Page 40 - KSN English Final

Yet, despite the naysayers’ views, we were able to adopt pragmatic as The various Transformation Programmes that have been initiated by the
well as strategic measures that led the country to prosper:
• First, by creating governing institutions that would be
accountable to a multi-racial society; and
• Second, by adopting economic reforms that would
eventually take us from an agrarian economy to an
industrial one.
Since independence, the Malaysian public service has assumed a
multitude of roles in meeting the needs and expectations of the rakyat
and relevant stakeholders. It has also assumed the roles of being impartial
advisors and negotiators, service providers, controller and facilitators.
PTD officers, in particular, are trained to assume all forms of responsibilities
at different levels of the public service; be it at the district level (as DOs),
at the federal level (as advisors), and even at the international fora (as
diplomats).
In other words, we have always been given the responsibility and trust
of being pacesetters and change agents of the country. We are viewed
as being highly professional, devoted to public interests, and loyal to
the Government of the day, in providing continuous peace, security and
stability to the country.
Today, more than ever before, we have our work cut out for us. As
global competition for resources, investment, talent, sustainability,
and a share of the economic pie intensifies, we should no longer stay
in our comfort zones. As society becomes armed with higher levels of
educational attainment and access to information, it is common for the
public administration to come under heavy scrutiny and criticism; mostly
for red tape, inefficiency, sub-par performance, rigidness and lack of
independence and accountability.
30 Humanising The Public Service : A Compilation of Speeches by the Chief Secretary to the Government
Government, namely the Government Transformation Programme (GTP),
Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), Political Transformation
Programme (PTP) and Social Transformation Programme (STP), among
others, aim to advance the Government machinery to become more
efficient, dynamic, competitive and market-driven.
Allow me to dwell for a moment on the subject of independence and
accountability. There is a highly cited study conducted in 1983 by the
late Lloyd Reynolds, who was at that time Economics Professor at Yale
University. Reynolds studied the reasons why economic growth had
spread to some countries in the developing world and not to others.
After analysing growth trends of 40 countries over a period of 130 years,
he came to one conclusion: He found that outweighing capital, labour,
education, technology and knowledge, “the single most important
explanatory variable (of development) is political organisation and the
administrative competence of Government”.
For any country to prolong development and prosperity, it must have
governing institutions that are accountable to the public interest, as well
as be independent enough of politics not to have its credibility called into
question. While public officials should be accorded sufficient power to
deliver good services, there must be effective mechanisms that ensure the
public interest is served, and not special interests. Public services must be
aligned to the rakyat’s needs and aspirations, focusing on priorities that
matter most to the people and making fundamental changes to delivering
big and fast results.
I cannot emphasise enough the importance of being accountable to
the public interest, and ensuring that public interest is served. As PTD
officers, I expect all of you to give your best service to the public, the
same excellent service that you would expect as a member of the public,
in every aspect of your work. This is the core aspect of the concept of
Merakyatkan Perkhidmatan Awam which I introduced last year.
As humans, we err. The Government has learned a lot from past short-
comings. The “denial syndrome” that sometimes plagues Government
bureaucracies is something we must discard. To gain public confidence,
we have to accept realities and face problems head on. Flaws in policies
or standard operating procedures must be acknowledged and rectified.
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