Strong action must be taken against civil servants who are not performing in order to check the spread of a 'comfort culture' among them, Backbenchers Club head Shahrir Samad said today.

"We can't just crack the whip, we must get out the new sword and chop off their heads," the Johor Baru MP said while debating the Ninth Malaysia Plan in the Dewan Rakyat this afternoon.

The seasoned politician said a big number of the civil servants are not afraid of committing mistakes in their duties because they believe they will escape from disciplinary action.

"What is more terrible is they are even not afraid of not doing their job," Shahrir said.

He added this 'comfort culture' among the civil servants due to the government using 'carrots' (a soft approach) instead of using the 'sticks' (a tough approach) to tackle the problem.

He called for a rejuvenation among civil servants to be carried out in order for a holistic revamp to address the issue.

On another topic, Shahrir also reiterated his call to give more power to Parliament to manage its own affairs such as human resources, finance and administration.

He nevertheless stopped short of calling on the government to review its decision not to revive the Parliamentary Services Act, which will guarantee Parliament more independence.

PM's allocation questioned

Wong Nai Chee (BN-Kota Melaka) in his debate asked why the Prime Minister's Department's allocation under the 9MP was four times higher than previously.

Drawing a comparison, he pointed out that under the Eighth Malaysia Plan (8MP), the amount allocated to the department was RM7.2 billion but under the 9MP, it was RM29.68 billion.

"Does this mean the responsibilities and scope of works under the department also increases four times higher like its allocation?" asked the MCA Youth lawyer-politician.

He also questioned the 'huge discrepancy' between the allocation and the actual expenditure for the purpose of 'education and training' under the 8MP.

Wong said the allocation for this purpose was stated as RM22.67 billion but the actual expenses however totalled up RM42.37 billion under 8MP.

"Could there be elements of irregularities or wastage involved?" he asked.

The Kota Melaka MP also criticised the recent ruling to impose the wearing of the 'tudung' (headscarf) on policewomen irregardless of their ethnicity during parades.

He described such ruling as not helping the advancement of national unity as while wearing of a headscarf may not be an issue for Muslims, it resulted in non-Muslims feeling uncomfortable.

By-laws not needed

Referring to the recent debate over hugging and kissing in public, Wong said there was a provision at present under the Penal Code to regulate such acts.

"There is no need to empower local councils to enact by-laws to control behaviour as if they don't have other things to do. It is not a healthy development," he argued.

He said since Malaysia is a secular country, a secular environment must be created too.

At one juncture, Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah) interjected saying: "We are on the same sampan (boat)," referring to DAP's similar view that local councils should not be allowed to arbitrarily determine what constitutes indecent behaviour.

Later in her debate, the Batu Gajah MP stressed that there was no necessity to enact by-laws for public behaviour.