Newly-minted Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Zuki Ali has outlined his aspirations for the civil service, stressing the need for public servants to serve the rakyat with neutrality and integrity.

“Public servants need to hold on to the principles of neutrality and professionalism and respect the principle of separation of power.

“This is important to help ensure that the rule of law is upheld in line with the Federal Constitution,” he said in a tweet yesterday.

Zuki also listed five core principles and emphasised the slogan “Be Trusted To Serve” (Kepercayaan Untuk Berkhidmat).

Ultimately, he wanted public servants to serve the public more efficiently.

“I urge public servants to be facilitators in all dealings with the rakyat. Give them good service. Imagine you are the customer,” Zuki said.

Previously the Defence Ministry's secretary-general, Zuki was appointed on Jan 1 to replace Ismail Bakar.

Ismail’s tenure was marked with “deep state” allegations against civil servants, including how some supposedly stalled the implementation of government policies because they preferred the previous BN government.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad also repeatedly chastised public servants for engaging in bribery.

In his 28 years of public service, Zuki has served the Prime Minister’s Department as well as the finance; home; education; rural and regional development; and the natural resources and environment ministries.

The 58-year-old has also served as the senior private secretary to the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong and was also the Sarawak federal secretary.

The Terengganu native holds a Masters in business management (finance) from Singapore's Nanyang University and a Bachelor of Economics from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.