KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 — Malaysia’s elite administrative and diplomatic service has existed for more than a century since 1921, known then as the Malayan Civil Service.
This British colonial-era legacy predating Independence – forming the backbone of public policy formulation, management, and implementation in Malaysia – is a generalist or “all-rounder” scheme, in which administrative and diplomatic officers (PTDs) rotate across departments and ministries to gain a broad range of skills and knowledge in various policy areas.
However, while Malaysia retains the highly selective PTD scheme that reportedly number at about 10,000 officers, the United Kingdom began moving away from exclusively relying on a prestigious generalist cadre in the civil service nearly six decades ago, following the 1968 Fulton Report.
The Fulton Report extensively criticised generalism, describing generalist administrators (or “gifted amateurs”) as having “manifest disadvantages”.
“They do not develop adequate knowledge in depth in any one aspect of the department’s work and frequently not even in the general area of activity in which the department operates. Often they are required to give advice on subjects they do not sufficiently understand or to take decisions whose significance they do not fully grasp.
“This has serious consequences. It can lead to bad policy-making; it prevents a fundamental evaluation of the policies being administered; it often leads to the adoption of inefficient methods for implementing these policies—methods which are sometimes baffling to those outside the Service who are affected by them; and it obstructs the establishment of fruitful contacts with sources of expert advice both inside and outside the Service.”
In March 2025, Tamara Finkelstein, head of the civil service policy profession, declared that Whitehall was moving away from an outdated concept of the civil service generalist, saying learning “on the job” wasn’t enough and that the civil service needed a strong policy profession.
Although Singapore has retained its elite Administrative Service, the equivalent to Malaysia’s PTD scheme, the island republic’s civil service topped the Blavatnik Index of Public Administration released in December 2024 by Oxford University’s Blavatnik School of Government. Malaysia ranked 40th out of 120 countries, falling behind even Indonesia in 38th position. The UK ranked sixth jointly with New Zealand.
The Fulton Report’s scathing critique of generalism in the UK civil service applies to how the PTD scheme affects Malaysia’s health service, as government doctors routinely blame PTDs – whether in the Ministry of Health (MOH) or Public Service Department (JPA) – for health worker shortages, poor remuneration schemes, and lack of understanding of a doctor’s everyday work or career pathway.
Some commenting on a medical officer’s recent letter to CodeBlue about critical shortages of housemen and medical officers in the medical department of Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) Klang sarcastically told PTDs to work on-call shifts.
A clearer example of PTDs’ lack of foresight was last month’s belated approval of transfer allowances for contract doctors, dentists, and pharmacists appointed to permanent positions in 2025 — months after their relocation and a decision taken by more than four in 10 medical officers not to report for duty in Sarawak.
MOH Has Over 700 Positions For PTDs In 2026
According to a list of positions in the civil service, which was tabled by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) in the Dewan Rakyat on October 10, the MOH has 708 positions for PTDs this year.
Excluding division heads, director or deputy directors, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) registrar, deputy secretary-generals (TKSU), the secretary-general (KSU), private secretaries to the minister and deputy minister, and the secretary-general’s special officer, all of whom are also PTDs, the MOH has 628 PTD-specific positions.
Over half of 708 PTD positions in the MOH are concentrated in hospital management [peninsula] (201), state management [peninsula] (119), and the human resource division (67).
MOH has 319,200 positions in 2026, the same headcount in 2025, including 242,540 positions in the implementation group, 75,684 in management and professionals, and 973 in top management.
The 708 PTD positions comprise 0.2 per cent of MOH’s total workforce, or one PTD to every 451 positions. These 700 over positions for PTDs in the MOH alone for 2026 exceed Singapore’s 300 administrative officers, the equivalent to Malaysian PTDs, in 2022.
According to JPA’s 2024 circular on the Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA), the monthly salary for a Grade 12 PTD, the middle rank between Grades M9 to M14, ranges from RM5,530 to RM13,540 a month.
The MOH has seen four KSUs in the past five years since February 2021, with little change to health care workers’ perception that the national health service is a “sinking ship”. Such sentiments have worsened in recent years instead, as attrition rates rose among doctors and nurses.
Galen Centre: Phase Out Or Rigorously Reform PTD Scheme
The Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy said Malaysia should either begin phasing out or introduce rigorous reforms to the PTD scheme.
