THE Performance Evaluation Demerit System (DEEP) is not intended to punish senior civil servants, but to identify weaknesses and improve the leadership of the public service’s top management, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said.
He said the DEEP results for the second quarter of this year had been analysed, with any weaknesses identified to be addressed in line with the system’s objective of supporting public service reform.
“DEEP is not to punish, but DEEP is to improve the leadership of public servants, the top management of the public service.
“So that needs to be corrected because DEEP is one of the mechanisms for public service reform. So, it is used to improve the service and not to punish,” he told reporters after the closing ceremony of the 2026 Public Sector AI Seminar and the presentation of the Public Sector AI Nexus Challenge 2026 awards in Putrajaya yesterday.
Asked whether officers who failed to achieve the prescribed merit threshold could face action such as demotion, Shamsul Azri reiterated that DEEP was not a punitive mechanism.
“As I said earlier, it is not to punish, but to improve,” he said.
The clarification comes after the Public Service Department (JPA) was asked to review the weighting of assessments under DEEP for ministry secretary-general (KSU) positions.
The review is aimed at ensuring that the performance assessment system for top public service management remains holistic and relevant, while accurately reflecting the evolving challenges of public administration.
DEEP forms part of the government’s broader public service reform agenda, with its assessment findings intended to identify areas requiring improvement rather than serve as a basis for punitive action. - September 4, 2026
