The Prime Minister, accompanied by Malacca Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Khalil Yaakob and Public Service Department (PSD) director-general Tan Sri Ismail Adam, had taken the lift to the concourse where he was to deliver a speech at the PSD Diamond Jubilee celebrations at 10.30am.
In his speech at the function later, Ismail touched on the unfortunate incident.
“When we reached the concourse, the lift would not open, so we had to spend about half an hour in there while waiting for someone to pry open the doors.
“We did not panic and all was calm until the doors were finally opened for us to get out and join all of you,” he said.
He apologised to the guests-of-honour saying that it was not the welcome he would have hoped for.
Abdullah later launched the celebrations and showed no sign of having been affected by the incident.
In his speech, Abdullah said the PSD must work wholeheartedly to push for excellence in achieving the ever-changing goals in an ever-changing environment.
He said the department was the backbone of implementing government policies which ensured that the country maintained its competitiveness.
He said the PSD was behind every change and shift in the country’s de-velopment since its inception in 1934 and was also key in ensuring the effectiveness of the public service sector.
As such, he said the level of success the department was constantly trying to achieve was high and it needed to be capable of making dynamic changes to ensure that its service was at its best.
“There is no end to the challenges that the PSD faces, especially in dealing with the expectations of the leaders and the public, but I am happy to see that it has risen to the challenges each time,” he said.
- THE STAR
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