Treasury secretary-general Datuk Seri Ismail Bakar has been appointed the new Chief Secretary to the Government, taking over when Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa’s contract ends tomorrow.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad handed over the letter of appointment to Ismail in a brief meeting at his office in Perdana Putra today.
Ali, 63, has served as the Chief Secretary to the Government for over six years. He has held the post since June 2012.
Ismail, approached after his meeting with Dr Mahathir, said he would implement the Prime Minister’s instructions well to ensure the efficient delivery of public services.
“In this era, we want to ensure that integrity and accountability are at the best level among civil servants,” he said.
Asked about the performance of the public sector, Ismail said that overall it was at an excellent level but it was necessary to regain the people’s trust following several incidents involving civil servants over the past several years.
“Generally, we are happy with the performance of the civil servants,” he stated.
Ismail, 58, who has served for 32 years in the civil service, has extensive experience in economic and financial management.
He holds a Bachelors of Economics (Hons) degree from the University of Malaya and a Masters of Business Administration degree and a doctorate from the University of Hull, United Kingdom.
Ismail joined the Administrative and Diplomatic Service in January 1986 and has served as the secretary-general of the Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Ministry and the Transport Ministry; budget director at the National Budget Office of the Finance Ministry and senior adviser at the World Bank headquarters in Washington DC, United States.
A chief secretary is the head of the civil service whose position comes after the prime minister, deputy prime minister and Cabinet members. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong consents to the appointment of an individual based on the advice of the prime minister.
The G25 group of former prominent civil servants recently urged Ali to step down on the back of criticism from several quarters, including Dr Mahathir who said he had inherited a government where its top officers were corrupt.