Page 122 - KSN English Final

At the same time, the advent of social media has forced us to come be pro-active in our search for excellence, and take steps to be creative,
face-to-face with positive and negative feedback in real-time, and the
expectation of timely, if not real-time responses, has never been higher.
At the institutional level, we face fiscal constraints that challenge us to
do more for the rakyat with less resource. Hence, we must take the bold
step to transform the public sector and aim not for incremental benefits,
but significant and sustainable outcomes in the form of enhanced public
services, increase in productivity and efficiency, and economic growth.
We can stand proud that we have a strong, dynamic and resilient
public sector, that is able to propel the nation forward by successfully
implementing many development programmes throughout the years, thus
enabling the nation to achieve steady growth, and remain competitive
globally. The public sector’s efforts are manifested in many different ways.
For example:
• achieving a GDP growth of 6.1 per cent for the first three quarters of 2014;
• registering an average achievement rate of 104% for the key performance
indicators (KPIs) under the Government Transformation Programme in 2013;
• being ranked 18th from 183 economies in the World Bank Doing Business
2015 Report, moving up from 20th position in the previous year;
• ranked as the 12th most competitive nation among 60 economies in the World
Competitiveness Yearbook, from 15th position in 2013; and
• being in 33rd position out of 143 countries in the Global Innovation Index
2014, and being the top two among 40 upper-middle income economies.
Malaysia would not have achieved these successes if not for the cumulative
effort of all public servants. Our country would not be able to stand
tall amongst other countries if not for the hard work, commitment and
dedication of its public servants to ensure that programmes and initiatives
are rolled out as planned. However, we must not pat ourselves on the
back too quickly, as there is still much room for improvement. We must
112 Humanising The Public Service : A Compilation of Speeches by the Chief Secretary to the Government
innovate and improve. We must continue to cut down on bureaucratic
red tape, and introduce reforms that can increase efficiency, minimise
costs and enhance productivity.
Hence, we must take the bold step to transform
the public sector and aim not for incremental
benefits, but significant and sustainable outcomes
in the form of enhanced public services, increase
in productivity and efficiency, and economic
growth.
Transformation cannot happen without people to drive it. In the case of
transformation in the public sector, we, the public servants, are the ones
who are responsible and duty-bound to see the transformation through. I
believe we have chosen this vocation as public servants because we have
the desire and passion to serve the citizenry, and the country. Hence, we
must do our utmost best for the rakyat, and indirectly, for ourselves, as
we are also a member of the citizenry. I must also remind all of us here
today to “humanise the public service” and to inculcate the six principles
under the concept of Merakyatkan Perkhidmatan Awam, as we dispense
our duties every day.
As the people who will drive the transformation agenda, I would like to
encourage everyone to learn from other Governments. We should study
their best practices and improve on them, so in the end, we will not be
on par with them, but instead, be a step ahead of them. For example, I
have noticed that the Sarawak Civil Service’s vision, “To Be A World Class
Civil Service”, is quite similar to Canada’s: “A world-class public service
equipped to serve Canada and Canadians now and into the future”. And
similar to Sarawak, the Canadians have also developed a plan to transform
their public service called “Blueprint 2020”.
There is much benefit for us to study what they have done, and where
they are at in their implementation process, so that we can learn and
compare our experience, and identify avenues for further improvement.
Also, I strongly urge everyone to take a keen interest in the presentations
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