00:00An economist said Malaysia has the resources to reform the civil service, but lacks the
00:06political will to do it.
00:09Chung Tin Fah of Health University said the government is reluctant to implement reforms
00:13such as job cuts and redeployment in the Malay-dominant civil service because they rely on it as their
00:19vote bank.
00:20In 2022, it was reported that about 90% of the 1.2 million civil servants were Mumputras.
00:27Chung also said that while the government has the necessary ideas and institutions to
00:32provide training to civil servants, he doubts it will take action.
00:36Earlier this month, former Health Minister Khairi Jamaluddin suggested that Malaysia
00:40set up its own version of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency to streamline and
00:46reform civil service operations.
00:48However, he dismissed the possibility of job cuts, proposing that workers be retrained
00:53and redeployed instead.
00:56Civil scientist Wong Chin Huat agreed that job cuts were not the solution, adding that
01:01right-sizing the civil service must be done strategically and carried out with empathy
01:06and respect.
01:07Natasha Biest, FMT News.
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