KL officials told to halt foreign trips

KL officials told to halt foreign trips

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): In a measure to bolster its battered currency, the Malaysian government has barred all civil servants from spending their holidays abroad, a local newspaper reported yesterday.

Top government officials were ordered Dec. 15 to reject any applications for leave made by employees who wish to travel overseas, The Star daily said.

It was not immediately clear who issued the edict although government officials confirmed yesterday that a number of departmental heads working with the government have already begun implementing the ban.

"It comes as a surprise to us," Abdul Aziz Mohamed Sultan, deputy president of Cuepacs, was quoted as saying by The Star. Cuepacs is an umbrella organization for all government labor unions in Malaysia.

"We support the Government's measures to curb wasteful spending." Abdul said. "However, the blanket rejection of these applications is an infringement on the staff's right to spend money at any chosen destination."

Malaysia, among the countries hit hardest by Asia's prolonged economic crisis, announced a series of austerity measures late last year to avoid further declines in the nation's currency and stock markets.

Salaries of cabinet ministers and senior government officials would be cut 10 percent and raises of lower-paid bureaucrats would be frozen as of Jan. 1, Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced in December.

The ministers also agreed to spend their vacations in Malaysia.