Public Personnel Administration in Malaysia 9789814377614

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The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies

The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies was established as an autonomous organization in May 1968. It is a regional research centre for scholars and other specialists concerned with modem Southeast Asia. The Institute's research interest is focused on the many-faceted problems of development and modernization, and political and social change in Southeast Asia. · The Institute is governed by a twenty-four-member Board of Trustees on which are represented the University of Singapore and Nanyang University, appointees from the government, as well as representatives from a broad range of professional and civic organizations and groups. A ten-man Executive Committee oversees day-to-day operations; it is chaired by the Director, the Institute's chief academic and administrative officer. The responsibility for facts and opinions expressed in this publication rests exclusively with the author and his interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views or the policy of the Institute or its supporters.

"Copyright ·subsists in this publication under the United Kingdom Copyright Act, 1911, and the Singapore Copyright Act (Cap. 187). No person shall reproduce a copy of this publication, or extracts therefrom, without the written permission of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore."

PUBLIC PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION IN MALAYSIA

by

Y. Mansoor Marican

Research Notes and Discussions Paper No. 12 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies 1979

It is important to clarify at the outset the scope of this paper.* The "public sector" in Malaysia is composed of the "public services" (the armed forces, the judicial and legal service, the general public service of the Federation, the police force, the railway service, and the state services), statutory bodies, and local authorities. This paper aims to provide an overview of personnel administration in the general public service (commonly referred to as the Civil Service) of the Federation. Where appropriate, reference is also made to personnel administration in the entire public sector or in other parts of it. Personnel administration is now a profession. So complex has the personnel function become that nearly all large scale commercial enterprises have a specialized personnel section headed by an expert. National and state governments, especially in industrially advanced countries, have several personnel departments employing literally hundreds of such experts. In developing Malaysia, there is a shortage of qualified personnel administrators. Advertisements for personnel administrators, usually offering high salaries and fringe benefits, appear regularly in local newspapers. Malaysian universities and private academic institutions are responding to this demand by offering courses in personnel management, often under the rubric of a comprehensive management programme. The importance of public personnel administration requires no special emphasis. There is probably no more important single factor in successful administration than the securing of capable employees by the government. Improvements in organization, in methods and procedures, important as they are, will be ineffective if the personnel concerned are incapable of making the required adjustments in their work pattern. Not only must government officers possess the professional skills required to perform their duties but also the right orientation. For example, it is important that government officers are not socially aloof and arrogant in their contacts with the public. Such postures by some Malaysian Government officers have sometimes been attributed to the existence of "a colonial mentality". According to one Cabinet minister, It is unfortunate that the Malaysian bureaucracy has still not completely shed its vestiges of a colonial orientation. It is still sometimes detached, aloof and even arrogant, in dealing with the public, especially the poor. It is still very much an "elite class, still very urban in outlook and there is the danger that bureaucrats working in air-conditioned offices, driving around in fancy cars, with ties or Bush-Jackets, might easily forget that a sizeable part of the Malaysian people still live in poverty, living from hand to mouth.l

*

The author acknowledges with thanks the help, on an earlier draft, of S. Veloo (Director, Salaries Division, Public Services Department, Malaysia) whose detailed comments were expressed in his personal capacity.

1 Richard Ho Ung Hun, "The Role of the Bureaucracy in the Implementation of the New Economic Policy" (paper presented at the Fourth Malaysian Economic Convention, Kuala Lumpur, May 1977), pp. 11-12.

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Proposals for administrative reform in Malaysia will be successful only if they are accompanied by a changed attitude and increased professional competence amongst government officers. Personnel administration therefore deserves high priority in any programme of administrative modernization m Malaysia. What is "personnel administration"? 0. Glenn Stahl, author of a well-known book on this subject, defines it as "the totality of concern with the human resources of organization". 2 This definition is so broad that it could just as appropriately describe the roles of the general manager of a firm or the head of the civil service. A list of the areas subsumed under personnel administration provides a more explicit definition and indicates the field's broad scope and complexity.

Job Analysis and Classification Job analysis is fast emerging as a specialized field within personnel administration. The task of a job analyst is to provide detailed descriptions of the duties and responsibilities of each job and the qualification, training and experience necessary for adequate performance. An example is provided below: I ob Description Position:

Assistant Security Officer

Salary scale:

Bll:

Duty:

Assisting the Senior Security Officer in planning and implementing security arrangements.

Ringgit (Rgt) 485 x 40 - 565/605 x 925/1,005 x 40 - 1205

Qualification MCE or equivalent with a credit in Bahasa Malaysia at MCE level; and & experience: five years experience and must have at least achieved the rank of Inspector in the Royal Malaysian Police Force. Experience in fire brigade will be advantageous. Status of Permanent and pensionable appointment: Ag~

limit:

Probation period:

Applicants should not exceed 30 years of age 1 - 3 years

Examination: As required in the schemes of service.

2 Public Personnel Administration (New York: Harper & Row, 1962), p. 15. An advertisement for the post of "personnel manager" mentions the following: "His duties would normally include staff recruitment, salary and wage administration, employee relations and general administration of the personel office. More important, he must be able to communicate effectively with all levels of staff as he is expected to participate in the development and implementation of personnel policies, as well as represent management in all union negotiations" (New Straits Times, 23 January 1979).

