Civil servants enjoying better living standards, says employees

SHAH ALAM: Three decades ago, civil servants in Malaysia could hardly own a 'pager' to communicate due to its price factor.
And when mobile phones were introduced soon after pagers were discontinued, many civil servants, especially from the support group faced challenges to own one as it was very expensive when it entered the market initially.
But now, with the advent of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and improved living standards, many civil servants have access to workplace applications through their smartphones just at their fingertips.
According to R.M Rajan, 39, a government employee, the improved living standards among civil servants has now seen each and every of the 1.6 million civil servants starting to own a smartphone, thanks to the pay hike and annual salary increments given by the government without fail.
"As a government staff, I can firmly say that the living standards among the civil servants have improved in recent years where they enjoy annual salary increment of almost 3% without fail, enabling them to afford gadgets of their choice.
"This is evident when some of the civil servants even owning multiple gadgets nowadays," he told Bernama.
Commenting on job security in the government, Rajan said it made his life easier to gain access to personal loans where financial institutions felt more comfortable issuing loans to a government servant.
"If you work in the government, it's easier to get a loan due to the job security we have. Apart from that, the government never fails to bank in the salary of its staff on time every month, employees can see their salaries being credited to their bank account.
"The civil servant gets their salary every month without fail, regardless of the economic situation and that's why the civil service is among the most sought-after job due to its competitive salary and job security," said Rajan, whose service in the government spans over 15 years.
Rajan said he was delighted that the civil servants would get a double increment this year, with an additional increment on July 1 beyond their annual salary increments.
"That means we have two increments this year in addition to the July increment. I am happy that the government has recognised our service and effort," he said.
Meanwhile, Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) Corporate and Public Relations Head, Shahrin Ahmad said the civil service was becoming more challenging with civil servants having to be creative and innovative in thinking to ensure effective delivery system to the public.
Apart from paper qualifications, an aspiring civil servant should be passionate about what he does besides upholding integrity when undertaking responsibility, he added.
Meanwhile, president of the Malaysian Indian Network of Entrepreneurs Association (1MINE), Datuk S.Gopinath, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak had done an excellent job in safeguarding the interest of civil servants in the country.
"From those very thoughtful privileges announced in the past, like insurance scheme for retrenched workers and to those very considerate benefits announced in the recent manifesto, Najib has definitely made an outstanding mark in the hearts of the civil servants," he said. — Bernama