52 dropped 'unexpectedly' from top civil servant course, four out of jobs

EXCLUSIVE | A total of 52 government servants who were undergoing a special course to become administrative and diplomatic officers (PTD) were suddenly dropped from the programme on Friday, said sources.

PTD officers are often regarded as key players in the civil service, responsible for helping to craft and implement government policies.

Those terminated from the course include four contract officers, who were said to have automatically lost their jobs, while the rest had been ordered to return to their old posts with immediate effect.

The sources told Malaysiakini that the termination came following a decision by the National Institute of Public Administration (Intan) and the Public Service Department (PSD) to raise the passing grade for the Special Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management (Special DPA) programme.

"The participants were told on Tuesday that the passing grade (for the course) had been raised to A minus from B, before they were each given letters of their termination on Friday, and told to vacate their hostel in Intan by Sunday.

"This came when they were already in their seventh month of the programme, which had commenced on April 16," said a source close to the programme.

The nine-month diploma course had a total of 86 participants.

According to sources, those who were terminated from the course consisted of 31 women and 21 men, five of whom are PhD holders and 20 of whom are master's degree holders.

It is learnt that the participants were informed that their enrolment had been terminated after they sat for an examination earlier in the day.

Another source who is close to several of the terminated participants said they were shocked about the decision, as it came when they were close to completing the programme.

"Since the beginning of the course, they were informed that the passing mark was set at B. But now, they were suddenly told that it had been raised to A-, and shortly after that they received their termination letters.

"The participants felt that this is unfair as the bar was raised when they were nearing completion. Worse was the four contract officers, who are now left jobless," said the source.

Higher expectations

Malaysiakini contacted Intan director Suriani Ahmad, who confirmed that the participants had been terminated from the course, saying that it was decided by PSD.

The raising of the passing grade for the course, she said, was decided together by Intan and PSD. Suriani cited higher expectations due to participants' additional working experience as the reason for their decision.

"The reason was because they joined (Special DPA) laterally. In normal circumstances, PTD appointments come through the PSD course, and upon completion, they would enter the service in Grade 41.

"However, the participants joined in laterally from various grades, including 41, 44, 48, 54 and even Jusa. That is why the course is called Special DPA.

"So since they are special, the expectation is higher because they had working experience," she said.

Jusa refers to the highest rank in the civil service.

Unsatisfactory results

"They should have striven harder to get ‘A’s since the beginning. When we informed them about their performance two months ago, we told them that their marks were not up to our expectations.

"We have told them to improve since the beginning. Their results are not satisfactory."

She said while it was true that the participants had initially been told that the passing mark was B, it was the institutions’ right to change it.

"In the beginning, yes. But Intan and PSD, we have the right to change the passing mark. We have the right to do so," she said. - Mkini