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What job analysis does is to clarify the division of labour among employees (making it clear to the employee what performance is expected~ outline the content of training programmes, facilitate evaluation of individual employees, help in planning promotions and transfers, and in settling controversies over job content and related aspects. Job classification refers to the activity of placing jobs which have broadly similar functions and responsibilities and require like qualifications and experience into a single class without regard to the department in which the positions are located. The advantages of a classification system are that: It establishes uniformity in the method of describing posts, titles, and salaries throughout the service; it fosters mobility within the career service by facilitating transfers and promotions; it provides standardized job titles for the personnel component of the budget; it forms the basis for recruitment and promotion by merit, and it eliminates the question of the pay of individuals from the realm of political controversy, inequality and favouritism. 3

In Malaysia, the Establishment Division of the Public Services Department (PSD)4 is responsible for job analysis and classification. Requests for new posts, upgrading and downgrading of posts, and even deletion of existing posts are all processed by this Division. Creation of pensionable posts in the state services also requires the approval of the PSD because the federal government is responsible for payment of pensions of state officers as well. However, for pensionable posts with less than Rgt 250 monthly salaries in the state services, the PSD has delegated its powers to state governments. Heads of departments cannot afford to treat review by the PSD and the Treasury as merely a bureaucratic procedure that has to be fulfilled because approval is not easily given. They have to prepare papers containing justifications for their requests and sharpen their persuasive skills for the meeting with PSD and Treasury officers. In the past, ministries that were in urgent need of personnel created ad hoc posts with special permission from the PSD. Some ministries used this "loophole" to appoint new personnel even though there were no strong grounds for such appointments. Partly because of the failure of the PSD to scrutinize carefully such requests, this practice became quite widespread and by 1978, according to the Director-General of the PSD, "30 per cent of posts in various ministries were ad hoc posts". To prevent 3 United Nations, A Handbook of Public Administration (New York: and Social Affairs, United Nations, 1961), pp. 37-38.

Department of Economic

4 For a description of the structure of the PSD, see Abdul Aziz Zakaria, An Introduction to the Machinery of Government in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 1974), ch. 13.

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the creation of such posts, which "entails a lot of additional work for the [PSD's] personnel officers and hinders their own work", the Director-General has ruled that no new ad hoc posts would be created in 1980 apart from those approved by the Cabinet Committee. He has also suggested that each agency should set up a special estimates committee which would scrutinize all requests for personnel before forwarding them to PSD. 5

Salaries Once job classification is done, the next step will be to determine wages and salaries payable in various classes. This is done by fixing for each class a minimum for new appointees and a maximum amount. However, new appointees who are "old" to the job in that they have done similar work elsewhere may start at more than the m1mmum. It is important that salaries be fixed in relation to duties, qualifications including length of experience, and with regard to living costs.

A worker is said to "work for a living". Since living in the civilized world includes being fed, clothed and housed, then "working for a living" can only be meanin%ful if the wage paid takes into consideration food, clothing and housing. Inadequate salaries in many Third World countries have contributed to widespread corruption among government officials.7 The Malaysian civil service, however, has enjoyed the reputation of having relatively a lower level of corruption. According to government estimates, less than 1% of government officials are involved in corrupt practices. 8 This has been attributed partly to the comparatively good civil service pay, made possible by the relatively high national income per head. The salaries of top civil servants are particularly high, because they were based on those of the British they replaced.9 5 New Straits Times, 7 November 1978. 6 Malaysia, Report of the Cabinet Committee, 1976, p. 7. 7 See Y. Mansoor Marican, "Corruption and Violence," Philippine Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 15, No. 1 Qanuary 1971), p. 24. 8 Malaysia Official Year Book 1974. 9 R.S. Milne and Diane K. Mauzy, Politics and Government in Malaysia (Singapore and Vancouver: Federal Publications and the University of British Columbia Press, 1978), p. 275. Also, see Y. Mansoor Marican, "Combating Corruption: the Malaysian Experience," Asian Survey (forthcoming).

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The highest pay, Rgt 5,350 per month, is received by the Chief Secretary to the Government, and the initial monthly salary of an employee in the lowest category in the civil service is Rgt 195. There are four salary groups in the Malaysian civil service. They are differentiated on the basis of qualifications, duties and responsibilities. The qualifications for direct entry into each group and the salary range are given below: Group D

Qualifications for direct entry

Salary range (Rgt)

Qualifications lower than School Certificate

a. 195-205 (lower than Lower Certificate of Education, LCE) b. 220-595 (LCE)

c

School Certificate

B

Diploma and Higher School Certificate (HSC)

295-925 a. 645-1,405 (Diploma) b. 485-\205 (HSC)

A

University degree

a.

745-~005

(General degree)

b. 865-2,205 (Honours degree)

Those with an honours degree and at least three years' service are eligible for the "Senior Time Scale" which has a salary range of Rgt 1,805-2,205 monthly. Those promoted from this scale are placed on the "Superscale", which has seven grades (A to G). The maximum salary in Superscale A is Rgt 4,050 monthly. The government has periodically established Royal Commissions to review and recommend salary scales, and other terms and conditions of service for officers in the public services, in statutory bodies, and in local authorities. These commissions were known after their respective chairman: Benham, Suffian, Aziz, Harun, Sheikh Abdullah and Ibrahim Ali. The Benham Commission, established by the British colonial government, consolidated a good portion of the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) paid to civil servants in their basic pay, and also formulated the basic principles that should be applied in determining the pay structure of civil servants. The Suffian Commission, established after merdeka, revised the pay structure of the bulk of civil servants. The Aziz Commission revised the salaries of teachers. The Sheikh Abdullah Committee reviewed the pay structure of the Armed Forces personnel. The Harun Commission revised the pay structure of officers in the statutory bodies and in local authorities.

