Page 116 - KSN English Final

FAST FORWARD : ENERGISE The reason I am asking these questions is because I strongly believe that
TO INSPIRE!
would like to take this opportunity to thank the National Institute of
Public Administration (INTAN) for organising this Interaction Session
I and inviting me to be with all of you today. I have been informed that
for this Advanced Leadership and Management Programme (ALMP),
there are 37 participants from 33 Ministries and four Central Agencies.
I always look forward to these sessions, and as with previous ALMPs
held, I would like to hear your views and ideas on our public sector.
I hope this will be a truly interactive session; a dialogue instead of a
monologue; and I encourage you to voice your opinions and thoughts
in the next hour or so.
I believe all of us are not strangers to the objectives and programmes
rolled out under the National Transformation Agenda. And many of us are
involved directly or indirectly in the transformation initiatives under the
Government Transformation Programme and Economic Transformation
Programme. At the same time, I will not go into the details of the six
principles of Merakyatkan Perkhidmatan Awam, or share with you the
successes under the National Blue Ocean Strategy (NBOS), where we
enhance collaboration and break down the silo mentality that is often
prevalent. As senior officers in the civil service, I expect all of you to
be well aware and in-the-know of all these programmes and initiatives,
and to keep yourself updated. Hence, I would like to focus on two main
areas this evening: innovation in the public sector, and leadership.
I would like to bring your attention to a few questions for you to think
over. As public servants, we are expected to introduce robust policies
and strategies that can bring the nation forward and achieve our vision
to become a high-income developed nation by 2020. My question to
you is this: Do you think that in your capacity as a civil servant, you
have given your best towards nation-building? Are you equipped with
the necessary skills, knowledge and experience? And ultimately, is what
you are doing relevant and benefiting the rakyat?
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we must take some time to be introspective, and question ourselves as to
whether we are giving our best in the pursuit of excellence for our nation.
I do not want us to be caught in the same old cycle of doing things and
become complacent, as complacency will inevitably lead us to become
irrelevant. We must change with the times, and innovate and reinvent
ourselves and our services.
I would like to give you an example from the corporate world. We have
all heard of the brand Nokia and I am sure that when the name comes up,
we will think of mobile phones which were hugely popular not too long
ago. But where is Nokia today? Having lost the smartphone market share
to Apple with the introduction of iPhones in 2007, Nokia announced its
partnership with Microsoft last year as a move to reinvent itself and build
its next chapter. However, just last month, Microsoft announced that the
Nokia branding will be dropped from all future Microsoft phones. Is this
the death of Nokia as we know it? How, and why did this happen?
There are plenty of other big name brands that have disappeared over the
years as they struggle to overcome challenges from global trends, changes
in customers’ expectations and technological advancement. I would like
to remind you that in essence, the public sector is no different. We also
face challenges that force us to come up with innovative solutions or
risk becoming irrelevant to our stakeholders. These challenges include
changes in policies, fiscal pressures, greater demand and expectations
from the citizens, and our own quest to become a high-performing public
sector. The signs are there for us to see; that our relevance is at stake. The
engagement of private consultants and advisers in the conduct of studies
on public policies and recommendations on public issues signify that
there exists a capabilities and competencies gap of which we, the civil
servants, are unable to fill.
In my readings on innovation, I have noted that there are six types of
innovation in the public sector. Firstly, services innovation, where a
new or improved service is introduced. Secondly, services delivery
innovation, that is, a new or different way of providing a service. Thirdly,
administrative or organisational innovation, often through a new process.
Fourth, conceptual innovation, that is a new way of looking at problems,
challenging current assumptions, or both. Fifth, policy innovation, which
is a change in policy thinking or behavioural intentions. And lastly,
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