No pay rise for ‘slow and lazy’ civil servants, says Anwar
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says while 95% of the civil service will ‘definitely’ get their salary revision in December, 5% will likely see their pay hike put on review.
GEORGE TOWN: The government is considering freezing the recently announced pay rise for slow and lazy bureaucrats, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.
He said feedback from investors was that they face a slow approval process, and so are tempted by other countries not encumbered by so much red tape.
Anwar said while 95% of the civil service would “definitely” get the announced hike in December, 5% of the force would see their pay hike put on review.
“We must do things quickly or else investors will see this as inefficiency,” he said when opening the Program Madani Rakyat at the Pesta site in Sungai Nibong, near here, today.
“Our competitors are efficient in approving new investments. This is the input I received from investors I met recently.
“If you think the ‘lembab’ (slow) people (in the civil service) will be getting an automatic hike, they must think again. It is going to be tough for them.
“The pay hike must be in tandem with reforms in the civil service,” he said.
Anwar praised Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was quick in approving investments.
He said Malaysia’s investment proposal in Saudi Arabia was accepted in less than 12 hours, and Malaysia should aspire to act at such a speed.
He also noted the speed of approvals for the Kulim Hi-Tech Park, describing it as an “efficient, and a faster system” leading to a RM5 billion investment by a major German semiconductor firm.
Separately, Anwar said he has ordered an urgent review of all airports to reduce waiting time. He said there should be “no more delays, as airports must be fast moving”.
Earlier, he officiated the Northern Zone Program Madani Rakyat Hari Raya open house, which has seen more than 250,000 visitors at the site since Friday.