Government Offices Are Extending Their Operating Hours In A Bid To Improve Public Service
Federal government departments and agencies will now be open from 7.30am to 6.00pm.
By Samantha Khor — 09 Jan 2018, 01:18 PM
In a bid to improve public service, Federal Government departments have extended operating hours for an additional half hour on working days. Federal offices will now operate from 7.30am to 6pm.
The new operating hours are now in effect following a directive issued by Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Zainal Rahim Seman
"This is part of the public service transformation process and the continuous improvement of our services," he said, as quoted by The Star.
According to the directive, federal departments and agencies in Perlis, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Pahang, Sabah, Sarawak, and the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya will be open from 7.30am to 6.00pm from Monday to Friday.
Meanwhile, those in Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Johor will be open from 7.30am to 6.00pm from Sunday to Wednesday, and 7.30am to 4.30pm on Thursday.
In addition to improving the public delivery system, the new and longer operating hours will also give more flexibility to civil servants as they will now work in shifts
Government employees will now work in four shifts - 7.30am to 4.30pm, 8.00am to 5.00pm, 8.30am to 5.30pm, and 9.00am to 6.00pm.
Congress of Union of Employees in the Public and Civil Services Malaysia (CUEPACS) president Datuk Azih Muda said that working in shifts will allow civil servants the flexibility to plan their day.
"Some of them have things to do in the morning, like sending their children to nurseries, and are unable to come in at the third shift which starts at 8.30am," he explained.
"This (being able to start at 9am) will give them more flexibility and reduce the stress of rushing to work to avoid being late," he said, adding that it was CUEPACS that proposed the new shift to the Government.
However, while the extended operating hours apply to all federal offices, it does not necessarily mean that all counter services will be open until 6.00pm
Azih explained that this will depend on where the government office is located.
"It will make sense to have counter services until 6.00pm in cities or big towns. It won’t be practical in smaller towns as the utility bills will certainly go up," he was quoted as saying by The Star.