PUTRAJAYA: The use of the Demerit Performance Evaluation (Deep) system, aimed at ensuring better governance in the civil service, will be extended to all heads of services and departments starting next year.
Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Shamsul Azri bin Abu Bakar, said initial results of the evaluation had shown significant improvements in performance and the implementation of service initiatives, particularly in four key areas: financial management, project implementation status, accountability and integrity, as well as efficiency among ministerial staff.
“Previously, the implementation of Deep was limited to secretaries-general of government agencies, but it will now be extended to director-generals (of the heads of services and departments in every government agency).
“All of these achievements (through Deep) demonstrate that the new and unique approach has successfully supported efforts to reform the public service,” he said in his keynote address at the Symposium on the One-Year Strategic Assessment of the Public Service Reform Agenda (ARPA) 2025 today.
Present were Public Service Director-General Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz and Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail.
At a doorstep later, Shamsul Azri said the Deep initiative was not meant to punish, but intended to help the civil service improve its services to the people.
He added that the initiative was not solely based on demerits, but also included re-merits.
“Of course, if you make a mistake, you will be penalised, with marks deducted.
“However, if you do something good and if the services provided meet expectations, then we will add marks back.
“As such, there is a balance there,” he said.
A pilot implementation of Deep was conducted for 13 secretaries-general last year, with full adoption approved for this year.
Deep adopts a more objective and continuous reporting approach through monthly, quarterly, and semi-annual evaluations.
Following Deep, Shamsul Azri said that to strengthen the implementation of ARPA, a monitoring team would be established as a more creative, coordinated, and effective monitoring measure.
He added that the team would also be responsible for conducting field monitoring to assess service quality, the level of regulatory compliance, and to gather information on initiatives implemented by the government.
“The implementation of the monitoring squad will also be jointly led by the Public Service Department (PSD), the Performance Acceleration Coordination Unit (Pacu), the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), and the Madani Monitoring Unit.
“I would also like to emphasise that the ARPA framework is not a static document but a dynamic and flexible ecosystem.
“In line with this aspiration, I urge Chief Reform Officers (CROs) to accelerate the implementation of initiatives that have already been finalised.
“The role of CROs is crucial to ensure that sound ideas do not stop at the planning stage but are instead translated into concrete actions and outcomes for the benefit of the people,” he said.
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