KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 3,602 civil servants were declared bankrupt between 2020 and September 2024.
Insolvency Department data indicate that the highest cases were recorded in 2020 when 1,009 civil servants were declared bankrupt.
In 2021, a total of 678 cases were recorded, 621 cases (2022) and (628 cases (2023).
For the first nine months of this year, 666 cases were recorded.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said stated in a written Parliamentary reply that all government ministry and department heads must assess their subordinates' ability to repay debts.
She said salary deductions were allowed under the Rules on Maintaining Living Standards and Serious Financial Indebtedness.
However, a public servant's net income must not drop below 40 per cent of their monthly salary, except in cases involving housing and education loans.
She said Integrity Units in all ministries and departments are tasked with monitoring civil servants with a high level of debt.
Those with high debt levels can be reprimanded, though they will also receive counselling to help them better manage their finances.
"The government will continue monitoring for high levels of debts among civil servants through the Organisational Anti-Corruption Plan (OACP)," she said.
Azalina said the four-year OACP lays out preventive, educational and enforcement plans to strengthen integrity and transparency among civil servants.
She was responding to a question from Datuk Seri Richard Riot Anak Jaem (GPS-Serian) who asked about the government's efforts to tackle bankruptcies among civil servants.
Azalina also said the Insolvency Department constantly conducted awareness programmes and offered counselling to help civil servants manage their finances better.