PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA: Heads of department must monitor the performance of their staff who take on part-time jobs to cope with the rising cost of living.

They should be told to stop if their performance deteriorates.

A spokesman for the Public Service Department said department heads could also cancel the written permission given to their staff to do part-time work.

Under the Civil Servants' Regulations (Conduct and Discipline) 2002, department heads were empowered to act against those who performed badly.

"Disciplinary action, including termination of service, can be taken if the advice goes unheeded."

Errant government servants also risked being asked to seek early retirement.

Civil servants must get written permission from their heads before they were allowed to work part-time.

"This is clearly stated in the regulations."

Senator Tan Sri Amirsham A. Aziz had said the move to allow them to look for after-office jobs was to stop people from falling from the middle- to the poor-income bracket.

Cuepacs president Omar Osman urged civil servants who had part-time jobs to work only for a few hours.

"It should not be more than five or six hours as this can affect their performance and productivity."

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