Former Treasury secretary-general Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim today suggested the government to cut down the "oversized" civil service when it can still afford it.

"I would say, although it may cost the government heavy expenditure to retrench (civil servants), it is worthwhile to do it now when we can still afford it, rather than waiting until we are forced into a financial crisis like what happened in Greece," he said, citing the European nation which abruptly cut down its civil service to reduce its operations expenditure when it was hit hard, economically.

Retrenching civil servants now would also be a kinder approach, as it would allow them to be compensated fairly, Sheriff told a economic governance forum in Sasana Kijang, Bank Negara today.