Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo's frustrations over poor productivity of his state agencies is understandable but his way of publicly rebuking two state government agencies for failing to collect assessment above the 50 percent mark required for 2006 is deeply regrettable.

It is distressing to realise that Khir Toyo had to resort to such unethical means to punish civil servants who do not perform well. Isn't it humiliating to award brooms to such high-ranking government officers? Doesn't this demeaning act amount to showing total disrespect for the posts held by these senior officers?

How will the Klang Municipal Council president and the Hulu Selangor District Council chief go back to face their subordinates after being publicly humiliated by such a derogatory treatment by their menteri besar? Khir Toyo's contention that the broom is not meant to shame the officers but a reminder that the government wants all departments to buck up is unacceptable.

We are all for increasing the efficiency of our civil service, which of late, has adopted a lackadaisical attitude to work. However humiliating a senior officer publicly in front of his staff is not the way to improve the efficiency of any department. On the contrary, such high-handed, demeaning and humiliating tactics will only be counter-productive as they would adversely affect the morale of officers and staff of the affected departments.

In this modern era, there are better, more humane ways and effective ways than awarding brooms to humiliate them in public. This is best achieved by instilling love and passion for the job rather than the fear of authorities. There is a need to inculcate a sense of pride and belonging to one's working institution.

Productivity can only be improved by the concerted efforts of all categories of staff. Better working environment, caring, considerate and occasionally compassionate bosses go a long way to improve the morale of the workers. Those who excel must be appreciated and rewarded appropriately without favour or prejudice.

Above all, there is a need to lead by example not by the maxim "Do as I say, not do what I do." Political leaders must take the lead to demonstrate proper attitude in serving the rakyat . They should put the interests and welfare of the people before theirs. They should ensure that the all civil servants truly serve the rakyat and not the politicians. Politicisation of the government machinery is the single-most deterrent factor to their efficiency and productivity

Despite all these measures, there may be still those recalcitrant employees who need to be disciplined. There are definite provisions stipulated in the General Orders to initiate disciplinary action against those civil servants who do not perform up to expectations. These include warnings, transfers, denying salary increments, withholding promotions and so on. I am certain that conferring "Broom Awards" is definitely not a recommended method.