YOURSAY | ’Accept facts and figures and implement gradual changes now.’

COMMENT | Defusing the civil service time bomb

OrangePanther1466: Former senior official with the United Nations and World Bank Lim Teck Ghee has chosen to highlight a very important shortcoming of our governing system.

Our pension system is inherited from colonial times and is archaic. To overhaul the system to the extent it adversely impacts those presently in the pension system may pose legal challenges.

One must remember that the pension not only supports the pensioner but upon his death, his pension goes to his legal dependents until they cease to qualify.

The "low-hanging fruit" of pension reforms must kick off with new recruits to the civil service by putting them on the Employees Provident Fund, for instance.

Then, to the extent possible, pension benefits ought to be rolled back. For instance, curbing to the extent dependents can access the deceased pensioner's pension.

Any periodical review of the civil service emoluments or the granting of bonus payments should not extend to pensioners as I understand is the practice now.

For sure, any government brave enough to initiate the reforms will lose 1.7 million votes.

So the can will continue to be kicked down the alley until it comes to a stop at a 5-lane junction.

This junction refers to a time when we have a fractious political landscape, where each party goes on their own in the hope of gaining sufficient seats to be invited to form the ruling coalition.

In this way, the civil servants' votes will be dispersed and diluted.

Better still is if our election system could be replaced by a fairer proportional representation system.

For sure, the civil servants then cannot hold the government to ransom. I guess these are pipe dreams for now, but no harm in dreaming, right?

Headhunter: The civil service is seen as a one-race entity. And we notice that each new government is pampering them because of their power as a vote bank.

That's why Cuepacs is always talking about salary increments, knowing that they have a sledgehammer they could use effectively as their bargaining tool.

As someone who used to travel extensively due to work, I can safely say our government service is practically the worst.

The moment one steps into the country and is faced with unfriendly immigration staff, you already get your first bad impression.

I spent seven years in the civil service before I had enough and quit. I can tell you that senior officials are quite indifferent, self-serving and take little pride in their work.

Their attitude when handling a task is "Do I need to do it?" rather than "How best can I do it". Bosses often are not in the office, knocking off to play golf or just playing truant.

Promotion is based on how close you are to your boss and your apple-polishing skills, rather than ability, efficiency and dedication to your work.

What a world of difference when I joined the private sector.

OCT: In this modern world, the private sector as well as the government need to invest in technology to reduce workforce to improve efficiency and reduce human capital.

Human capital carries hidden and long-term costs like paid leave, efficiency, throughput, medical, training, bonuses and pensions.

The total ownership of a full-time staff member doesn't end at salary alone but includes other costs like office space, utilities, benefits, perks and allowances.

Innovation through technology helps to reduce this expensive cost but the government is not willing to do it as it will spell death for the sitting government that imposes it.

The government has entered into a minefield which it cannot get out at any or all cost. It is a self-inflicted situation.

There is no way any company or country will survive when more money is spent on operating expenses without any good returns.

In Malaysia, the government would rather cling to power than progress as the majority of the vote bank comes from one race and one sector.

There is no way the government will rock the boat or do a paradigm shift. It is suicidal. All of us know that the civil service will cause the downfall of the government one day.

CHY: No political party that has obtained power to date wants to initiate real changes.

That is why it is so very, very difficult to change the other aspects of the country's ecosystem and present DNA for competitive governance.

It is a chicken-and-egg situation.

Firstly, money or material things may be temporary for some, but you still want the government to be responsible for educating your children and providing jobs or financial assistance for them in most ways.

Secondly, if the government cannot grow on its own devices (like a company adjusting along the way to meet challenges) without perpetual borrowings and adjusting the number of eggs it has to hatch and take care of once new chicks are hatched.

The mother hen cannot be enlarged in size and, in turn, after real adjustment, becomes a stronger mother hen to lay more eggs and take care of more chicks.

Here, the government's “mother hen” is growing thinner by the year and once the chicken feed (oil income reduces from 2030 plus onwards), the “mother hen” has not enabled new sources of chicken feed to be available.

Instead, because of the imbalance of eggs and chicks constantly expanding with the reduced chicken feed, ultimately the “mother hen”, will of course, collapse before rising again after some time with a much-reduced quota of eggs and chicks.

That is something we should avoid. Accept the facts and figures and implement gradual changes now.

Methink: The sad truth is whoever disrupts and reduces the civil service numbers employed will lose popular political support and maybe power.

The only way to reduce is through natural retirement and paying fewer incentives and bonuses.

The government can do this by limiting the pensions of ministers, MPs and assemblypersons by leading by example.

Privatisation of some of the service departments will help reduce annual increases and may bring increased efficiency. The obvious and easiest way is for civil servants, ministers, MPs and assemblypersons to opt for the EPF.

A government that has revolutionary courage and gumption must embark on this at the very beginning of its term and be prepared to lose the next general election, but it will earn the gratitude and admiration of future generations.

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