SEPANG: The job descriptions of civil servants will be reviewed to ensure they are relevant to the current situation, as well as to improve integrity and reduce the causes of corruption in public administration, said Public Service Department director-general, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafiq Abdullah.
“I agree that we do a review on the job descriptions (of civil servants) .. so that we can reduce the cause of corruption itself,” he said in a press conference after officiating the National Conference on Governance Research, Integrity and Anti-Corruption, here today.
Mohd Shafiq said among the approaches considered appropriate to reduce corruption in the civil service was the use of technology in carrying out enforcement duties.
“In other countries, there is no physical enforcement, it is through technology. For example, we see along highways and so on, there are no police waiting by the roadside to make an arrest, but the enforcement can be carried out by camera itself.
“Hence, these are the approaches that we can study to reduce the causes of corruption,” he said.
Asked about the proposed use of body cameras for security and enforcement personnel to prevent corruption, Mohd Shafiq said that the matter needed careful study, especially in terms of costs and regulations that need to be applied.
“We will refer to the enforcement agencies to evaluate and present it as a policy,” he said.
For the recruitment of civil servants, in an effort to curb corruption, Mohd Shafiq said apart from going through the interview process, applicants must also possess the specified conditions in terms of physical, academic qualifications and character.
According to him, 300 out of a total of 525 civil servants charged in court in connection with corruption last year, have been convicted.
On today’s conference, Mohd Shafiq said that the meeting was seeking new approaches to solve the problem of corruption in public administration, as it could hamper development and harm the well-being of the country.
Meanwhile, Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali, in his speech at the conference, which was read by Mohd Shafiq, said that the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019-2023 is now entering the final phase of its implementation, and thus far, 37 of the 82 initiatives outlined in the NACP Mid-Term Review Report have been completed at the output stage by the leading agency.
“This reflects the commitment by the ministries and government agencies involved, as well as an indication that efforts to strengthen governance, integrity and anti-corruption continue to be a priority for the government,” he said.
The two-day conference, which is an initiative of the National Centre for Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIACC), among others, involves the presentation of research in risky areas such as the defence, forestry, health and telecommunications sectors. — Bernama
