SIMPLY VOICING CALL OF MEMBERSHIP

Malay MailG. PrakashFriday, November 6th, 2009 04:50:00

Cuepacs presiden Omar Osman not doing it for popularity

Congress of Union of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) president Omar Osman wants to make it clear that his earlier call for a two-month bonus was simply the demand expressed by their 1.2 million strong membership.“I just want to say that gaining popularity is not what I’m seeking,” he told Malay Mail. “I am just speaking out on behalf of our congress and asking for what the civil servants have demanded.”He was responding to the comment by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Wednesday that it was morally wrong for the Cuepacs president to ask for bonus during the global economic crisis.Najib also noted that, while it was a popular move for the Cuepacs president to continue to pressure the Government for a two-month bonus for the civil servants, it was not the right time to make such a demand.“I’m of course also disappointed that the Prime Minister had said this,” said Omar. However, he refused to speculate whether Cuepacs will still pursue the bonus issue.“This will be only decided tomorrow as we will be having an emergency meeting to discuss this matter. It will be attended by all 145 of our congress leaders and members at our Cuepacs headquarters.”Omar also said that Cuepacs is seeking to have a meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss ways to improve the service performances of civil servants.“Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, has confirmed that the Prime Minister had agreed to meet us, but a date was not been confirmed.”While the Government gave a one-month bonus with a minimum payment of RM1,000 in the last Budget, the latest didn’t have any such bonus for civil servants.Najib, who is also Finance Minister, announced that the Government had decided to introduce a reward system for civil servants instead to motivate those who performed well.