'Selected blunders usually reported': PM lauds unsung civil service

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim commended civil servants who worked with diligence to ensure the country’s administration ran smoothly.

He noted that civil servants are managing hundreds of programmes in preparation for Malaysia’s position as Asean chair this year.

“Thousands (of civil servants) at all levels are working on the preparations and, sometimes, such things never get mentioned in media or social media coverage.

“What gets mentioned are selected blunders or faults. Not wrong to highlight certain faults, but it’s also unfair not to report efforts that reflect high levels of efficiency.

“Although not as grand as other countries, our level of efficiency, discipline, and orderliness is very commendable,” Anwar said at a meeting with the staff of the Prime Minister’s Department in Putrajaya today.

He added that while travelling to the Sri Perdana Complex on Sunday at about 1.30pm, he saw dozens of civil servants from various agencies, including the Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister’s Department, Royal Malaysia Police, and Education Ministry, carrying out their duties to prepare for the official visit of Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“I saw many of them, with smiles on their faces, working hard to prepare… so I salute all of them for carrying out duties diligently,” he said.

Erdogan will make a two-day official visit to Malaysia from today at the invitation of the prime minister.

The visit aims to reaffirm the solid relations between the two nations and review sectors including trade and investment, defence, halal, energy, disaster management, health, science and technology, and connectivity.

In 2024, Turkiye was Malaysia’s largest export destination. The total trade between Malaysia and Turkiye was RM24.13 billion in 2024, an 18.7 percent increase from 2023.

Flood mitigation

Meanwhile, Anwar said he has requested the Treasury to provide immediate allocations to eradicate hardcore poverty and mitigate floods.

He said this primarily concerns projects that involve tender processes, which often take too long.

“Why do we emphasise the issue of tenders? Because I see that if we use negotiations instead, there is a lot of room for errors and leakage. Therefore, it is better to use a tender process.

“However, tenders, when following the usual process, can take too long. Yet, those affected by the floods cannot afford to wait,” he said.

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