PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has called on the civil service to continue extending their full cooperation to the new Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.
"I ask for continued cooperation (by the civil service), as was given before. Decisions have been made, and as with any decision, including the appointment of the Prime Minister, it may not be the best, but a decision has been made.
"What we must do now is to commit to it and place our trust in Allah," he said during the Prime Minister's Department monthly assembly, here today.
Also present were Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said; Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa; 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 added that Shamsul will work as part of a team alongside his colleagues and civil servants to elevate the government's performance and meet the expectations of not only the civil service but also the public.
Shamsul's appointment as the new Chief Secretary and successor to Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali who retired on Aug 10, was announced by the Prime Minister's Office on Aug 7.
He previously served as the director-general of the Public-Private Partnership Unit (UKAS) and he has more than 30 years of experience in public service, with postings in the Finance Ministry, the Public Service Department, and state government administration.
Shamsul holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and received exposure from several international institutions, including the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom, and the European Institute of Business Administration.