23-05-2025
Extend retirement age only with performance-based mechanism, says ex-State Secretary
Ose says that technological advancements have rendered some positions redundant and underscored the needs for civil servants to adapt to modern digital demands.
MIRI (May 23): Raising the civil service retirement age to 65 years old may be a good move but it must be supported by a proper mechanism to ensure that staff remains competent and efficient, said former state secretary Dato Ose Murang.
He stressed that in the public and private sectors, performance and adaptability – particularly in the digital age – must take precedence over age.
'The idea of extending the retirement age has merit but the focus should be on retaining high-performing personnel while gradually phasing out those who no longer meet the required standards,' he told The Borneo Post .
'There must be a proper mechanism in place to keep the high-performing civil servants and phase out the non-performing ones.'
Ose was contacted for his view on Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said's recent proposal for the government to consider extending the civil service retirement age to 65.
Azalina said her suggestion was based on the 'active ageing' concept, observing that many older Malaysians remain capable and energetic.
She also cited that several Asean nations have already implemented higher retirement ages.
Ose, who retired from the civil service at 64, pointed out that technological advancements have rendered some positions redundant and underscored the needs for civil servants to adapt to modern digital demands.
'Without such adaptability, extending service may only be both unproductive and unpragmatic,' said Ose, who is Curtin University Malaysia Board of Directors chairman.
Malaysia has already revised its civil service retirement age three times since the Pensions Act 1980, raising it from 55 to 56, then to 58 in 2008, and to 60 in 2012.
For the private sector, the Minimum Retirement Age Act 2012 sets 60 as the baseline. extend retirement age lead Ose Murang performance mechanism retirement age
