With government officials’ salaries in the spotlight, especially following the news that retired “fat cat” officials were receiving double incomes, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday called on the public to be generous when it comes to civil servants who have performed their duties well.
Wu cited two examples — director of the Central Weather Bureau’s (CWB) forecast center Daniel Wu (吳德榮), who recently applied for early retirement, nine years before the mandatory retirement age; and Central Bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南).
Wu Den-yih said he would attempt to persuade Daniel Wu not to leave if the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the ministry that supervises the CWB, hadn’t processed Daniel Wu’s retirement application.
The 56-year-old Daniel Wu applied for early retirement following heavy criticism of the bureau over its typhoon forecasts from politicians and media commentators, and the investigation into its forecasting capabilities by the Control Yuan.
“I heard with regret of [Daniel Wu’s intention to retire]. Also, there are many other civil servants who are assiduous in their work, such as Governor Perng, being a top central bank governor and among the best central bank governors in the world. We should praise them more often,” Wu Den-yih said.
The premier praised the CWB’s capability to more precisely forecast paths of typhoons than Japan, which he said was proved by the forecasts of the amount of rainfall in particular locations brought by Typhoon Parma.
“Launching attacks on civil servants who are faithful to their duties and perform well, sapping their morale, will negatively influence the growth of the society and impede the nation’s progress. Civil servants should be appraised justly,” the premier said.
Wu Den-yih said Perng was another case in point as he never compromises his devotion to his job and the country even though he receives much less pay than his counterparts.
Perng was rated the world’s best central banker earlier this year by Global Finance magazine and is the world’s only central banker who has won the magazine’s “A” rating for five consecutive years.
Wu Den-yih said he had also addressed the issue earlier yesterday at a Cabinet meeting, when he put forward a plan to stop retired officials being paid to serve as representatives of the government at state-funded organizations as well as receiving their pension.
Executive Yuan spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) said later that the government would look into the issue carefully as there were various factors that needed to be considered.
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