MalaysiaÕs notoriously stroppy civil servants are to be sent on courtesy courses to teach them to be more pleasant and helpful.
The recommendations come from a government report published on Monday that unearthed vast feelings of resentment to the country's 850,000 bureaucrats, who were widely seen as being rude and lazy.
One suggestion contained within the report was to have undercover officials pose as members of the public to monitor the employees' performance.
According to one local satirist, Malaysia's bureaucracy works on a points system.
You approach the civil servant of your choosing and he or she then points you to a different one.
It is a game, probably immediately recognisable to people throughout the world not just Malaysia, that can last a few hours, days, months or even years.
Even the government's chief secretary, Samsudin Osman, admitted he had been on the receiving end of just such poor service.
He has kindly offered the paper-pushers help in meeting the new requirements of service.
They have been ordered back to college, to learn how to smile, answer the telephone politely and treat clients properly.
In addition to incurring the wrath of the public MalaysiaÕs civil servants have also frustrated foreign businesses, who have cited the poor service as one reason they are reluctant to set up shop in Malaysia.
Andrew Zilouf
Servants with a Smile
The Malaysian government responds to public complaints by asking its (un)civil servants to be more civil.
