SEPANG: Low wages are no excuse for civil servants to practice corruption, says the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC).

EAIC chairman Tan Sri Ismail Bakar said civil servants would already be aware of their pay scales before employment.

“You already know your wages early on so why did you still take up the job?

“Then later on, there are complaints of low wages but then why did you take the job in the first place?

“Never use low wages to legitimise corruption,” he said in his opening remarks at the EAIC Coordination Meeting with enforcement agency department heads here on Thursday (June 13).

The former chief secretary to the government said the Malaysian civil service was once revered among Commonwealth nations but was currently perceived to be entangled with integrity issues.

“If you love the civil service, carry out your assigned duties responsibly,” he said.

He also told attending civil servants that they would only feel how he felt about the state of things once they retired.

“Don’t think about now but after you’re retired.

“Do what you need while you’re still in the service.

“You don’t want to look back and say you should have done this or that. It’s too late,” he said. Sumber: The Star Online