KUCHING, July 12: The appalling work ethics of government servants need urgent redress, asserts Violet Yong (DAP-Pending).
She said it had been the norm for civil servants to clock-in in the morning and immediately leave their offices for breakfast or a drink elsewhere.
“At around 10am, there will be another round of tea break. Therefore, if one were to make phone calls to look for certain officers around that time, there is a very high probability that the success rate to look for any intended officer is low.
She claimed she had received many complaints about the working attitude and efficiency of government servants. She said they were either never in the office or nobody ever bothered to pick up the phone.
“I was also informed that there are some black sheep who return to the office after lunch break, just sit around and do nothing but wait for the right time to clock out. I am not exaggerating here,” Yong said when debating the Yang di-Pertua Negeri’s address at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) today.
She added that it was also common to see government officials glued to their mobile phones and empty offices with the air-conditioner switched on.
Citing the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) as an example, Yong claimed that those workers who process consent applications were “indeed problematic, lack of enthusiasm and below par”.
For instance, she said the staff never showed any initiative to call the applicants if supporting documents were not enclosed, and the applicants would only know about it when they enquired about their applications.
“The chance of receiving a phone call from the officer concerned about the missing supporting documents is almost nil,” she lamented.
Yong added that it was also very difficult to get hold of the officer-in-charge due to the “not around” and “on leave” syndrome.
“If a particular officer-in-charge is on leave or not around, no one in the whole section can give a helping hand.”
Yong opined that the government would never be able to deliver good services with such problematic people inside the system.
“We are not talking about one ministry only. It happens in many state and federal ministries. If we wish to improve the efficiency level of the public sector, we cannot let such problems continue,” she said. — DayakDaily