Galen Centre chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib noted that the duties of a PTD, as per the Public Services Commission’s (SPA) website, are planning, formulating and implementing public policies on human and organisational resource management, financial resources, economy, regional/district/local/land administration and development, social planning and administration, international relations and foreign affairs (including foreign service), national security/resilience and information technology management.
“However, it should be argued whether it is still necessary in today’s modern world to recruit and train generalists or ‘Swiss army knives’,” Azrul told CodeBlue.
“Is it still necessary to have around 10,000 such people (provided with career perks and incentives) or just identify and recruit specific people with the necessary skill sets and competencies? We should consider reducing and eventually phasing out such elite structures.”
Azrul called for a deliberate effort to gradually reduce the number of PTDs, to the point that the scheme would no longer be needed, arguing that it would be more efficient and effective to directly recruit for specific human resource needs, the way the private sector does human resource.
“It might encourage competition, build diverse talent banks, increase interest in joining the civil service, and justify increases in civil service pay.”
If Malaysia decides to retain the PTD scheme, Azrul said reforms should emphasise competition, merit, and performance-centred career pathways.
“PTDs have been previously accused of being out of touch with everyday realities, central policy dependent, and not paying sufficient attention to the importance of innovation, future-proofing, and public consultation,” he said.
“Malaysia should consider looking at what Singapore is doing and focus on recruiting and promoting younger people, emphasising on performance quality, rather than seniority.”
He noted that health workers’ concerns about PTDs had “some truth behind them” and were previously echoed by former Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, particularly about being disconnected from the lived realities of health care workers. An example is requiring newly appointed permanent doctors to relocate and report to new duty stations within two weeks.
“However, eliminating PTD positions in these departments won’t solve the problem. A step in the right direction would be the establishing of a separate Health Service Commission.”
Senior PTD Says PTD Scheme Still Relevant Today
A senior PTD, who has experience in several federal agencies, defended the relevance of the PTD scheme in the 2020s.
He explained that the majority of PTDs are generalists, including those posted to the foreign service or economic ministries, though over time they may develop sector-specific exposure.
The PTD acknowledged that recruiting specialists in the civil service – as opposed to generalists like him – could improve efficiency because people who specialise in certain policies do not need to undergo a steep learning curve.
He also admitted that PTDs are usually “very careful and very meticulous” in matters of admin and finance.
“What we implement is part of the policy, but some see it as being too strict or not flexible,” he said. “There could also be a disconnect in any generalist system, where administrators may not fully grasp the day-to-day realities of highly specialised professional communities.”
However, he said all-rounder PTDs have the skill, among others, to build new institutions up from scratch, whereas specialists with deep technical expertise may not always be trained in cross-functional administrative institution-building.
“Building that foundation – the human resources, finances, procurement, management of assets – that’s all within a PTD’s experience,” the PTD told CodeBlue in a rare interview on condition of anonymity, as civil servants are prohibited from speaking to the media.
He likened it to setting up the operating framework of a new institution that involves identifying structures, resources, governance processes, and coordination mechanisms needed before any policy can function effectively. “That kind of systems preparation – that’s where PTDs are typically trained to operate.”
The PTD also said if Malaysia were to replace the generalist PTD scheme with specialist roles, experts based only in one ministry in Putrajaya throughout their career might not be aware of on-the-ground problems in other states, especially rural areas.
“If you’re based in a central administrative office in Putrajaya and you have colleagues out there in Sabah with limited resources, but you’re too focused on one area alone, you lose sight of the civil service as a whole.”
The PTD noted that a February 2018 proposal by the late Chief Secretary to the Government, Ali Hamsa, to open up the PTD scheme to officers from other schemes had triggered a “huge backlash” from existing PTDs.
“Some purebred PTDs, who went through the process and were trained to think and act like a PTD from Day One, believed that someone else trying to be a PTD wasn’t the same as us,” he said.
Ali’s proposal was dropped shortly after the Barisan Nasional government fell in the May 2018 general election.
The PTD interviewed by CodeBlue noted that not all KSUs are PTDs, citing current Treasury secretary-general Johan Mahmood Merican, as well as Zaini Ujang, who retired as KSU at the Higher Education Ministry last year. Zaini began his career in public service as an assistant lecturer, only joining the PTD scheme in 2011 before his first appointment as secretary-general two years later.
Promotion Exercise In PTD Scheme Increasingly ‘Constrained’, Seniority Still Key
CodeBlue pointed out that if Malaysia’s PTD scheme wanted to remain an “exclusive” leadership cadre of the civil service, then PTDs shouldn’t have security of tenure and poor performers should be dropped from the scheme or government altogether, whereas stars should be rapidly promoted regardless of age or seniority.
