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carried out since the 1980s, and MAMPU oversees and monitors the implementation of the reform efforts in the various government bodies. Administrative reform currently undertaken by MAMPU is in inculcating a quality culture within the public service, strengthening management integrity in the operations of the public sector, and supporting the objectives of private-public sector collaboration under the Malaysia Incorporated Policy. MAMPU also serves as the central agency that provides technical and management expertize for the development of information and communications technology (ICT) and office automation in the public sector.11
11.2.5 Administrative and Diplomatic Service
The Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service (ADS) deserves a special mention in any write-up on the Malaysian civil service system. This is because almost all the senior government officials in the country are from the ADS, including secondment positions from the ADS to public corporations and other statutory agencies. Many of the strategic and key decision-making positions in the Malaysian civil service are held by ADS officers, and consequently they have tremendous responsibilities and discretionary powers. Such was the importance of the ADS that the Esman-Montgomery Report emphasized the need for the government to strengthen the skills and knowledge of its ADS12 officers through specialized post-entry training. The ADS can be regarded as an elitist service, which derives its nature from the legacy of the colonial British administrative system. The British also realized the importance of absorbing Malays from the upper social strata to become administrators, a legacy that is observed today in the ADS being ethnically composed of mainly Malays.
The ADS was fi rst established by the British as the Malayan Civil Service. It was renamed the Malaysian civil service after the country gained independence in 1957, and was later merged with the Malaysian Foreign Service in 1967 to form the Malaysian Home and Foreign Service. The name was changed to ADS in 1971 to reflect its role more accurately. A unique feature of the ADS is its generalist character, although this trait is more prevalent during the 1960s and 1970s where mostly liberal arts graduates were appointed to the ADS. The generalist character of the ADS has also been raised in the Esman-Montgomery Report to the Malaysian government. The report had raised the fear of over-specialization in the Malaysian civil service, which tends to weaken the capacity of the ADS to retain policy control since ADS officers are mostly generalists [14].
Senior civil servants in the country are organized and classified as administrators (generalists) and professionals (specialists). Most of the senior civil servants are ADS officers who are generalist. However, at the departmental level, most departments are headed by officers from related services such as the Public Works Department being headed by an engineer. The dichotomy between administrators and professionals, with greater power and authority vested in the administrators, produced a somewhat love-hate relationship between the ADS and the other services. Some professional departments resent the concentration of administrative authority of the ADS, and what is often seen as excessive administrative interference over professional autonomy [15]. As highlighted in the Esman-Montgomery Report, the Malaysian civil service system, which is closed to those who have not entered at junior levels, tends to prevent the rise of specialists into policymaking roles. This created a situation where specialists in the higher ranks are encouraged to
11MAMPU, http://www.mampu.gov.my/mampueng/Corporat/Introduction.htm (accessed April 6, 2008).
12The Esman-Montgomery Report referred to ADS officers as Malaysian civil service officers, as the service was then known.
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become over-specialized, while the generalists tend to become over-generalized. Thus, an artificial gap exists between the professionals and the administrators [16].
The generalist nature of the ADS can be tied to its selection process where the minimum entry requirement is an honors bachelor degree (from any discipline) from an institution that is recognized by the government. However, being a premier service, the selection process for the ADS is more rigorous in comparison to other services from the Managerial and Professional Group. Despite the rigor of the selection process, fresh graduates are still attracted to join the ADS, understandably due to the “prestige” and its “elitist” image.
