During the State Assembly session last week, I was annoyed with the lack of attendance by some head(s) of department(s). When assemblymen raised issues pertaining to the different constituencies in Selangor, no answers or in some cases, no satisfactory answers were given to us. At one point, I even heard an officer snoring away. Changing of government without changing the civil service is equivalent to winning half the battle only. I would like to see actions taken on non-performing mayors, district officers, directors and staff. No one serving the public should ever be indispensable if they neglect public interest.
The Star, 16 Nov 2009: Hannah Yeoh raps lackadaisical senior civil servants
SHAH ALAM: A state representative is not happy that many questioned asked at the state assembly sitting have been given the cursory answer of “sedang dikaji” or “akan dikaji” (will be looked into or is being looked into).
Subang Jaya assemblyman Hannah Yeoh said all of the questions asked were of importance to the people and senior civil servants should ensure that they were given due importance.
“Questions put forward in the state assembly at times need quick answers as they concern the people. Most of the times the answer we get from senior civil servants are either akan dikaji or sedang dikaji.
“This does not reflect well on the department concerned and the state government,” said Yeoh.She also wants senior civil servants to make sure that they did not miss the sitting so that questions about their departments could be replied to speedily.
They should also make sure that they are well-versed with issues affecting the state and their departments so that they will not be caught flat-footed when required to supply answers to questions, she added.
Yeoh also expressed concern about the public’s negative perception of senior officers and their lackadaisical attitude when attending the state assembly.
“Senior officers must attend the sittings and not give it a miss. Most of the time we see that the senior officers are missing from their seats,” she said.