But the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (Perc), which conducted the survey, had a word of caution: This high standard could be tested by the recession.

'During normal times, when the system is not stress-tested, it operates very well.

'However, during difficult times - or when mistakes are made that reflect badly on the system - there is a tendency among bureaucrats to circle the wagons in ways that lack transparency and make accountability difficult,' said the Hong Kong-based consulting firm in a report released on Wednesday.

More mistakes than usual are likely, and they will be easier to spot, it added.

Perc's managing director, Mr Robert Broadfoot, told The Straits Times on Thursday that how senior managers of state-owned companies here responded to financial losses this year was an instance of 'circling the wagons', or taking a defensive position.

'It will be very easy to try to blame everything on external circumstances, but this glosses over the real debate: Why were the investment decisions made that were made? Was there adequate attention to downside risks? Who is accountable for those decisions?' he added.

In its report titled Bureaucracy In Asia, Perc noted that although public servants generally have more job security than private-sector workers, current economic conditions are forcing some governments to review public-sector pay.

Although civil service unions in the region are resisting pay cuts, the threat of having them forced on government workers 'could hurt morale and job performance at a time when actual work burdens are increasing'.

Perc surveyed 1,274 expatriates in the region on their perceptions of the quality of the civil service in the countries in which they are working.

Read the full report in Friday's edition of The Straits Times.