PUTRAJAYA: Department heads will have some explaining to do if there are reports that phone calls to the agencies concerned are not attended to speedily and in a courteous manner, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Samsudin Osman said Sunday.He said there must be an utmost effort to ensure matters brought up by customers were dealt with promptly.
"In ensuring calls to government departments are well entertained, they (administrators) can always take up our previous suggestion that they make calls disguising as customers," he told reporters after presenting prizes to winners of the Putrajaya Half-Marathon 2005.
Samsudin also wanted government agencies to look into the current use of answering machines to handle phone calls.
He said this was because it would take some time to process calls and this could lead to frustration among callers.
"We want them to review such a practice so that all the needs of customers voiced out via the phone can be resolved. Humans can do a better job than answering machines," he said.
Nevertheless, if it was found that answering machines could enhance the performance of any government agency, then the practice could be maintained, he said. Some 8,000 local and foreign participants took part in the half-marathon, offering prizes of up to RM150,000.
Meanwhile, a 22-year-old participant caused a commotion when he fell into the Putrajaya lake after allegedly punched several other participants. He was saved and sent to the Putrajaya Hospital.
In the 9.30am incident, police said the man started ranting and scolding other participants after completing his run. A medical check revealed the man's behaviour was due to low blood sugar level.- Bernama
