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History of Early Divisions

History

The first four divisions in PSD were the Establishment Division, Services Division, Training Council for Government Officers, and General Administration Division.


1. Establishment Division

This division consisted of two branches, namely the Establishment and Supervision Branch and also Schemes of Service Branch. In general, these divisions managed and controlled the terms and regulations of the service of Government officers and handled establishment matters for Federal and State Departments, including federal positions in Sabah and Sarawak. The main activities carried out at that time were establishing new schemes of service, monitoring the vacancy advertisements in public service posts, reviewing the applications to lessen the scheme requirements especially those related to the Malay Language Examination, preparing review papers on post-establishment and conducting inspectorate visits for personnel estimations to Ministries, Federal Departments and State Departments.

2. Services Division

This division consisted of four branches which performed the following functions:

  1. The Promotion and Disciplinary branch was responsible for establishing the Promotion Board and the Disciplinary Board at the Ministries and Federal Departments. This branch was also responsible for reviewing and keeping the Annual Confidential Reports on approximately 3,800 officers from 50 schemes of service.

  2. The Pension Branch consisted of the Pension Unit and the Widow and Orphan Unit. The Pension Unit was responsible for handling all matters regarding the disbursement of pension, gratuities, accident allowance and Workmen’s compensation; policies related to the Employees Provident Fund scheme; as well as issues and problems related to pension and other allowances for the Armed Forces. The Widow and Orphan Unit was responsible for implementing the Widow and Orphan Pension Scheme for the states in West Malaysia and also the formulation of policies in relation to the Widow and Orphan Pension Scheme for East Malaysia.

  3. The Common-User Service Branch was responsible for managing the recruitment, placement, transfer and training of Common-User Service officers at that time, comprising the Administrative Service, the Service of the Work Officer and Clerical Services.

  4. The Other Services Branch served as the coordinator of policies, issues, and problems for the services that were not included under the Common-User Service, specifically those related to in-service examinations. This branch also updated and maintained the service details of each government officer with a total of approximately 300,000 personnel at that time. This branch was merged with the Government Records Centre to improve the efficiency of the process of gathering and updating data of public service officers.

On 9th June 1970, the Pension Branch was separated from the Services Division and merged with the Pension Division, National Audit Department. Furthermore, the entity was upgraded to the status of a division based on the growth of its scope and functions at that time. This new division was known as the Pension Division with 49 posts. The Services Division was reorganised from time and time with an additional function of the career development of public service employees. Hence, the division was renamed the Service and Career Development Division. In 1996, the name of this division was changed to the Services Division in line with its primary objective of ensuring that public service has exceptional members through the formulation and implementation of strategic service and career policies. This objective is the key towards realising efficient, robust and effective human resource development.

3. Training and Career Advancement Division

To enhance the administration system, in September 1959, the Government rented a building located at the beachfront about eight miles from the city of Port Dickson to conduct training of its administrative officers. In the early days of its establishment, this institution was known as the Training Council for Government Officers and was placed under the administration of the Federal Establishment Office. With the concept of a residential training centre, the Training Council was equipped with 16 fully furnished bedrooms, each with a bathroom and a toilet. The first principal was B.W.B. Chapman, while Mr. Abdul Majib bin Mohd Yusoff was the first local officer appointed as the Principal of the Training Council in 1962.

This component consisted of two components, namely the Training and Work Direction Division and the Training Council for Government Officers. In general, the Training and Work Direction Division carried out the training plan for federal government officers by offering scholarships and also local and overseas courses, including special training for all administration officers in local and foreign services. Other than that, this division formulated the training and career development policy and monitored its implementation via the Training Council for Government Officers and Federal Departments. In line with the established plan, the Training Council for Government Officers in Port Dickson organised short-term courses for public service officers. The Training Council continued to grow and operated under a new name, the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) effective from June 1972 and moved to a new premise for its operations in Jalan Elmu, Petaling Jaya. Apart from INTAN, other entities that were retained under the Training and Career Advancement Division at that time were the Chinese Language School and the Asian Development Administration Centre.

4. General Administration Division

Other than the main functions performed by those three divisions, the employee administration, inter-division coordination, and finances of the department were handled by the General Administration Division.

In 1976, the Government Officers’ Records Centre, which was originally part of the Services Division, was separated and placed under the management of the General Administration Division to facilitate its operations.

Subsequently, the Government Officers’ Records Centre was reorganised in line with the emphasis on the development of information and communication technologies (ICT) at that time and it was renamed the Information Technology Division.