In Singapore’s highly competitive Administrative Service, administrative officers typically serve in top positions like directors or deputy secretaries in their 30s. The average age of first appointment to permanent secretary in Singapore’s civil service – the equivalent to KSU in Malaysia – is reportedly 45 years old.
In 2000, Singapore introduced a 10-year term limit for permanent secretaries, even if incumbents are younger than the retirement age of 64, to allow advancement for younger talent in the Administrative Service.
In Malaysia, the first appointment of most KSUs are in their 50s; sometimes they’re appointed as KSU less than a year before mandatory retirement at age 60. An example is Harjeet Singh, who was promoted from deputy secretary-general to secretary-general at MOH in April 2022 at 59-years-old, 10 months before he retired in February 2023.
Young KSUs are the exception, not the rule. Lokman Hakim Ali, who currently serves as secretary-general in the Defence Ministry, was the youngest KSU at first appointment at age 45 a decade ago in 2016. Suriani Ahmad, who has been serving as secretary-general at MOH since September 2024, was the youngest woman KSU at first appointment when she was 49-years-old in 2018.
The PTD interviewed by CodeBlue acknowledged that the promotion exercise in Malaysia’s PTD scheme has become more constrained in recent years as seniority remains a significant factor, noting that certain professional schemes in public service, such as the medical service, have different promotion structures that may allow for faster progression.
“It’s not that we want promotions or power, but it’s about the welfare of our colleagues who joined the service later,” said the PTD.
“PTDs who joined the service later in life may feel concerned about long-term progression and whether the system adequately recognises the experience they have accumulated over time.”
Public Service director-general Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz said last December that under Phase 2 of SSPA, performance outcomes would be the primary determinant for rewards and recognition, instead of attendance or seniority, to attract and retain talent.
Retired PTD Claims PTDs No Longer ‘Neutral’
KJ John, a former PTD who began public service in 1972 and retired in 2005, said the main challenges facing the PTD scheme are good quality leadership and an alleged loss of its principle of neutrality.
He previously served in the Implementation, Coordination and Development Administration Unit (ICDAU), now known as simply ICU, the International Trade and Industry Ministry (Miti) under Rafidah Aziz, and last served as vice president of Mimos Berhad before retirement.
John, who described his PTD service as a “calling”, said PTDs during his days served with neutrality. But he claimed that the apolitical nature of the PTD scheme changed after Dr Mahathir Mohamad became prime minister in 1981.
“He wanted the civil service to be more obedient and succumb to his political agenda, or what we would call ‘political agenda’,” John told CodeBlue in an interview.
An example was whether the federal government should develop Kelantan, which was (and still is) run by PAS, as John stressed that the civil service cannot pick and choose who to help with public funds, especially for poverty eradication.
“Today, we have individuals who are committed to certain agendas, so the PTD’s neutral professional advice is no more,” said John.
However, he believed that it would be “too drastic” to eliminate the PTD scheme, asking what would be the alternative.
CodeBlue replied that the PTD scheme could be replaced with subject matter experts, as an elite generalist administrative class arguably lacks the kinds of expertise needed to administer an increasingly complex government machine. Modern state Malaysia is very different in the 2020s with a huge talent pool, unlike the 60s or colonial times with a dearth of skilled professionals then.
“Then we’re saying that a generalist is no more qualified. I agree with you. I’ve had this debate with my buddy,” John said. “He’s always of the view that PTDs are too general. By the time you reach CEO rank, you’ve out-skilled yourself. Your knowledge is already dated.”
Agriculture and Food Security Ministry deputy secretary-general (policy) Norazman Ayob previously told CodeBlue in a February 2025 interview in conjunction with the fifth anniversary of the Covid-19 pandemic – when he was serving MOH as deputy secretary-general (finance) – that an individual’s performance in the civil service should be prioritised above their scheme, whether PTD or non-PTD.
He quoted the late leader of China, Deng Xiaoping: “It doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.”
Norazman’s analogy assumes that civil service generalists can do the same thing as specialist policy professionals. Perhaps a more accurate analogy is that if you want to catch mice, you can get a cat, but if you want to guard your house, get a dog.
In other words, hire the right person for the right job, rather than cling on to the last vestiges of British colonialism in Malaysia.