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The Ibrahim Ali Commission was established to co-ordinate and to review the pay scales of employees in the entire public sector. The recommendations of this Commission, however, were rejected by the government which instead implemented (with effect from 1 January 1976) the recommendations of a Cabinet Committee headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Dato Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed. The Cabinet Committee decided to apply to the entire range of public services, with some modifications, the salary structure recommended by the Harun Commission for Statutory Authorities because it appeared to produce the least number of anomalies. The Cabinet Committee also formulated a set of principles to co-ordinate the salary scales recommended by the various Salaries Commissions. In doing this, it separated the Police Force and the Armed Forces for special treatment. The significance of the recommendations of the Cabinet Committee lies in the fact that, for the first time, a Committee of Cabinet ministers has been directly involved in the formulation of not only the basic principles that should apply but also the quanta in terms of cash that should constitute the monthly pay of the public sector employees.

Recruitment and Selection These two words are often interused. In practice, they refer to different activities. Recruitment refers to the process through which individuals are induced to compete for appointments to the civil service. Recruitment ends when applications are received. The next step, selection, refers to the screening of applicants to ensure that they possess, among other things, the relevant qualifications, and meet legal requirements (such as citizenship and age limit) and making a choice. Recruitment of public personnel in each country is influenced by that country's political and social setting. Many governments have formalized policies assuring recruitment and selection from groups that have previously been underrepresented in the civil service. Members of such groups thus may be given preference when they seek civil service employment. Such arrangements have been rooted in economic, political or moral considerations. In the U.S., those who have been honourably discharged from military service are given preference over others in recognition of their service to the nation. With that notion also, recent preference systems have been established for Black citizens and for women. A system of quotas seeks to ensure that backward caste groups in India are recruited in adequate numbers in the civil service. Policies of this character are referred to as "protective discrimination". In Malaysia, recruitment to the Administrative and Diplomatic Service or ADS (formerly known as the Malayan Civil Service, MCS) is subject to a four Malays to

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one non-Malay quota. 1 0 This was introduced by the colonial government in 1952 as part of its policy of safeguarding the "special position" of the Malays. 11 The specific aim of this quota was to prevent the possibility of non-Malays outnumbering the Malays in the MCS, the 'Clite bureaucratic cadre. Article 153 of the 195 7 Constitution authorized the continuation of this practice by permitting the reservation of posts for Malays. Thus, in 1968, about 85% of the ADS were Malays. Underrepresentation of Malays in the higher civil service as a whole would have been greater were it not for this overrepresentation in the ADS. Thus the quota had succeeded in "preventing the ethnic composition of the higher civil service from getting far too out in line with the population composition".12 In turn, this has helped to prevent the selection of higher civil servants from becoming a major political issue as was reportedly the case in Sri Lanka.l3 At the end of 1978, 49% and 51% of the total posts in group "A" in the Civil Service and the Armed Forces were held by bum£putras and non-bumiputras respectively; and 75% of the posts in the professional services in this group (for example, doctors, engineers and accountants) were held by non-bumiputras. 14 The Public Services Commission (PSC) is responsible for recruiting and selecting candidates for civil service jobs in Malaysia. 1 5 The origins of Malaysia's PSC can be traced from the Report of the Public Services Salaries Commission of Malaya 1947 which recommended the establishment of a PSC. A year later (March 1948) a motion in the Federal Legislative Council to establish a PSC was defeated. Malay fears of a Chinese dominated civil service and the declaration of Emergency in 1948 were two dominant factors that delayed the establishment of a local PSC.16 However, an interim body known as the Public Service Appointments and Promotions Board was formed in May 1954, and a permanent PSC was established on Malaya's merdeka day (31 August 1957). 10

The ADS is often confused with the higher ranks of the civil service generally. The ADS is a small administrative -'elite composed of members of the former MCS plus members of the former Foreign Service. For discussions of the MCS, see Lim Huck Tee, "The Origin of the Malayan Civil Service," journal of the South Seas Society, Vol. 26, No. 1 (June 1971), .PP· 40-60; and Mavis Puthucheary, The Politics of Administration (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford Umversity Press, 1978).

11

Federation of Malaya, Report of the Proceedings of the Legislative Council, 19-22 November 1952, p. 473.

12

David S. Gibbons and Zakaria Haji Ahmad, "Politics and Selection for the Higher Civil Service in New States: the Malaysian Example," journal of Comparative Administration, Vol. 2, No. 3 (1971), pp. 337-340.

13

Ibid.

14

New Straits Times, 15 November 1978.

15

See Jon Quah Siew Tien, "The Public Service Commission in Singapore," M.Soc.Sci. Thesis, University of Singapore, 1970, chs. 2 and 4. Both chapters contain discussions on the Malaysian PSC.

16

See D.S. Dass, "Malayanisation: Malayan Civil Service (1945-1957)," Academic exercise, Department of History, University of Malaya in Singapore, 1961, pp. 20-21.

