Jejak Langkah

PM: M'sia must transform or risk becoming a failed state

2010-10-09T07:39:00.002+08:00

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia must transform or risk becoming a failed state, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Transformation could only happen when three things were in place, Najib said when delivering his inaugural Razak Lecture,

"The active participation and input of all stakeholders, an environment in which key players are ready and able to take on the challenge and the readiness to embrace the culture of always reaching far above and beyond.

"It is no longer affordable or intelligent for us to be satisfied with the way things are," he said.

Earlier, the prime minister had launched the Razak School of Government (RSOG) at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) here.

Also present was Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, who is also the chairman of RSOG's Board of Trustees.

Najib said an institutional and structural change could only happen when leaders not only understood what needed to be done but have the integrity, humility and determination to take the nation to the next level.

He said a world class leadership was not merely there to lead but to inspire others to follow.

"It requires the capability of making the right decision with fully informed reasoning, seamless execution and outcome-driven mentality.

"To do this, we need to cultivate a knowledge-based public service. Thus, our immediate challenge is how to ensure that talented and knowledgeable Malaysians out there will contribute towards the nation becoming a better country to live in.

"The establishment of institutions like RSOG, I believe is to pre-empt, react and to respond to these questions. The School was founded on two main thrusts -- leadership and knowledge," he said.

The prime minister said transformational leadership coupled with knowledge, capacity and capability was the golden formula for creating an environment that was conducive to effective problem-solving and innovation.

Najib said it was vital that institutional and structural transformation was guided by a clear, comprehensive and commonly accepted vision of the fundamental principles that should shape the new public service.

"By working in partnership across government agencies, the public service creates a networked governance environment whose aim is the delivery of public value.

"The creation of a people-centred and people-driven public service is a must if we want to see the structural change happen," he said.

Meanwhile, when launching the RSOG, Najib said the setting up of RSOG was a great honour to him and his family because it was named after his father, the late Tun Abdul Razak, who was Malaysia's second prime minister.

The RSOG is envisioned to be a catalyst for intellectual and professional grooming of the nation's future leaders across all service sectors.

RSOG's vision is to be a global institution engaging in cutting edge research, teaching and training in public leadership, public policy and public service in Malaysia as well as internationally.

It has a mission to train high-potential public leaders in coming up with innovative solutions to the most pressing public problems in Malaysia and the region. - Bernama

Changing for the better

2010-08-15T11:56:00.002+08:00

from the STAR Online; Sunday August 15, 2010

MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek’s address to the Prime Minister and guests at the opening of the party’s Chinese Economic Congress yesterday.

WELCOME to the “Chinese Economic Congress” with the theme “Role of the Chinese community in achieving the NEM and 10th Malaysia Plan targets”.

The NEM and the 10MP are two of the four pillars of national transformation that will enable Malaysia to achieve the goals of Vision 2020, that is, to be a high-income economy and developed nation by 2020. The other pillars are the 1Malaysia concept and the Government Transformation Programme.
Keynote speech: Dr Chua delivering his address at the Chinese Economic Congress yesterday.

Much thought and effort has gone into crafting the NEM and 10MP, and, of course, far more work needs to be done for the actual implementation.

Let us bear in mind that these are national plans, and not just the Government’s plans. This means the nation as a whole has to come together and pull in the same direction in order for the NEM and the 10MP to succeed. Our immediate priority is to jointly grow the economic pie, instead of noisily debating over which slice we deserve. Make no mistake, failure is not an option.

We are here to ensure the transformation is successful and the targets for both the NEM and the 10MP are met.

> Liberalisation of economy

For a country to achieve accelerated growth, one needs to liberalise the economy. One of the better examples of sectors is the liberalisation of the oil and gas sector which encompasses areas as such shipping, distribution of gas, petrochemicals, education and vocational/technical training, and so on.

Our oil and gas sector has reached a stage in which we are already an established player in the global stage. Yet the opportunities for the SMEs are still small compared to other countries including non-oil producing nations like Singapore. Therefore, given the maturity of the sector, the opening up of the sector will boost the country’s GDP by many folds.

As such, sir, I sincerely urge you (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) to consider liberalising Malaysia’s oil and gas sector, and allow many more of our non-bumiputra investors to be joint-venture partners, contractors and sub-contractors in areas such as exploration, platform constructions, logistics, deep-sea operations and others.

Another area that needs to be liberalised is the telecommunication sector. With the full opening of the sector, increased competition actually augurs well for both the operators and the consumers.

With protectionism, rates of telecommunication services offered are high. Thus the country’s broadband usage is less than desired. We are hardly touching the 40% penetration rate as compared to the higher levels achieved by other countries.

