Civil servants to get up to 13% pay rise from Jan 1

(The Star) – A new civil service remuneration scheme has been unveiled giving government employees a pay rise of 7% to 13% effective Jan 1.

Public Service director-general Tan Sri Abu Bakar Abdullah said the increments for the civil servants would be based on four principles: hierarchy: talent and experience; their position and subject matter expertise; and their performance.

He said the increments would be performance-based, which also means that if the top civil servants do not do enough to merit bonuses, there would be no pay rise for them either.

The performance of the top-level civil servants will be evaluated through their Key Performance Indicators.

Citing an example of how a top management officer would be paid, he said a doctor with a salary range of between RM4,431 and RM6,439 is now eligible for a salary of between RM4,520 and RM8,840. However, the doctor will not immediately move to the new maximum rate if he is currently earning RM6,439.

He will instead earn a similar salary and continue to enjoy increments of up to RM8,840 (37% higher than the previous ceiling) even before he is promoted to the next grade.

Giving an example for the lower category staff, he said: “If a driver earns between RM1,222.51 and RM1,882 under the current scheme, he can earn between RM1,245 and RM2,965 under the new scheme.”