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The PSC relies mainly on advertisements in local newspapers to induce candidates to apply for civil service jobs, and so far has not found it necessary to use other methods of recruitment. Given relatively high unemployment, and with the prestige attached to civil service careers, 1 7 advertising in the newspapers has been adequate to attract a large number of applications. For example, in 1970, there were 162,727 applications for 4,690 vacant posts. The vacancies are only advertised if they cannot be filled by promotions, transfers or secondment of serving officers. Vacancies in Divisions I, II and III are advertised in the Government Gazette and in at least one local newspaper. Vacant posts in Division IV are advertised by way of notices affixed to the noticeboards of the office in which the vacancy occurs and copies of this notice are sent to the Labour Office, Veterans Section (Ministry of Defence), all ministries and departments, and the Youth Pioneer Corps at Dusun Tua. The advertisements specify the qualifications and experience required, the salary scales and grades, the closing dates and the procedures for submitting the applications. After the closing date, a Preliminary Board examines all applications and usually selects for interview four or five applicants for each vacancy. For example, 16,391 applicants were interviewed for 4,690 vacancies in 1970. On the Interview Board, there sit two or three PSC members and -- in an advisory capacity -- the head (or his/her representative) of the department in which the vacancy is to be filled. The recommendations of this Board are discussed at the next meeting of the full commisSion. The final decision is made at this meeting. If a suitable candidate is not available for a particular post, then it is not filled. For example, of the 4,690 vacant posts in 1970, 1,028 were not filled. Delay in processing applications had also resulted m several vacancies remaining unfilled. There were 44,280 vacant posts in July 1978. To speed up the processing of applications, the PSC has decided to replace the present "SPA 1" form with a new form with effect from 1979. The PSC is also considering the possibility of using computers to facilitate this process.l8

Probation and Confirmation Recruits into the civil service are usually on probation for a short period before they are confirmed as "permanent" employees and placed in pensionable 17

See James C. Scott, Political Ideology in Malaysia: Reality and the Beliefs of an Elite (Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press, 1968).

18

New Straits Times, 24 October 1978.

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establishment. In Malaysia, the probationary period ranges from one to three years. The purposes of probation are to give the civil service administration opportunities to evaluate recruits while they are carrying out their duties and freedom to dismiss those whose performance is below expectation. In practice, dismissals are rare. This indicates either that selection procedures have been effective, or that heads of departments are not dropping incompetent appointees. During their probation period, all employees in the civil service in Malaysia must pass departmental examinations and complete training requirements. Those who fail are usually given another opportunity, but this is subject to approval by the head of department who is required also to submit six-monthly reports on each recruit. The reports are submitted to the PSD in the case of officers in Divisions III and above, and to the Ministry in the case of employees in the Industrial and Manual Group (IMG).

Training This refers to postentry or inservice training. The aim of such training IS not only to improve work performance but also to enhance morale by an increased sense of competence. Another result is a lessened need for close supervision. The complexity of modern governmental administration demands that even employees in lower rungs be trained. An appropriate time for training is during an employee's probation period. In fact, successful completion of training requirements is usually a prerequisite for confirmation· of tenure in the civil service. Training should not, however, be limited to what is done during an employee's probation period. It should also be provided periodically thereafter so that employees may be "up to date" on new methods and new VIews m the execution of policies that guide them. In many Third World countries, attention is being given also to preentry training. Institutions of higher learning in these countries have been urged by their governments to emphasize professional and technical training more than "academic" learning. Malaysian universities now offer programmes and courses to prepare students for employment in both public and private sectors. A United Nations handbook of public administration identifies three factors that gave urgency to training for public services in Third World countries: the need for innovation in administration to meet changes in the economic and social systems; the rapid expansion of functions

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which the Government is called upon to perform; and the shortage of trained persons generally characteristic of these countries.19 Recognition of the need to train civil service personnel in Malaysia emerged with independence. Colonial Malaysia's civil service, characterized by mostly repetitive tasks and a predominantly law-and-order orientation, had little need for personnel training. From the nineteen twenties, students from elite local families were given preentry training at the Malay College in Kuala Kangsar (popularly known as MCKK) to prepare them for jobs in the Malay Administrative Service (MAS),20 which was subordinate to the British dominated MCS. And in the nineteen forties, postentry "Devonshire" training was provided in the U.K. for local officers in the public offices in Malaya. 2 1 These training schemes, however, were not adequate for the new functions with which civil servants were confronted after independence. In the early sixties, largely on the initiative of Tun Abdul Razak, then Deputy Prime Minister, the government began to review its administrative system. In 1963 a Staff Training Centre (STC) was established under the New Zealand/Colombo Plan assistance programme. Three years later, two American consultants, John Montgomery and Milton Esman, called for, among other things, training in management for civil servants. 2 2 In 196 7 a study of existing training arrangements and related aspects was undertaken jointly by the STC and the Development Administration Unit (DAU). All federal ministries and departments, state branches of federal departments, thirteen statutory bodies and four local authorities were studied. It took one year and four months to complete this study. The final report, titled Training for Development zn West Malaysia (hereafter The Report) is a major landmark in the administrative history of Malaysia.

The Report identified three trammg systems m existence: (i) training provided by the STC; (ii) training in institutions abroad through scholarships and study leave awards; and (iii) training provided by departments such as Police and

19

United Nations, op.cit., p. 57.

20

See Robert 0. Tilman, "The Malay Administrative Service, 1910-1960," Indian Journal of Public Administration, Vol. 7 (April-June, 1961). For a discussion of the MCKK, see Khasnor binte Johan, "The Malay College, Kuala Kangsar 1905-1941: British Policy of Education for Development in the Federated Malay States," M.A. Thesis, University of Malaya, 1969.

21

Elyas B. Omar, "National Institute of Public Administration, Malaysia," in lnayatullah, ed., Management Training for Development: The Asian Experience (Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Centre for Development Administration, 1975), p. 121.

22

John D. Montgomery and Milton J. Esman, Development Administration in Malaysia: to the Government of Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur: Government Printer, 1966).

