Monday, December 18, 2006

The Silly Season

The seasons are turning and here we are, in the silly season where everyone wants something from Santa Claus.

Consider this.

Malaysia's 1.2 million strong civil service - through the main union CUEPACS - is asking for up to 40 percent pay raise and reckon they need another 200,000 comrades by 2020 to serve the nation of more than 30 million then.

We won't waste time and space to rant and rave about their work. We do agree that there are sectors that could do with more people and with more pay. We also agree that we have to cut the crap from the service.

While we have written and commented on this matter at other blogs, let us state our stand on improving the Malaysian Civil Service through the expert use and allocation of technology and manpower resources.

First, let's agree that the 1.2 million-strong civil service is a bit too much. By the way, CUEPACS reportedly has only 120,000 members. So we shall let them protect their members.

Our proposal is to slash the civil service by HALF, especially the administrative back-end that probably has more tea than the combined efforts of the tea-loving nation of England.

So, let's cut out the peons, dispatch boys, office boys, clerks, low-level officers that crowd around the canteen rather than do work at their desks. Let us automate their work through technology - using emails to communicate and to send files through the Internet.

We can also terminate the enforcement units of various departments and authorities in the Civil Service - such as the anti-khalwat squads, the traffic wardens and enforcement officers - most of whom are obese astride their powerful motorcycles.

Who are they chasing? Motorists who don't pay their parking tickets or those who litter? Do they need motorcycles for that? Let's just put up more wireless cameras that focus on the job rather than on thighs.

We can dispatch those assistant deputy directors and principal assistant directors and such out of the system and instead concentrate on beefing up the ranks of the medical service, the police, the fire brigade to ensure a safe, secure and healthy nation.

And yes, we can then double their pay - that's 50 percent more - of those remaining in the civil service.

You might ask about those terminated, dispatched and cut out of the service? Well, we won't be paying to keep them on the job doing nothing. They can use their severance pay to do whatever they want - either joining the ruling political parties to wave their kerises to writing blogs that lament their loss and castigate the powers-that-be. We won't name and shame them.

Of course, there are other ways to cut costs which we will table soon. So vote for the Siber Party of Malaysia (M) to get us to implement this programme. It is for a better Malaysia.

Merry Christmas!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have my vote. But think of the shit you need to go thru training the remaining civil servants on these proposed high-tech stuff. Nightmare! And think about the maintenance. No one will bother to do it. Look at Putra LRT for a good example :)

Mat Merah said...

Thanks for the vote, sensual sophia!

We have thought of the crap that we will go through in realising our aims but with support from you and others, we think we can win in a few elections from now.

We think that we have a better chance if local government elections are organised especially for a metropolis like Kuala Lumpur.

We will definitely contest to run Kuala Lumpur.

Funny you should mention high-tech stuff and Putra LRT in almost the same line. We had to train the guys there to use the mouse when it started years ago. Serious!

As for the remaining civil servants, we propose to introduce the CLAP (Computer Learning Assistance Programme) to them and maintenance will be outsourced to the GOOSE (Government Office Out Sourcing Enterprise).

Of course, GOOSE will be backed by
GEESE (Government Electronic Engineering Service Enterprise).

Rest assured we will plan our strategies and manifesto well before contesting in any polls.

Vote for Siber Party of Malaysia (M)! And thank you again. (Heck this should be a post!)

Merry Christmas

Anonymous said...

Are you serious?

Out of curiousity for all those low level staff that you just see as another statistic, who do you think is going to support them when they are jobless? Seriously consider it because somebody has to bear the burden...in this case its probally their families unless of course ur suggesting that they be sent to the gulags. So the only thing you've acomplish is tranfering the burden from the goverment sector to the individual families- that is from a sector who has the means to support to those that dont.

So pray tell, how does transfering people from low productivity sectors to zero productivity sectors increase overall productivity...and dont forget the link between crime and unemployment...The increase social ills will also bear a heavy cost.

Lets ignore for one moment about the callousness which you regard these people and let me remind you that they are people you know... If we want to get rid of deadwood dont u think its better to start at the top? Or do you think executives and higher level management dont like to loiter at the canteens?Since thier better paid dont you think the onus is for us to start at the top...its fairer dont you think?N it would also send a message down the line that no matter how high up you are, your not insulated from punishment

Mate- if you think low level income is simply because of laziness i suggest you read more about the dynamics of income distribution before you make more inhumane suggestions. n u can start by reading for instance armatya sen or joseph stiglitz where they will tell you, that poor people more often than not have to work a lot harder than a lot of supposedly management level professions and under much more ardous situations and usually without protection.and u know why?

Because they dont have a choice- its either working 12- 15 hour shifts in one or two jobs or not eating your next meal!and they dont play golf during their holidays either because usually they are at work, regardless of the labour laws

But i guess it doesnt matter to you, does it?...to you this blokes are not people, thier parasites to the system.

Dek Mat said...

mat rempit hubris from carthage: apparently not wearing your helmet has made you loose some brain cells ;) i guessed you missed this bit:

"You might ask about those terminated, dispatched and cut out of the service? Well, we won't be paying to keep them on the job doing nothing. They can use their severance pay to do whatever they want

Tulah jadi mat rempit lagi.

And a hubris too some more. cheh