VSS THE mother of solutions!

"Ninety percent of the Kuwaiti workforce is employed by the Government, a substantial of whom do not show up for work but still collect their salaries. Those who do attend mostly ignore the government working hours of 7.30am to 1.30pm and instead put in an appearance between 10am and 11.30am. Despite what has been estimated to be the shortest working week in the world, male government employees can retire on full pensions after twenty years' employment, female after fifteen years."

- Jan Goodwin, in the Novel "Price of Honour"

We Malaysians can substitue the working hours from 8.30am to 4.30pm and them putting in appearance for between 4 hours to 5 hours (with Minum Pagi, Minum Petang, Makan tengah hari, and for Muslims, prayer breaks in between). There really isnt much difference actually because the civil servants can still retire on full pensions or better yet, they have since come up with the perfect solution if their bad at their jobs.

VSS.
Yes, the Voluntary Separation Scheme.

You see, if the civil servant is underperforming, or has discipline problems, or is basically what we call in Malaysia "makan gaji buta" there are two options available for him/her.

1. VSS
2. Transfer to another department/state

Isnt it great?
If you're basically horrendous at what you do, you get an option to MAKE money from it! And to qualify, you only have to

(i) work 4-5 hours a day; AND
(ii) you can even have discipline problems OR be bad at what you do.

AND, in our dear PM's words, it can even curb corruption and keep the civil servants on their toes!! [Of course HOW it helps curb corruption was never really explained to anybody, but if the PM says it does, it doesla! What? You got problem with that ah?]

Hurrah! We have finally found THE Mother of all solutions to the civil servants inefficiency! Someone please go pat Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan's back. I tell you this "way out" (in the words of our dear DPM) for those who may no longer be interested in serving the public sector, or are ill qualified or are basically just malas semacam is so ingenious I wonder why nobody has ever thought of it before.

However CUEPACS has its reservations about this scheme. Not because it would reward problematic civil servants or that this is the wrong way to go to increase efficiency, but that this is tantamount to punishing them. How? Because these civil servants will find it hard to find a job somewhere else thats why! Now why would civil servants who has discipline problems or are underperforming find it hard to get jobs in the private sector? Why, oh why? I absolutely cannot think of ANY reasons at all...! Is it because they are bad at their jobs? Or they have discipline problems? or that they are lazy? or its because they actually HAVE to work 9-5pm everyday and not be entitled to their pagi,tengahari,petang breaks? What a toughie.

I say. This scheme is such an ingenious one, it makes me wanna run to the LHDN and pay my taxes pronto!

Its the best ever scheme to use our taxpayers money! Its even better than building that first class sports facility in some god forsaken town in the UK!

I cannot wait!