Report

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Telecommunications for their officers. The Report concluded that there was inadequate appreciation of training as an integral part of career development in most government departments. To remedy deficiencies in the existing training systems, it put forward 114 recommendations, one important recommendation being the establishment of a National Institute of Public Administration (more popularly known by its Malay acronym, INTAN, or Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara). The Report was approved by the Cabinet in 1970. However, there was no public discussion of the report and lack of interpretative reporting in the local press indicated that the training programmes as envisaged and the creation of INTAN were regarded as purely "internal" management problems, well within the competence of the administrative system.23 INTAN was formally established in September 1972. Elyas Omar (the former Director of INT AN) identifies two other "stimuli" which led to its establishment. First, there was growing awareness within the civil service of its role as an agent of change and the consequent need to equip itself for this role. Second, there was pressure from the ADS, the elite bureaucratic cadre, whose members felt "threatened by a gradual but steady dimunition of power" brought about in part by their relative inability to cope with the new demands made on them. Systematic training and career development was seen as an immediate need in the process of "rejuvenating" the elite cadre. The critical role of INT AN in fulfilling these needs was spelled out in The Report. 24 INTAN's primary function is to equip government employees with the knowledge and skilL> required in the management of public policies and programmes. Specifically, it is responsible for creating amongst civil servants a deep understanding of the social and political environments within which they have to operate; developing progressive approaches and attitudes among civil servants towards more effective decisions and actions; providing a forum for exchanges of ideas and experiences amongst civil servants; collecting and disseminating new ideas and techniques in modem administration; devising a systematic staff development programme at departmental levels; and creating efficient cadres of supervisory staff throughout government agencies. 25 INTAN is composed of four functional departments: Management Studies, Development Studies, Research and Consultancy, and Employee Department Centre. Both Management and Development Studies departments are internally divided into 23

Ibid., p. 125.

24

Ibid.

25

Felix Abisheganaden, "Training the Civil Service," Straits Times, 1 September 1972.

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several "schools" which offer courses in the following areas: Development Administration, Community Development, Land Administration, Local Government Administration, Management Science, Financial Management and Personnel Management. INT AN also offers Supervisory and Clerical Training, Basic Management Training and Top Management Seminars. Short training courses are also given by INT AN on an ad hoc basis to cater to requests. from operating agencies. For example, it conducted a series of short courses on Programme and Performance Budgeting in response to a request from the Treasury. The lecture is the mam training method followed at INTAN. On the average, about 44% of training time is taken up by this method. Other methods used include syndicate discussion (where trainees get an opportunity to express their views on particular problems), film-viewing, visits to relevant sites for a few days to obtain firsthand knowledge, sensitivity training (which aims to sensitize trainees to the dynamics of interpersonal or group interaction), research projects on approved topics, and police/military sponsored training for new ADS recruits to familiarize them with the security aspects of national development. Between 1958 and 1974, INTAN and its predecessor, the STC, conducted 375 residential courses to provide management training for 7,642 officers, and 1,497 nonresidential courses to provide supervisory and clerical training for 24,923 officers. The number of ADS officers trained in INTAN up to the end of 1972 was 581. INTAN is currently developing a system of evaluation to measure the impact of its training programmes. A major problem faced in the efforts to train government officers is the difficulty m getting officers released from their departments for extended periods. ADS officers, especially in the Treasury, Economic Planning Unit (EPU), PSD and Implementation, Coordination and Development Administration Unit (ICDAU) tend to remain there for a long time. The negative consequence of this has been well described by Elyas Omar: All problems, simple and complex, tend to be channelled to these agencies for solution because of overcentralization of planning and decision-making processes. As a result a "vicious circle" of administrative lag develops in which officers need training because of job complexity but the consequential pressure of work prevents adequate training from being given, which further makes the job more difficult as time goes on. 2

26

Elyas b. Omar, Policy Analysis and Development in Malaysia {Kuala Lumpur: Development Administration, 19 7 5).

Asian Centre for

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To prevent the emergence of similar problems in the future the government has recently decided that those selected for the ADS must undergo a year's training at INTAN at the end of which they would be required to pass a written examination.

Only those

who pass this examination would be appointed to the ADS.

Transfer This refers to the horizontal movement of personnel. Such movements could be intradepartmental. For example, an administrative officer in the engineering section of the Public Works Department (PWD) could be transferred to the supply section of the same department. The movements could also be interdepartmental. For example, a research officer in the Malaysian Centre for Development Studies (MCDS) could be transferred to INT AN. Sometimes, transfers may involve movement from one state to another requiring considerable rearrangement of personal and family matters. An employee in the public service may be transferred for one or more of the following reasons: (a)

Strengthening understaffed departments. This is usually done by transferring workers from the well-staffed departments to where there may be greater need.

(b)

Employee preferences. An officer may request a transfer because of a desire to move to an urban area, to rejoin his 'family, or to be able to live closer to his/her place of work.

(c)

Training. An employee may be moved from one department to another to get additional experience as part of his/her training programme.

(d)

Promotion. An employee's transfer may be the result of his promotion, although this is likely to be as much vertical as horizontal.

(e)

Resolving conflicts, administering sanctions (discipline), stimulating co-operation. Removing officers from conflict situations, assigning workers to remote locations or "tough" supervisors, or to co-operative work groups.

Transfers are a fact of life m the Malaysian civil service. It occurs more frequently in some departments. For example, officers in the Diplomatic Service are transferred from one duty post to another, often from one place to another, once in three years or in a lesser period. Other departments noted for frequent transfers arc the Road Transport Department and the Customs Department. In contrast, officers in local authorities and smaller statutory bodies are rarely transferred. The latter are in the nature of "closed services".

