Sarawak civil servants must declare assets

KUCHING: All officers in the Sarawak civil service must now declare their assets every five years.

This is a requirement for promotion and is part of the state civil service’s efforts to ensure integrity among its staff, said Minister in the Chief Minister’s Office (Integrity and Ombudsman) Datuk Talib Zulpilip.

He said state officers would also be screened by the relevant authorities to ensure they are clean of court convictions before they are considered for promotion.

“They also need to declare the status of their education loans, if any, to ensure that they do not default on their financial commitments,” he told the state assembly in his winding-up speech yesterday.

Talib said applicants to the state civil service must go through a five-phase process such as academic screening, language proficiency test, assessment and psychological profiling.

“Job applicants also undergo insolvency screening. They must then verify their particulars by making a declaration before a Commissioner of Oaths.

“This is to ensure that the state civil service recruits only the best talent with a high sense of integrity and character,” he said.

Talib, whose portfolio was created following a state Cabinet reshuffle earlier this month, said the Sarawak government was the first to create an ombudsman service.

He added that the portfolio was set up to increase the level of integrity in the state administration, rid corruption as well as to ensure the public gets a fair deal when dealing with state departments.