xxl civil service- september 07

XXL CIVIL SERVICE

Civil Service in most countries need trimming. At least, that is an undisputed fact. When one is discusing about civil service, the fictional character of Sir Humphrey Appleby in Yes, Prime Minister played by distinguished actor, the late Sir Nigel Hawthorne comes to mind almost immediately. Being a proud man, Sir Humphrey refuses to downsize the service in the popular comedy series.The oversizing of the civil service is also visible in Malaysia. But our Chief Secretary, Tan Sri Sidek Hassan acknowledges the fact and is close to making public comments about it- which would have gotten Sir Humphrey annoyed! It is the duty of the government to solve unemployment by creating jobs- as believed by economist JK Galbraith, a strong defender of Keynesian economics. Thus, going by this economic stance, the Malaysian civil service at the moment boasts of 1.2 million members. This is roughly five percent of the country's population and approximately 40 percent of the job market.Recently, Tan Sri Sidek proposed that Voluntary Seperation Scheme(VSS) is to be used in dealing with incompetent civil servants. This is an indirect confession of the need to trim down the government's workforce. However, this idea was completely shot down by the PM and his jump the bandwagon cabinet members.( In Malaysia, many ministers do not like answering issues related to their ministries, they instead prefer to comment on other matters, vocal in most extent). Thus, when the smart idea came from the civil service chief, it was quashed at its infancy. Funnily enough, Tan Sri Sidek should have been a corporate leader and not in civil service. He should know that no government in the world could and would trim down the civil service. The repercussions are immeasurable. It is the fountain of everlating youth and relevance in global politics. It is the main measure to keep unemployment records down and people happy. Happy people just do not vote out the government in power. (Well, the British did when they ousted Churchill and replaced him with Atlee in 1944!) This is when civil willingness have to bow to political supremacy. Yesteday, Najib Razak announced that unpaid maternity leave could be extended to five years.This is a clear hint that vacancies are welcomed in the extra large civil service, to be filled with unemployed graduate. As the general elections loom at the corner, the government tries to project a caring image. Yes, it i true that parents who raise up their kids with full attention and affection will churn out to be better than neglected children. But, if the leaves taken are unpaid, how could these mouths be fed well? The idea is again commendable but its relevance is doubted. It is a political double edged sword. The government could come out as caring but also at the same time exposing the need to face unemployed graduate chaos and addressing oversizing of civil service. With the increase in pay by up to 25%, the government needs to find a solid way to finance the XXL service. Some would have to leave through VSS and take the highly advisable 5 year unpaid maternity leave. It is a service to the civil service.