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Transfer of higher civil servants in Malaysia often occurs in the months of August and September because it is during these months that most newly recruited staff report for duty. Some of them replace officers who are being posted elsewhere. Transfer of senior officers such as District Officers and heads of departments are newsworthy events in Malaysia, reflecting their social importance. Demands from staff seeking transfers are endemic in some departments, one well-known example being the Education Department. Throughout Malaysia, Education Departments have to cope with literally thousands of teachers requesting transfers. Some headmasters have been alleged to have used the "transfer" as a weapon to make recalcitrant teachers conform. The fear of being posted to the ulu (rural area) haunts teachers who have antagonized their headmasters.

Disciplinary Actions and Appeals Recommending disciplinary action for infringement of rules or failure to live up to the terms of employment is probably the most unpleasant task of any personnel administrator. Matters that may call for disciplinary action range from minor occurrences such as unauthorized absence from work or taking too many "tea breaks" to major offences such as corruption and fraud. The type of discipline enforced depends on the nature of the problem. Minor infringements may be taken care of with only a warning, but major violations may require suspension, demotion or dismissal. In the Malaysian civil service, disciplinary measures which involve deferment of increment or dismissal are handled by the PSC. Disciplinary measures involving less severe action are handled by a Disciplinary Board of government officers who are in active service. In the case of employees in Division IV, the Head of Department has the authority to take appropriate disciplinary action. It is known that between 1968 and 1974 disciplinary action was taken against 351 government officers but there has been no tabulation of the nature of their offences or the type of action taken. Related to discipline is the question of appeals for which procedures arc spelled out m the regulations. It is acknowledged that an employee subject to discipline should have an opportunity to present his case formally. Hence, the Malaysian Constitution in Article 144 ( 5 B} provides that any person aggrieved by the action of the Disciplinary Board may present his grievances to an appeal board appointed by the King. The Appeal Board is within the PSD. Malaysian civil servants in some cases have also taken their grjevanccs to the courts, and some have gone as high as the Privy Council.

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The Malaysian Constitution in Article 135 also provides that no member of the public service (other than the armed forces) may be reduced in rank or dismissed without being given a reasonable opportunity to be heard. An interpretation of "reasonable opportunity" has been provided by the Privy Council in the case of Sur£nder S£ngh Kanda v. The Government of the Federation of Malaya, as follows: where an adverse departmental report on a dismissed officer's conduct was not made available to him though read by the adjudicating officer, the dismissed officer had not been given a reasrmable opportunity of being heard.27

Promotion This refers to appointment to a higher post within the same organization and without a break in service. It involves an increase in pay, more difficult work, greater responsibilities and a change of title. The "higher post" may be a vacancy or a new position. Opportunity for promotion is considered a fundamental principle in any organization. It provides employees with a strong incentive for self-improvement. There are three important steps in designing a promotion system: (a) identifying the paths of promotion; (b) specifying the criteria for promotion; and (c) devising a system of obtaining and recording data on employees' work performance. There is controversy over which of the following two criteria should be emphasized in promotion: seniority and merit. Those who favour emphasis on seniority point to the following advantages. First, seniority means increased experience which, in turn, results in maturity and increased competence. Second, it is an objective criterion in that it can be measured exactly. Third, it provides security to employees because they would know in advance when they would be promoted. Fourth, it creates organizational stability because employees would be less inclined to switch jobs for fear of losing this "asset". Those who oppose emphasis on seniority point to the following disadvantages. First, in cases, where seniority means nothing more than time served, emphasizing it would result in incapable officers at high echelons. Second, it provides no incentive for self-improvement because employees know they would be promoted regardless. Third, several years of experience in one job may not necessarily be an advantage in

27

Tan Sri Mohamed Suffian bin Hashim, An Introduction to the Constitution of Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur: Government Printer, 1972), p. 105. Also see L.A. Sheridon and Harry E. Groves, The Constitution of Malaysia(New York: Oceana Publications, Inc., 1967), pp. 181-182.

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another job requiring different talents.

Fourth, it can result in organizational instability

if less senior but more able employees decide to move to more rewarding jobs. Most writings on public personnel administration favour an emphasis on the merit criterion but simultaneously insist that seniority should not be ignored. The following recommendation in the United Nations Handbook is illustrative: Promotion to a higher grade in the career service should at all events be based upon the candidate's successful performance in his present grade and upon objective evidence that he is prepared to assume tasks of greater difficulty and responsibility. Seniority should not be given excessive weight in this regard. But seniority, not in the sense of elapsed time, but in the sense of maturity and cumulative experience, is a relevant consideration in promotion to a higher grade.28 The criteria for promotion in the Malaysian civil service are given in General Orders A. 3 8: Officers will be selected for promotion on the basis of official qualifications, experience and merit. Only where two candidates are adjudged of equal merit will preference be given to the senior. In judging merit, due consideration will be given to the general suitability of an officer for the post for which he is being considered. In practice, however, according to the Suffian Commission report, seniority rather than merit had been the important consideration in promotion. This report provides a good example of seniority taking precedence over ability: An officer, A, was employed in the State Civil Service as a Division II officer. When a Superscale post in the Malayan Civil Service fell vacant, A was appointed to act in the superscale post although he was not an MCS officer. He continued to act in this post for a number of years and then elected to apply for appointment to the MCS. He secured the appointment but he was subsequently removed from the acting appointment because his seniority in the MCS which commenced from the date of his appointment to that service, was low in relation to that of other officers. 29

28

United Nations, op.cit.

29

Royal Commission on the Revision of Salaries and Conditions of Service in the Public Service (Kuala Lumpur: Government Printer, 1967), p. 29.

