PUTRAJAYA, May 24 ― The transfer of civil servants flagged in national audits is not to blame for the repeat of similar wrongdoings in different ministries, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Ali Hamsa clarified today.
Ali acknowledged the apparent “trend” in which identified wrongdoings by an officer in one ministry is later seen emerging in a different ministry.
“But if we look at it, the analysis, (it) is not involving the same officers. We are not transferring the problem from Ministry A to Ministry B by transferring the officers.
“So, it is unique by itself. So there are some lessons to be learnt from all these audit reports,” he told reporters here in a townhall session on the Auditor-General's (A-G) latest report.
Ali said he personally gives special reminders to the secretary-generals of ministries on repeat offenders.
He also highlighted the government's progress in addressing the problems identified, noting that the number of punitive action recommended in the annual federal audits has “really gone down”, from 149 in 2013 to 43 currently.
“There are some improvements, but I am still not satisfied with the improvements, we will look at it again,” he said.
He said civil servants could be sacked and permanently blocked from rejoining the civil service, depending on the severity of the offence committed.
But Ali Hamsa also explained that official warnings were the lightest disciplinary action imposed, and did not mean that civil servants who received them several times could be terminated.
The disciplinary action that can be meted out on civil servants also include fines, deferment of salary, salary cuts and reduction in rank.
As part of measures to improve the civil service, Ali said 80 officers holding sensitive positions in finance, development and work procurement divisions have been transferred in the first phase on April 18, with 55 shifting ministries while 25 changed divisions.
The continuous work rotation process will also be carried out on officers who deal with funds, licences and law enforcement, he said.
“It's an ongoing process, when somebody reaches a certain period - three to five years in a strategic position, we will transfer.
“So right now we have done about 80 (officers). It'll be a monthly affair from now on, whoever is due, we will transfer,” he said.
Ali said since 2014, training on managing public projects and procurement have been given to 173 officers and 228 officers respectively, while 439 have undergone training to be a Certified Integrity Officer since 2010.
A total of 2,680 civil servants or 0.17 per cent out of the 1.6 million-strong civil service were found to have underperformed last year and will have their services terminated next year if their performance remains below the 60 per cent mark, he said.
