Latest news with #KPPA
The Sun
02-08-2025
- Business
- The Sun
Integrity and accountability key to 13MP success, says KPPA
PUTRAJAYA: Integrity and accountability will serve as core pillars in the implementation of the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), in line with the government's commitment to enhancing public service delivery through greater transparency. Director-General of Public Service (KPPA) Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz said the Government Service Efficiency Commitment (Iltizam) Bill 2025, passed by the Senate last March, will be a key instrument in fostering a new culture of governance with emphasis on monitoring, evaluation and transparency in every implementation of government policies. 'We will further strengthen the monitoring of development projects under the 13MP. At the same time, we aim to ensure that service delivery to the public is more structured and effective. The Iltizam Act, which has now been approved, will enable us to assess the performance of ministries, departments, and agencies comprehensively,' he told reporters after the 'Larian Majlis Amanat Perdana Perkhidmatan Awam Ke-20 (MAPPA XX)' here today. Also present were Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar and Ministry of Communications Secretary-General Datuk Seri Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa. Wan Ahmad Dahlan said civil servants have pledged their full commitment to implementing all initiatives and policies outlined in the 13MP tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim last July 31. 'Civil servants stand ready to embrace and execute all components of the 13MP,' he said. 'Monitoring will be carried out through on-the-ground visits by leadership teams, as well as progress reports that will be presented during scheduled review meetings.' He emphasised that all civil servants will continue working together to ensure the development targets set under the plan are achieved within the next five years. Efforts to enhance governance and strengthen institutional frameworks under the 13MP align with the MADANI Government's aspiration to position Malaysia among the top 25 countries in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI). According to the 13MP document released by the Ministry of Economy on July 31, the plan also prioritises strengthening integrity and accountability, improving public service delivery, and enhancing fiscal management, with a goal to place Malaysia in the top 12 of the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook. Meanwhile, the Public Service Department (JPA), in a statement, said that 12,000 participants took part in the MAPPA XX 2025 Run, an impactful event designed to foster unity among national leaders, civil servants, and the public. The MAPPA XX 2025 Run is part of ongoing efforts to reinforce the core values of Malaysia MADANI, namely inclusivity, respect, compassion, and well-being, within a responsive and people-centric public service landscape. The run was flagged off by Shamsul Azri and Wan Ahmad Dahlan, marking the beginning of a large-scale health-conscious culture within the public sector. - Bernama
New Straits Times
30-04-2025
- Politics
- New Straits Times
PSD launches kit to boost civil service understanding
KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Service Department (PSD) today launched the Public Service Kit aimed at ensuring that civil servants have a deeper understanding of the progressive Madani government administration system. In a statement today, PSD said that the initiative, launched by Public Service director-general (KPPA) Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz, was part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen the Public Service Reform Agenda. According to the department, the kit is also in line with the aspirations of the Madani core values and the H.E.M.A.T. principles within the framework of the Hijrah Tata Kelola values. "It also aims to strengthen competency development to be more competitive, inclusive, and competitive in supporting the Public Service Reform Agenda towards greater excellence," it said. It said that the Public Service Kit was a specific guide outlined to strengthen the understanding of civil servants, especially newly appointed officers, of the country's administrative system, starting from the appointment phase, service to the retirement phase. According to the PSD, the kit is an important platform to accelerate the process of adapting officers to the public service ecosystem effectively and competitively. It said four principles were arranged as the main thrust of the implementation of the kit, namely clear initial guidance; introduction to duties and responsibilities; exposure to rights and benefits; and information on administrative procedures. "With the determination to produce competent, efficient and credible civil servants, the PSD is committed to strengthening the public sector through the preparation of comprehensive policies and regulations. "This effort is to form a human capital that is magnanimous, knowledgeable, highly skilled, has integrity and performs well to ensure that the public sector continues to be the pillar of the country's progress and prosperity," it said. The Public Service Kit can now be officially accessed through the Public Service Department's Official Portal at the link
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
KY settlement with hedge funds delayed as judge orders mediation in state workers' lawsuit
Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate has ordered hedge fund defendants into mediation with a group of Kentucky state employees who allege mismanagement of state pension funds. Wingate sits in the Franklin County Courthouse in Frankfort. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley) FRANKFORT — A Friday afternoon court order will delay and possibly jeopardize final approval of the recently announced settlement of a long-running lawsuit over controversial investments by Kentucky Retirement Systems in hedge funds more than a decade ago. That high profile case alleged that some former officials of the retirement systems (since restructured as the Kentucky Public Pensions Authority or KPPA) and four big investment firms violated their fiduciary duties beginning in 2011 by gambling more than $1 billion of Kentucky pension money on hedge fund investments that carried high risk, high fees and low transparency. Early last month Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, who is pressing the case for the state, announced that he had reached a settlement in which the investment firms agreed to pay $227.5 million to the state's pension system, but admit no wrongdoing. A key part of the settlement required dismissal of other lawsuits related to the same claims. However, attorneys representing four Kentucky public employees who filed a separate case against the same defendants have objected to the proposed settlement in motions filed with Franklin Circuit Judge Thomas Wingate, who must approve the settlement before it becomes final. These attorneys, led by Michelle Ciccarelli Lerach, said the settlement would recover only a 'pittance' for the state but result in a 'bonanza' of as much as $45.5 million from the settlement for private attorneys hired under contract by the attorney general's office to represent the state. But the main objection by Lerach was that the proposed settlement of the original suit would dismiss her separate case. Wingate heard arguments Wednesday on Lerach's motions, and late on Friday he granted Lerach's request that the separate case be referred for resolution to a mediator. Wingate directed that parties in this separate case agree on a mediator. He said if they do not agree on a mediator they must give him a list of three mediators and he would pick one. 'The mediation shall be conducted by March 14,' Wingate ordered. The judge had previously scheduled a hearing on whether to approve the proposed settlement of the original case for Feb. 26. Because of his order directing mediation in the separate case, Wingate postponed that hearing until March 26. In response to Kentucky Lantern's request for comment on the impact of Wingate's order, Coleman released this statement: 'The Commonwealth's proposed settlement remains in place for Kentucky workers and retirees. We will continue reviewing the court's order to determine the path forward for the Commonwealth, KPPA, and all beneficiaries.' But Lerach said the order was a 'complete victory' for her clients in the separate case. 'In light of Judge Wingate's order, it is extremely unlikely that the Attorney General's settlement will go forward as currently attempted — if at all,' Lerach said in a statement. 'The Court ordered our case to mediation and we intend to mediate with the hedge fund sellers to reach a real settlement. If that cannot be done, we will be able to go ahead and litigate our claims without any further interference from the Attorney General.' Grahmn Morgan, an attorney representing three investment firms (KKR & Co., Prisma Capital Partners, Pacific Alternative Asset Management) who are defendants in the original case as well as Lerach's separate case, said he had no immediate comment on Wingate's order. Vanessa Cantley, one of the Louisville attorneys working under contract with Coleman's office in the original case, also declined comment. The original case was brought by a group of eight state pensioners in late 2017 alleging that the financially troubled Kentucky Retirement Systems gambled with the hedge fund investments that resulted in big losses. The defendants said there was no wrongdoing, that the actions were all legitimate investments. A major development in the case happened in July 2020 when the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiffs — whose pensions had not been reduced and were protected in law by a legal doctrine called an 'inviolable contract' — did not have standing to file their claims. The high court sent the case back to Franklin Circuit for dismissal. But then-Attorney General Daniel Cameron intervened and the court allowed him to take over as the plaintiff to recover damages to the pension system. His office contracted with two of the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the original case — Ann Oldfather and Cantley, of Louisville — to handle the case for the state. But in 2021 Lerach and some other attorneys who originally worked with Oldfather and Cantley in representing plaintiffs in the original case filed a new separate case on behalf of our state employees. These new plaintiffs had standing because they were hired after a 2013 pension reform law put them into a new hybrid cash balance pension plan whose state pensions do not enjoy the same security as the plaintiffs in the original case who were hired before 2013. On Jan. 8 Coleman put out a statement announcing the original case had been settled and that boards of the KPPA had voted to approve the settlement. He said the big investment firms had agreed to pay $227.5 million, money he said would go to Kentucky's pension funds. Coleman's statement noted that this total included the return of about $145 million that had been held in reserve by Prisma, one of the defendants. Lerach's objections to the settlement say that this $145 million is not a recovery by the state because it always has been the property of Kentucky's pension system. Lerach said the proposed settlement involves just $82.5 million in 'fresh money' to the state. Moreover, Lerach said that under terms of contracts with the attorney general's office, the attorneys representing Coleman in the original case can claim $46.5 million in legal fees if the settlement is approved by Franklin Circuit Court. Among other things, Lerach's separate case argues that Prisma must return the $145 million to Kentucky's pension system with penalty and interest — a total of about $807 million. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