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The emphasis on seniority, according to the Montgomery and Esman report, "tends to reward mediocrity and time serving". This report recommended that a greater emphasis be placed "on objective tests and controlled supervisory judgements of the employee's potential for more senior service. ,3 0

Retirement, Pension and Other Benefits A planned and reasonable retirement system m the civil service boosts employee morale in at least two ways. First, the retirement of older employees provides those lower in the hierarchy with opportunities for promotion. Second, it provides a hopeful prospect for all employees, especially those who are disabled or advancing in age. The compulsory retirement age for civil servants in Malaysia is fifty-five. However, present rules allow male employees to retire at fifty. Retirement at forty-five may be elected by female employees, and by certain members of the Fire Service, the Prison Department, and male nurses in mental hospitals. Since it is difficult for civil servants to save enough money for retirement, the Malaysian Government, like most other governments, pays a pension every month to retired civil servants who have worked at least ten years in the civil service. The following formula is used to calculate the amount of pension per month for each civil servant: 1 600

Monthly salary X

at retirement

X

Number of full months in service

Thus a semor civil servant who received a monthly salary of Rgt. 3,000 at retirement and has served 360 full months (30 years) would technically be eligible for a monthly pension of Rgt. 1,800. However, for all employees, there is an upper limit on the amount of pension per month. That is, the amount must not exceed half of the monthly salary at retirement.

Thus the senior civil servant mentioned above would

only receive a monthly pension of Rgt. 1,500. The government currently spends approximately Rgt. 7 5 million annually on payment of pension. In addition to the monthly pension, a gratuity is also payable. It is calculated at the rate of one-twentieth of the monthly salary due at the time of retirement for each completed month of service. While there is a limit on the amount of pension payable, there is no limit in regard to the gratuity due. 30

Montgomery and Esman, op.cit.

On retirement, the employee

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also collects his contributions to the Employees Provident Fund {EPF). For the first ten years of an officer's service, he/she is required to contribute to this Fund at the rate prescribed by law. The employer contributes at the rate of 10%. On retirement the employer's share of contribution to this Fund is forfeited by the employee and the period of service covered by the contributions to this Fund is reckoned for pension purposes. In all such cases the employee retains his/her own share of contributions (plus interest). If an officer dies after completing ten years of service, his dependants (defined as widow and minor children) qualify for a family pension. The amount of pension and gratuity payable to the dependants is calculated in the same manner as though the officer had retired. The family pension is paid for a period of twelve and a half years beginning from the date of death of the officer. If an officer dies after retirement, the pension previously paid to him continues to be paid to his dependants for a minimum period of twelve and a half years beginning from the date of retirement of the officer. In all cases the pension paid to the dependants ceases to be payable if the widow remarries or the children attain the age of 18 years, whichever is the earlier. Both service and family pensions are exempted from income tax.

Employees in the Malaysian civil service are also entitled to ancillary benefits, the most important being the Injury Allowance. It is paid to an officer who is forced to retire because of an injury sustained in the course of performance of his/ her duties. The amount payable is calculated on the basis of the degree of impairment sustained. The Injury Allowance payable continues to be paid to the officer in addition to his monthly pension until hisfher death.

Relations with Employee Organizations This is probably the most controversial aspect of personnel administration. There is disagreement on whether such relations fall within the responsibilities of the personnel administrator. The dominant view is that collective bargaining, in particular, concerns the personnel administrator in his vitals because it is his job to advise management on all matters affecting people at their place of work. If organized employee relations are properly handled, public personnel administration stands to profit, but if it fails, much else is jeopardized.31

31

M.D. Dimock and G.O. Dimock, Public Administration (Hinsdale, Illinois: 1969), p. 259.

The Dryden Press,

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The right of civil servants to organize m order to protect and advance their collective interests has been conceded in most countries. But many of these countries have placed restrictions on this right. These countries regard the career service as requmng a special continuity of work and therefore prohibit strikes to all public employees. Others prohibit strikes to special groups of the public service whose duties concern public order and health and safety, and the operation of essential public utilities.32 Malaysia falls into the latter group of countries. In Malaysia, machinery is provided for negotiations between the government and councils representing groups of public employees on proposed changes in the terms and conditions of service. Prior to 1969, this machinery was called the "Whitley Council". It originated in Britain as a result of a recommendation by a Committee under the chairmanship of J.H. Whitley. These councils had a staff side and an official side. In all there were eight negotiating councils. These have now been replaced by three Joint Councils, one for the public service, one for statutory authorities, and one for the Police. The new setup differs from the Whitley Council system in that individual unions may negotiate direct with the Council on pay and conditions of service, on salaries affecting their own grades provided that these are not related to other grades in the public service.33

Concluding Remarks Civil Servants and the New Economic Policy (NEP) The NEP, promulgated after the tragic May 1969 riots, aims to achieve national unity by eradicating poverty and restructuring Malaysian society. In implementing the NEP in general and the Third Malaysia Plan (TMP) in particular, the government has encountered numerous difficulties. Not only opposition politicians and several business groups but also government MPs and some UMNO leaders have been active critics of shortcomings in the implementation of these policies. It is widely believed that the TMP, which has passed the half way mark, has fallen short of projected targets in important areas. In Perak, according to State Secretary Datuk Seri Haji Radin 32

United Nations, op.cit., p. 52

33

Abdul Aziz Zakaria, op.cit., p. 65.