Short-listed candidates first sit a written test that covers topics on general knowledge about Malaysia and its environment, problem-solving skills, comprehension, and written essays in English and Malay language. Those who fare well in the examinations will be short listed to attend the PTD Assessment Center (PAC). The PAC is a 3-day program and is held in all INTAN campuses throughout the country. The competencies assessed during the PAC are personal qualities, knowledge, and skills. The personal qualities assessed are leadership potential, self-confidence and the ability to have a high tolerance level toward both physical and mental challenges, teamwork skills, and self-presentation. Aspects of knowledge that are assessed include the ability to generate ideas that are mature in outlook, substantive, and relevant. Skills that are assessed in the PAC are public-speaking skills, communication skills, and parliamentary debating skills. Apart from the three competency areas, candidates are also evaluated on their physical endurance. Marks obtained by the candidates throughout the PAC are then ranked and submitted to the PSC, where only the cream will be called for interview. Only those who successfully went through the interview will be appointed as an ADS officer.13
Being appointed an ADS officer is just the beginning as there are four more stages that an ADS officer has to go through on gaining entry into the service; the first being a 10-day course called “PTD Unggul.”14 The course serves as the foundation course in educating ADS officers on the need to subscribe to an excellent work culture and the role they have to play in fulfilling the aspirations of the nation and its stakeholders. At the end of the course, the young recruits are informed of their job assignments and which ministries or departments they are attached to, be it at the state or federal level. And so begins the next phase of the career path of an ADS officer, where he/she will then undergo a 6-month on-the-job training. The 6-month stint is followed by the compulsory requirement to attend another 6-month Diploma in Public Administration (DPA) course at INTAN’s main campus in Bukit Kiara. The DPA course not only stresses the academic aspect of public administration, but also emphasizes elements such as discipline and character building in order to mould a “super” ADS officer.
ADS officers are assigned their postings once they have completed their Diploma in Public Administration. Only then are they full-fledged ADS officers, but their career development does not end with their postings. Throughout their career, they will be required to attend training courses from time to time in line with the spirit of continuous learning. These courses, collectively known as “PTD Training Roadmap M41” covers aspects such as communication and interpersonal skills, accountability and financial management, public policy management, strategic thinking skills, project management and planning, and public sector human resource management.
13National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN), http://www.intanbk.intan.my/cda/m_ptd/on_pac.php (accessed January 24, 2008).
14“Unggul” is literally translated as “important’ in English, but the word carries a deeper meaning than just importance. The PTD website expresses the word as “something beyond the ordinary,” http://www.intanbk.intan. my/cda/m_ptd/on_pac.php (accessed January 24, 2008).
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Such was the rigour in the selection and development of an ADS officer in recognition of the importance of the service to the Malaysian public sector. As it is, almost all strategic and important posts within the Malaysian civil service are held by ADS officers; among others, these include the posts of secretary general and deputy secretary general, director general and deputy director general, state secretary, ambassadors and district officers.
11.3 Compensation and Benefits
The Malaysian civil service is known to have a one-fits-all system for compensation and benefits that applies throughout the whole public sector. The career of a civil servant in the country is determined by the “scheme of service” of the various classes of jobs. Thus, an officer is recruited to the lowest grade in a scheme of service and not to a particular post. An officer who holds a post in a certain grade is eligible for promotion to a higher grade within the same scheme of service to which he belongs. All appointments in the civil service are made in accordance with the required qualifications as stipulated in the specific scheme of service, which are determined by the Public Service Department. The PSD also has the authority to make any revisions or amendments to the existing scheme of service, or formulate new ones [17].
Prior to the introduction of the NRS, which came into effect in 1992, Malaysian civil servants were classified into categories A, B, C, and D. Category A consisted of the Managerial and Professional Group, which required a university degree as entry requirement; category B consisted of the executive and sub-professional group, which required a diploma or high school certificate; category C consisted of the clerical and technical group, which required the Malaysian Certificate of Education (equivalent to the British “O” Levels); and category D consisted of manual workers and required only a lower school certificate as entry qualification. This classification was collapsed into two groups, namely, the Managerial and Professional Group, and the Support Group, following the introduction of the NRS. The purpose of collapsing the groups was to reduce the level of hierarchy within the civil service. The introduction of the NRS also saw 574 scheme of service reorganized and reduced to only 274 schemes and 19 classifications based on similarities of roles and functions [18].
