Remove Problematic Civil Service Employees, Says UN Expert On Public Admin

By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), Oct 20 (Bernama) -- Public service departments must not shy away from removing unethical and unprofessional civil service employees because they can jeopardise the entire civil service if left unchecked, said a United Nations expert on public administration. A member of the United Nations Committee of Experts in Public Administration Odette Ramsingh said problematic employees, including those who simply refuse to transform in line with the government's vision and plan, should not be spared. In contrast, she said the private sector was ruthless in this sense while the public service normally tried to ignore or simply transfer such problematic people to another department just to avoid the responsibility," she told Bernama here Monday. Ramsingh, who is also South Africa's former Director General for Public Service Commission, said unethical and unprofessional employees were 'cancerous' to the system. "Although they may be small in number, they can spread an unhealthy culture at the workplace," she said. She said this after a panel session on "Human Resource Management" held on the sidelines of the three-day Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) Bienniel Conference 2014. She noted that highly professional civil service employees inspired public confidence towards the government through their service deliverance. Ramsingh said Malaysia's concept of "humanising the public service" was interesting as it was the responsibility of each civil service employee to initiate change for the benefit of the public that they served. "They need to be responsible and fair in their action. Ask yourself if that is the kind of service that you want to get," she said, adding that a quality service created a better relationship between people and the government. Other panelists in the session were Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration (Trinidad and Tobago) Gillian Macintyre and Director of Human Capital Development Division, Public Service Department Malaysia Datin Dr Rosslina Ahmad Mokhtar. About 1,500 delegates from 53 countries are attending the conference organised in collaboration with the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) and Commonwealth Secretariat with the theme of 'Public Service Transformation: A New Conversation'. --BERNAMA