PUTRAJAYA, Dec 29 — Digital transformation is one of the factors the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) is not continuing the practice of employing monthly and daily contract officers from January 1, 2023.
In a statement today, IRB said the transformation enables most tasks and work functions at IRB to be automated, further increasing the cost of efficiency in administering the country’s taxation system.
“IRB is streamlining its organisational structure which also involves the structuring of human resources. The implementation also involves the issue of reviewing the need to employ monthly and daily contract officers at IRB.
“The automation process implemented by IRB allows tasks that have been carried out by contract officers to be distributed to existing permanent officers for optimal utilisation,” according to the statement.
The statement said that basically, contract officers are employed for the purpose of carrying out tasks or functions that need to be completed within a specific period, which is project-based.
The decision not to continue the practice of employing contract officers was made in 2018 and was decided to be fully implemented from January 1, 2023 and the termination involved 42 monthly contract officers and 998 daily contract officers.
“The notification regarding the decision not to hire these contract officers had already been explained to the officers involved in early 2022.
“It is aimed at giving space and time to affected officers to organise their career apart from looking for job opportunities in the open market,” according to IRB.
The agency explained that the move to terminate the service of these contract officers was not driven by the personal interest of any party but based on the desire to improve its operational efficiency as well as ensure that the country’s financial resources are used optimally to avoid any waste.
Apart from that, IRB said the revenue from direct national tax collection administered by it cannot be used solely for the purpose of extending the contracts of workers as claimed by some parties.
“If this proposal is taken into account and implemented, it will invite negative perspectives from other parties. On the other hand, the direct collection of national taxes must be distributed equally for the prosperity and well-being of the country,” according to the statement.
Earlier, a local media portal reported that a group representing 967 IRB officers who receive daily wages, are at risk of losing their jobs ahead of the new year, appealed to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to extend their contracts. — Bernama
