Page 44 - KSN English Final

This brings me to my next point about the need to always challenge
our paradigms and never be afraid of coming up with new ideas and
approaches. The culture of innovation, creativity and continuous
improvement should be adopted as a work culture at all levels of the
organisation. We cannot afford to sit and wait, and then take nothing
more than reactionary steps after changes have taken place.
To move beyond the traditional mind set of “business as usual”, our Prime
Minister has outlined six core principles, known simply by two acronyms:
CTI (Cepat, Tepat dan Integriti) and PCI (Productivity, Creativity and
Innovation). Both these acronyms serve as the guiding principles for all
civil servants in carrying out their duties.
CTI dictates that we are to deliver swiftly and accurately without
compromising our integrity. By holding ourselves to these high standards,
we will enhance the public’s confidence that the machinery of the public
service system is in good working order.
PCI on the other hand, caters to the increasing demands of our economy.
The Malaysian public service is constantly faced with the reality that one
of its core objectives is to deliver services that add value to the economy.
Towards that end, the Government is intensifying its efforts to develop a
public service with a high performance and innovative culture, which
will contribute to making us better able to compete with our neighbours
for human capital, for tourists and for investment dollars.
Attaining seamless service delivery is still one of the areas we are
grappling with today. Poor co-ordination amongst public sector agencies
has resulted in overlapping of roles and functions, as well as wastages
in terms of time and resources. The public service agencies must no
We should also rise up and fight back against
untrue allegations made against the Government
and its programmes. We have always been at the
receiving end of criticism, and I believe it is time
that we address all these lies with facts
and figures.
34 Humanising The Public Service : A Compilation of Speeches by the Chief Secretary to the Government
longer see themselves in isolation, but rather as an integrated part of one
Government with many agencies, and one delivery system.
In this context, leadership in the public service must promote working across
organisational boundaries and bringing together the various agencies to
attain synergy in public service delivery. To instil this culture, leadership
however must allow for some calculated risk-taking, experimentation and
good judgment. Leaders must encourage their officials to constantly think
of new ways of doing things, rather than sticking with business as usual,
even when redundant.
PTD officers should strive for high standards of performance with tangible
goals and realistic plans to achieve them, especially when we are
entrusted to successfully implement the National Transformation Agenda.
This would require a change from an input-oriented practice to outcome-
based approaches. The outcome-based approach provides transparency.
As such, the progress of projects and programmes are more easily
monitored.
Demanding a high standard of performance by itself, however, is
inadequate if there is no measurement and follow-up action. We are
often praised for having the best plans, but unfortunately, often lacking
in the drive and commitment in its implementation and completion. One
cannot deny the fact that this phenomenon will inevitably point towards
the talent in public sector organisations.
It is acknowledged that the influence of public service leadership
especially PTDs in terms of policy advice, policy implementation
and decision making has profound and extensive impact on the life
of the rakyat. Nevertheless, the influence has a further line of sight in
repercussions if not delivered efficiently. A flawed decision may have
tremendous consequences on society at large.
I am acutely aware that Malaysian public service leaders are constantly
being compared to others around the world, and expectations will
continue to grow. Leadership development is both a science as well as an
art. It can be constantly built upon to keep abreast of modern demands.
This is in line with the adage that “Leaders are made and not born”.
They develop through a never-ending process of self-study, education,
training and experience. As someone entrusted to lead the public service,
I too am constantly striving to better myself as a leader, knowing that the
competencies that have gotten me ahead in the past may be outdated. If
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