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Soenarno, "it is unlikely that the State can achieve the [TMP] target .... miracle would we be able to achieve many of the targets."3 4

Only by a

Civil servants in Malaysia have increasingly become the mam target of criticism for the shortcomings in the implementation of the NEP. Many civil servants have been chided for being obsessed with "routine" work and highly formalistic, and for not being sufficiently "development-oriented". Some have been accused of having misunderstood the intent of the NEP. This has led, it is alleged, to these civil servants being "over zealous" in implementing one objective but ignoring other equally important objectives. Prime Minister Datuk Hussein Onn has advised civil servants "not to be too officious in carrying out their duties". He was referring particularly to "a few officers who did not meet the people or even their colleagues who did not make a prior appointment. ,35 Other government leaders have urged "those [civil servants] deviating from government policies, either for their own interest or the interests of certain groups" 36 to quit the civil service. Recently the government has taken two measures to ensure greater civil serv1ce efficiency. Firstly, towards the end of 197 8, it introduced a Bill in Parliament which sought to amend Article 135 (2) of the Malaysian .Constitution. According to this amendment, public servants whose services are terminated in the "public interest" shall not have the right "to be heard".37 The amendment would make it easier to apply Provision 44 of Part D of the General Orders, 1969, which enables the government to terminate the services of officials without resorting to disciplinary proceedings. "Termination of service", however, does not amount to "dismissal", in a technical sense, because the officers concerned would not lose their pension benefits, as laid down in the Pensions Ordinance, 1951. According to Datuk Hussein Onn, who moved the Bill in Parliament, the amendment would make it easier for the government to take action against civil servants who had become corrupt, had "lost interest in their jobs though they had not reached their retirement age", or were "no longer interested in serving the government".38 34

New Straits Times, 19 January 1979.

35

Ibid., 20 May 1976.

36

Ibid., 17 October 197 8.

37

For a useful but dated discussion on this subject, see F.A. Trindade, "The Security of Tenure of Public Servants in Malaysia and Singapore," in G.W. Bartholomew, ed., Malayan Law Review Legal Essays (Singapore: Malayan Law Review, 1975), pp. 256-287.

38

New Straits Times, 23 December 1978.

Emphasis added.

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Secondly, the government has introduced a "code of ethics" for civil servants, with effect from 1 January 1979. This code has its origins probably in a suggestion made by the Deputy Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, in early 1977. In suggesting the development of an ethical code, he argued that it would be a "powerful system of behaviour development" and expressed the hope that it could in time replace the General Orders which attempted to regulate behaviour "through coercion". 39 The code is contained in a 36-page booklet, titled Panduo.n Perkhidmatan Cemerlang {Guidelines to Excellence in Service), which has been distributed to all civil servants. It exhorts all civil servants to raise the quality of service, work with full responsibility, strive to eliminate self-interests, serve with goodwill and genuine warmth, work towards raising the consciousness of the people and national development, co-operate to wipe out weaknesses and the nation's enemies, and adhere steadfastly to religious teachings. Will the distribution of these booklets lead to greater efficiency? It is obvious that those who are serving with dedication do not need any more exhortation or guidelines, and those who are inefficient will need more than guidelines. The question then is: what are the conditions that will motivate the latter to practise along these guidelines? Within the civil service, exemplary behaviour by those in supervisory positions is likely to have positive effects on the subordinates. Externally, an effective system of parliamentary rule, which would make possible a penetrating review of administrative actions, and greater consciousness of their rights among the populace are likely to force civil servants to provide what the code calls for: "service with a smile". These conditions are by no means exhaustive.

39

Straits Echo, 30 March 1977

INSTITUTE OF SOU1HEAST ASIAN STUDIES LIST OF PUBLICATIONS IN THE

RESEARCH NOTES AND DISCUSSIONS PAPERS SERIES

1

M. Mainguy, Economic Problems Related to Oil and Gas Exploration, 1976. 39pp. S$6.00

2

R. William Liddle, Cultural and Class Politics in New Order Indonesia, 1977.

21pp. S$4.00 3

Raja Segaran Arumugam, State and Oil in Burma, 1977. 36pp. S$5.00

4

Hilman Adil, Australia's Policy Towards Indonesia During Confrontation, 1962-66, 1977. 90pp. S$8.00

5

Albert D. Moscotti, Burma's Constitution and Elections of 1974: A Source Book, 1977. 184pp. S$13.00

6

Thamsook Numnonda, Thailand and the Japanese Presence, 1941-45, 1977. 142pp. S$13.00

7

Nguyen The Ann, The Withering Days of the Nguyen Dynasty, 1978. 33pp. S$4.00

8

M. Rajaretnam, Thailand's Kra Canal: Some Issues, 1978. 82pp. S$8.00

9

R.O. Whyte and Pauline Whyte, Rural Asian Women: Status and Environment, 1978. 34pp. S$4.00

10

Ismail Kassim, The Politics of Accommodation: An Analysis of the 1978 Malaysian General Election, 1978. llOpp. S$11.00

11

Leo Suryadinata, The "Overseas Chinese" in Southeast Asia and China's Foreign Policy: An Interpretative Essay, 1978. 45pp. S$5.00

12

Y. Mansoor Marican, Public Personnel Administration in Malaysia, 1979. 21pp. S$4.00

Publications Review Committee Kemial S. Sandhu (Chairman) Sharon Siddique (Co-ordinator) Huynh Kim Khanh Vichitvong na Pombhejara P. Lim Pui Huen Christine Tan

THE. AUTHOR Y. Mansoor Marican, Ph.D., is currently Lecturer in Political Science and Public Administration, School of Comparative Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, West Malaysia. He obtained his doctorate from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver. He has contributed numerous articles to journals and publications and is co-author of lntegrasi Politik (in press).