Najib reminded civil servants that they should not deny the 'people's rights'. — Reuters pic

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 9 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) recent arrests are a reminder to civil servants that they should not deny Malaysians the "people's rights", Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.

MACC last week arrested the secretary-general of the Rural and Regional Development Ministry, Datuk Mohd Arif Ab Rahman, and his two sons in a corruption investigation.

"There are reminders about wastage. The actions taken by MACC recently are a reminder not to take what is the people's rights," he told civil servants from the Prime Minister's Department in the department's monthly assembly here today.

"This belongs to the people. Everything we do is for the people. The projects are for the people. The value adding is for the people," he added.

The prime minister also urged civil servants to treat 2017 as a year of "delivery".

"When we say delivery, we are looking at the value of what we deliver," he said.

"Follow scheduled completion targets. If there are any problems, please resolve them," he added.

Najib then said bureacracy should not hinder the delivery of services to the public.