CIVIL SERVANTS: Change not about e-this or e-that
THE advice by the chief secretary to the government to public agencies to drop the "I know what's good for you" attitude is heartening and long overdue ("Public to get first-class service, says Mohd Sidek" -- NST, Jan 17).
There is nothing new in this declaration. What is new, however, is that it is coming from the highest-ranking civil servant, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan. That carries weight in the rank-conscious civil service.
This patronising attitude prevents agencies from seeking citizens' input on policies, programmes, improvements and changes before committing huge sums of public money. It also hinders learning from others.
Many faltering e-government projects are the product of this mentality.
Their online interface leaves many users cold. It comes as no surprise that people are not often excited about the improvements and do not embrace many of the e-services.
Citizens do not always seek faster service. There is more to be done in the civil service than just speeding up and e-enabling the processes.
Unless the public agencies seek out the real, value drivers of their clients, they will be misdirected in their improvement efforts.
I also hope that Sidek's counsel, expressed within the context of creating a first-class public service, will not stop at merely improving the quality of public service.
Public agencies should not consider themselves as producers and the citizens as purely customers.
As customers, citizens want good service. As citizens, they want the public agencies to deliver services, implement programmes and enforce the laws in an accountable, transparent, just and participative manner.
Only when both these dimensions are met can the civil service become first class.
When the bureaucrats jettison their "I know what's good or what you want" attitude, they will discover that the citizen-customer has many, and sometimes complex, needs.
Service quality is an important one. It can be achieved and has been achieved as in the case of e-services without much change in the governance of the agencies.
Accountability, transparency, rule of law and integrity are wanting.
The first-class public service cannot be built merely by hastening and simplifying the processes. New standards must be met as well.
Sidek's counsel is a good beginning and a launching pad for a wider concept of improvements and excellence in public service.