The introduction of the NRS in 1992 was a milestone in the history of the Malaysian civil service, as it was the fi rst time that a performance-based reward system was introduced. It was also an attempt on the part of the Malaysian government to prevent “brain drain” of its civil servants to the private sector. The NRS introduced an entirely new salary structure, known as the Matrix Salary Schedule (MSS), for all sectors of the public service except for those in the premier grade posts (JUSA). This allows for flexibility in remunerating the civil servants. Unlike the previous fi xed one-line salary structure where the movement of salary was fi xed, the NRS allows for salary movement to be either in the form of static, horizontal, vertical, or diagonal movement. The type of movement is linked to the performance of the individual based on his/her performance appraisal, which comes under the New Performance Appraisal System (NPAS). A civil servant whose performance appraisal is found to be “not satisfactory” receives no salary increment (static), while those whose performance is rated as “satisfactory” will be given horizontal pay progression (one-step pay increment). Vertical pay progression (two-step pay increment) is given to those with “good” performance rating, while those with “excellent” performance rating will receive diagonal pay progression (three-step pay increment) [19]. There is also a quota of 3% for vertical salary movement and 2% for diagonal progression. This is the main difference between the NRS and the previous system—the NRS is a performance-based
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system as opposed to the seniority-based system of the past. Thus, the introduction of the NRS was a jolt to the civil servants who had long been accustomed to the seniority-based system. Performance appraisal used in the civil service beginning with the NRS was clearly performance-based, which was a significant and bold move on the part of the government in an attempt to change the culture of the civil service through its reward system. Consequently, the impact of the NRS has been significant, cited as “one reason for a dramatic improvement in civil service performance [20].”
Although the new system of performance appraisal under the NRS was meant to create a more objective and reliable appraisal system, it had, however, its fair share of critics. Comments and criticism were received from both the workers and the workers’ union (CUEPACS)15; the main contention being the issue of fairness of the evaluation decision. A survey by CUEPACS showed that 90% of civil servants were not happy with the implementation of the new appraisal system. The issue of subjectivity and human bias in evaluation, lack of consistency in the evaluation process, and raters did not seem to be knowledgeable or have adequate skills to rate their subordinates were among the bones of contention [21].
Taking stock of the mounting criticism, another pay plan was introduced in November 2002, known as the Malaysian Remuneration System (MRS). The MRS was not to replace the NRS. Rather it provided an avenue for those who were not satisfied with the NRS to opt for the MRS. The MRS retains the elements of the MSS. However, the static, horizontal, vertical, and diagonal salary progression was replaced with regular salary progression, which is akin to horizontal salary movement under the NRS. However, under the MRS, a shift in salary progression is not only based on an individual’s performance, but also subject to him/her passing the CAL. Thus, one of the main changes of the MRS is the introduction of competency assessment, which was totally devoid from the civil service landscape previously. One of the objectives of CAL is to create a learning organization in the public sector and also to develop knowledge workers among the civil servants [22]. It is still too early to gauge the effectiveness of the MRS on the issue of compensation in the Malaysian civil service, although the need to pass the CAL has been viewed in some quarters as an added bureaucratic burden to both the organization and the employees. Nonetheless, despite the shortcomings, a performance and competency-based reward system coupled with salary and compensation that is among the best in the region,16 sees the Malaysian civil service moving in the right direction toward becoming a world-class civil service.
Civil service pay in Malaysia used to be much inferior to that of the private sector. However, over the years, civil service pay in general has much improved, although it will never be able to match the salaries of the larger corporations of the private sector. Between 1967 and 1977, seven salary commissions were appointed, and their recommendations were all acceptable to the government except for the recommendations of the Ibrahim Ali Commission in 1975. The government then established a cabinet committee following the Ibrahim Ali Commission, and the recommendations of the committee were implemented in the following year [23]. Following this, further salary revisions were decided on by cabinet-level committees. For the year 2000 pay revision, the government decided to make an across-the-board 10% salary increase for all services, and this was followed again in 2002 [24]. In May 2007, the government again announced a salary increase to
15CUEPACS stands for Congress of Union of Employees in the Public and Civil Service.
16China Press, January 11, 2008, Regardless of race, gender, only the best will be employed and promoted, http://www.pemudah.gov.my/China_press_1101108_exclusive_interview_with KSN.asp (accessed January 28, 2008).
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