master may come and go, but the civil service remains the same.
"(But) the government determines the country's policies and those policies must be implemented by the civil service."
Najib also reminded civil servants of the principle of wala' (loyalty).
"It's about promising loyalty to a legitimate leader, a leadership institution and an administration as long as there is no element of cruelty in the leadership.
"If the principle of wala' is practiced in the civil service, a particular organisation will be disciplined and will also run smoothly," he said.
Malaysia currently has around 1.6 million civil servants. The government allocates around RM76 billion annually on salaries and allowances. Another further RM21.6 billion is spent on pensions.
Noting that the civil servants were awaiting certain announcements from him, Najib promised them good news on Oct 27 during the tabling of Budget 2018.
He also launched a book titled "Falsafah Asas TN50" (Basic Philosophies of TN50) at the event today.
Admitting that it is not a complete manual, Najib explained that the 310-page book is a compilation of basic philosophies collected from the National Transformation 2050 series of dialogues held in the past year. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.