Civil servants should continue to defend and preserve the good reputation of the civil service by firmly rejecting corruption and abuse of power, said Penang governor Abdul Rahman Abbas today.

"I fully support the efforts by the state government to combat corruption among the civil service by taking action, such as sacking those who have been found guilty of taking bribes.

"I also hope civil servants will be courageous to report irresponsible people who try to bribe civil servants in Penang," said Abdul Rahman during his speech while officiating the fifth term of the state legislative assembly in Farquhar Street today.

Abdul Rahman is currently in his seventh term as governor.

He urged civil servants to emulate Prophet Sulaiman, who was not swayed by material bribes and turned down gifts from the Queen.

Abdul Rahman also lauded several state government agencies, for maintaining the MS ISO 9001:2008 certification for five years in a row.

He also praised the state secretariat, finance department, Penang Development Council and several other agencies for obtaining five-star rating in financial management and accountability.

"Congratulations, too, to the Penang Island City Council and Seberang Perai Municipal Council for obtaining international recognition."