PUTRAJAYA: The new civil service salary rules, known as the Public Service Remuneration System Study (SSPA) and which will take effect in December, are not merely a reform to increase the disposable income of civil servants.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the new system would also be performance-based, rewarding those who excel while imposing consequences on those who fail to demonstrate good performance.
"As I have always emphasised, we cannot treat everyone the same, especially in terms of rewards and recognition.
"I need this message to be clear. Civil servants who do not show good work performance, who are negligent, or who are frequently absent from the office without approval from their department head, will not be rewarded," he said in his keynote address at the 19th Majlis Amanat Perdana Perkhidmatan Awam (MAPPA) today.
Present were Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar and Public Service Department Director-General Datuk Seri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz.
Anwar said the implementation of SSPA would also be based on three key principles of reform, including the aim to increase the productivity and efficiency of the civil service.
"The second reform focuses on enhancing civil servants' readiness to implement change, while the third aims to boost the nation's competitiveness."
Following this, he added that the government had also agreed to improve aspects of performance management, conduct and disciplinary procedures.
This, Anwar said, includes enhancements to the Public Officers (Conduct and Discipline) Regulations 1993 to introduce new regulations addressing governance failures in public financial management and to strengthen disciplinary procedures for officers who are absent from duty.
"Among other improvements, the annual performance evaluation score required for promotion will rise from 80 to 85 per cent.
"There will also be the implementation of a new annual performance evaluation system to replace the current annual performance appraisal report, focusing on competency and values, and emphasising five principles of fairness, objectivity, transparency, relevance and adaptability."