PUTRAJAYA: Civil servants, be warned.
Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said he will continue to conduct surprise visits to government agencies.
This, he said, was because there were still grouses about the delivery of service from the public.
He also called for all department heads to adopt a similar approach to ensure that services to the public are always efficient, swift, and professional.
"Service delivery that still employs outdated methods is less effective and lacks competitiveness. This aligns with the Public Complaints Bureau report, which states that most complaints received in 2024 were about failure to meet customer expectations, issues with public facilities and infrastructure, and weak enforcement.
"We talk about technology that enhances service delivery efficiency, yet there are still complaints from customers – the government is slow, uncaring, that there are 10 counters but only one is open, and so on.
"To address this, as demonstrated by my recent surprise visit to the Road Transport Department counter in Putrajaya, I will continue these surprise inspections nationwide, especially at frontline agencies," he said in his maiden address at the Dewan De' Seri Endon in Putrajaya today.
He said outdated service delivery methods were one of the three main challenges plaguing civil servant reforms, with the others being bureaucracy and a strong culture of working in silos, as well as integrity issues.
He said the visits would be done without the presence of senior officials.
"(This is) not to find faults or seek popularity but because, as chief secretary, I believe it is my responsibility to ensure that the government's service delivery system is always at its best.
"I also believe in the concept of Management by Walking Around (MBWA), where every department head should adopt a similar approach to ensure that our services to the public are always efficient, swift, and professional," he said.
Shamsul Azri, the former director-general of the Public Private Partnership Unit (UKAS), was appointed as the 16th Chief Secretary to the Government on Aug 12, succeeding Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali, whose contract ended on Aug 10.