Malaysian state gets tough on tea breaks

MALAYSIA: Thousands of civil servants in Malaysia’s Terengganu state have been barred from leaving their offices for tea breaks, a report said Thursday. State secretary Mokhtar Nong said civil servants were taking far too long in restaurants and street stalls having coffee, tea or snacks during working hours.

“We will direct all (department) heads to monitor the movement of their subordinates and submit names of those who are in defiance so that disciplinary action can be taken,” Mokhtar was quoted as saying in the Star daily.

The newspaper reported that some staff on tea breaks were spending nearly an hour away from their desks. Breaks cannot exceed 15 to 20 minutes, he said. The ruling, which affects some 13,000 civil servants in eastern Terengganu state, commences in June.

Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, AFP