KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3 — The newly established unity government will not reduce the number of civil servants to ensure that the operations of each agency runs smoothly without any problems, said Pakatan Harapan (PH) Communications Director Fahmi Fadzil.
He said that reducing the number of civil servants will not be a right move in an effort to restore the country's economy and attract foreign investors, Sinar Harian reported.
“We want civil servants, ministries and agencies to continue to function. We don't want a situation where there is shortage of staffs. For me that is not the answer. That only creates new problems.
“What is important is a cultural change in the service. This is what emphasised by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during his first meeting with civil servants recently,” he told Sinar Harian in an exclusive interview on Thursday.
On Tuesday, Anwar called for civil servants to work together to bring change to save the country.
According to Fahmi, the level of achievement in the past is now seen to be declining either in terms of economy, discipline, violations of the law, malpractices and corruption which are related to the weakness of the leadership and civil servants.
The Lembah Pantai MP said that the change is important so that it can have a positive impact on the country and the people.
“We must be together in an effort to bring about change in the department, ministry and country so that the benefits will be for the people. That's the most important message I understand from Anwar’s speech,” he explained.
Fahmi also stressed that the government does not hold any political grudge against any public servant who is not aligned with the coalition.
“We did not enter Putrajaya to start a witch hunt, we did not enter to take revenge. That is not our intention.
“Our objective is to develop the country when the value of the ringgit is falling, Bursa Malaysia is weak and declining, and investor sentiment is very negative.
“We want to shows that (the country has) political stability, respected laws, the nobility of our constitution and the rule of law, then this will give positive sentiment to investors and, God willing, it will allow our economy to progress,” he said.
Fahmi also pointed out that the prime minister's assertion regarding no more approval or acquisition of government projects without open tenders is one way to regulate the matters.
“We have to learn from what happened in the past. Bank Negara, based on the report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), once stated that more than RM40 billion to RM60 billion was estimated to lost every year due to leakages.
“So this leakage element needs to be identified. I believe that all procurement or projects need a tender. For me that would be a more robust regulatory approach. But it needs to be more than that,” he added.
