BANGKOK: The Malaysian civil service is not as efficient as it was before because it is now manned by more junior staff, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
The Prime Minister claimed that this was because the previous Barisan Nasional-led administration has "destroyed the whole machinery of the government".
He also claimed that some senior officers had blatantly campaigned for Barisan and former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He said that this posed a problem for the existing Pakatan Harapan administration.
"Can we retain such people in the government? Of course not.
"Besides that, a lot wrongdoing has been conducted. So we have to get rid of them," he said.
"The government is now staffed by very junior people and naturally, they are not as efficient as the seniors – but we have no choice," said Dr Mahathir at a question and answer session with the Malaysian diaspora here on Thursday (Oct 25).
He added that the newly-elected government had been forced to "work harder" to ensure work is done as instructed.
Dr Mahathir also said that the government also has new ministers who do not have previous experience being Cabinet members.
"They are a little unsure of their footing (gayat) and are not comfortable. But I hope that over time, our government will be able to handle the problems faced by the country," he added.
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