Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the size of the civil service is too big and should be reduced, but shrinking the civil service would lead to unemployment and other social problems.

Instead, the premier suggested for the country to develop more jobs with higher salaries in the private sector to reduce the people’s dependence on public sector jobs.

Dr Mahathir said that when was asked by a navy officer to share his views about downsizing the civil service during a dialogue session with Defence Ministry personnel at the ministry’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.