KUALA NERUS: Various new initiatives announced to strengthen the civil service, including improving the Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) scheme, are timely and well-received, says Deputy Army chief Lt Gen Datuk Tengku Muhammad Fauzi Tengku Ibrahim.
He said the expansion of the performance-based incentive payments (BIPs) to other ranks, namely Sergeant or equivalent (Grade Z4) and Staff Sergeant or equivalent (Grade Z5) as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Friday (Aug 15), can motivate military personnel to continue striving more diligently.
"This is something positive, as with this ‘performance-based’ system, we can use it as a benchmark to determine that everyone will strive harder to achieve the desired level," he said when met by reporters after the closing ceremony of the Skim Perkhidmatan Askar-Lasykar Angkatan Tetap ATM Gred Z1 (Tugas Khusus) here on Saturday (Aug 16).
Tengku Muhammad Fauzi said that in addition, the extension of seven entry qualifications for various Skim Perkhidmatan Askar-Lasykar Angkatan Tetap ATM Gred Z1 (Tugas Khusus) is also timely, considering that the expertise required for military personnel is no longer solely dependent on physical strength.
He said the military needs officers and personnel who were experts in various fields, including cyber technology.
"Perhaps previously, they (the army) used a lot of physical strength. But nowadays, with technology and so on, various concepts are emerging. They need someone who is an expert in social media due to information warfare," he said.
At Friday's Majlis Amanat Perdana Perkhidmatan Awam Ke-20 (Mappa XX) 2025, Anwar announced various new initiatives to strengthen the civil service, including improvements to the MAF scheme, introducing the Academic Recognition Award (HPA) initiative, and the allocation of funds to empower the National Institute of Public Administration (Intan).
The Prime Minister added that the move was in line with the government's efforts to improve the efficiency, professionalism, and welfare of civil servants at all levels, thus ensuring the country's development agenda can be implemented more effectively.- Bernama
