KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 — Civil servants must act responsibly for their agencies and report any misdeeds at work to prevent future leakages and wastage, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today.

He said government servants have been paying the price from years of corruption and poor governance, and that he intends to change such practices while he is in office.

“Investors’ confidence in us is returning and I can attest to that after returning from Saudi Arabia. I noticed how fast and efficient their agencies worked. At 9.30am a proposal was made and before I was to leave at night around 8pm, the approval was given by the King. This efficiency and speed is what I want to see here.

“Over the years there's been lots of leakages and wastage while you, the workers, suffer. That's why I put forth the public servants’ raise which I'm confident will pass in Parliament.

“So from you, I sincerely hope that you can identify the people giving public servants a bad name. I know a lot of the problems in our agencies aren't of your doing and that is the reason I didn't compromise on the 15 per cent raise. You have been burdened a lot and as the leader of the government it's my job to look after you,” he said in his speech at the monthly gathering of staff from the Prime Minister’s Department.

On Labour Day, Anwar announced his government will raise the salaries of civil servants "to record level” next year, a move that is expected to cost taxpayers RM10 billion more on top of existing spending for emolument.

The salary review will be the first in 12 years.

The prime minister described the increments as "long overdue” to pre-empt criticism. The Malaysian government has long been criticised for its bloated civil service, whose emolument often rack up more than a third of federal budgets.

The planned salary increment will be executed under a new "human resource framework” introduced by Anwar, which will elevate the minimum pay for all public sector workers to RM2,000, among other measures.

Although the current maximum increment rate stands at 13 per cent, the prime minister affirmed that the new increment will be “significantly higher.” Presently, the minimum income, inclusive of salary and fixed allowances, amounts to RM1,795 per month.

His announcement was met with some criticisms but Anwar is confident no one will oppose this move when Parliament resumes in June. - malaymail