Azlan Othman
Around 1,000 to 2,000 civil servants retire annually, said Legislative Council (LegCo) member Yang Berhormat Haji Salleh Bostaman bin Haji Zainal Abidin during yesterday’s 19th LegCo session.
Yang Berhormat Haji Salleh Bostaman noted the number of annual retirees and inquired on the Public Service Commission’s (PSC) target of filling 1,000 vacancies with new appointments every year.
Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Defence II Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof responded that the number of posts filled by the PSC depends on vacancies sent to them via government ministries.
He added that the PSC continues to work with the ministries to obtain input on vacant posts and vacancies due to mandatory retirement.
The minister said in 2022, some 1,122 vacancies have been forwarded to the PSC to be advertised.
Last year, some 2,104 vacancies have been filled either through new appointment (1,425), promotion (675) and appointment after retirement (22), he said.
Efforts to fill vacancies also include appointments of reserve candidates. These vacancies did not need to be advertised, he said. Some 167 vacancies have been filled with reserved candidates last year.
Yang Berhormat Haji Salleh Bostaman also asked if there are plans to review the PSC organisation structure to ensure its relevancy to Brunei Vision 2035. Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi replied that every department is required to self-review from time-to-time to ensure effective growth.