> The Role of GLCs in the NEM

The GLCs make up nearly 40% of the value of the Bursa and there is no denying that they dominate the private sector in the economy in terms of their assets and capitalisation. GLCs have been instrumental in helping the bumiputra business community to flourish – to give them a head start to form a core cluster of bumi entrepreneurs to mentor and nurture others to be equally competitive and to be confident in the global stage.

But at the same time, it must be recognised that Malaysia is just a small market with 26 million people. As such, GLCs must take the bold step to venture regionally and/or globally like CIMB Bank. CIMB has expanded its financial wings to Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia and is doing very well in South-East Asia.

However, to be regionally and globally competitive, we need to make sure that the best talent remains in our shores. I encourage more GLCs to open up their board of directors to include more non-bumiputras as well as international expertise. It is important also that GLCs open up their procurement system to include competitive SMEs based on the quality of their service and products that they offer, rather than based on race or equity requirement.

> Open Tender System

Likewise, we call for greater transparency in our tendering process. Closed tender systems have always been associated with corruption and kickbacks. Quality of projects will also be compromised. This does not go down well with the good governance which the Government is trying to project. The open tender system not only removes accusations and talk of corrupted administration but also lowers the cost of projects.

We hold the opinion that all the public procurement should be open to all local SMEs, provided with equal access and opportunities. Under the 9th Malaysia Plan, over RM1bil was allocated for SME development alone. Bank Negara estimated the number of SMEs in the country at about 600,000.

The importance of the SMEs is recognised by the Government. The NEAC report stated that SMEs currently make up 35% of Malaysia’s GDP and 20% of its exports. If the future procurements were to be opened to the SMEs, the SMEs would account for much more than the current 35% of the GDP. If the value of the SMEs were to double, they will account for over 50% of the country’s GDP.

Following the decision to relax the 30% bumiputra equity requirement for IPOs as well as the liberalisation of the 27 services sub-sectors I urge you, sir, to similarly consider being flexible in implementing the 30% bumiputra equity in other sectors.

Rather than enforcing the 30% bumi equity requirement across the board, a more flexible system in the form of a Margin of Preference system should be implemented on a sector-by-sector basis.

In the days of traditional economic structure, when capital and land were the major economic input, we could insist upon a certain percentage of equity distribution and still be fairly successful.

But we are now in the age of knowledge economy, where brain power in the form of innovation and creativity is the major (if not sole) requirement. If a talented investor, whether local or foreign, wants to start a new venture to design and manufacture a product based on his innovation for the new IT generation consumers in Malaysia, we cannot insist that he shares 30% of his creativity with us.

He is talented and can go to any other part of the world to pursue his dreams. Instead we should offer him all the assistance he needs so that he can come to Malaysia, create high-paying jobs and help propel us to being a high-income economy.

> Merit–based and Needs–based System

Fundamentally, the Malaysian Chinese have been and still are very understanding and loyal citizens. Globalisation has presented Malaysians many opportunities but it has also forced us to continue to be a competitive nation. Malaysians cannot remain globally competitive unless we go to a merit-based system.

On the other hand, we must inculcate a caring society in which the poor must be looked after. The NEM has pointed out that the bottom 40% of households earn less than RM1,500 per month. Thus, it is clear that preferential treatment must be given according to needs rather than race.

> Retaining and Attracting Talent

To achieve a high-income nation status, the NEM sets out a couple of primary thrust and enablers to move the economy up the value chain and also to address the persistent socio-economic inequalities. Amongst the enablers are developing a quality workforce and reducing dependence on foreign labour. In order to retain our talent pool in the country, we must recognise their contribution to the nation – to make sure that they are rewarded according to their merits.

Therefore, at this juncture, I would like to applaud YAB Datuk Seri’s recent decision to offer scholarships to all students, regardless of race, who scored 9A+ in their SPM examinations. This is truly in the 1Malaysia spirit.

This shows the Government’s efforts to develop human capital. Don’t forget high achievers are in fact hidden talents and assets to a nation. Elevating and improving the level of education in the country also mean paying more attention to vernacular schools.

Approximately 20% of Malaysia’s total trade over the last couple of years is with countries that adopt Mandarin as their main language. Total trade of the primary countries that use Mandarin as their mother tongue has been estimated at over US$2.5 trillion per annum. Malaysia’s trade with these countries in turn accounts for only 2% of their total trade. Given our multi-lingual and multi-cultural society, we believe Malaysia has yet to tap into the full potential of these trading nations.

The great strategist Sun Tzu has been frequently quoted on this where he said that whoever is first in the battlefield and awaits the coming of the “competitors” will be fresh for the fight. Whoever trails behind in the field will arrive exhausted, having to hasten to battle.

Thus, with more schools, we would be able to produce more students from these vernacular schools. Only then can we generate a workforce conversant in Mandarin in order to be able to seize the opportunities offered in the global markets.

Not only are additional schools required to cater for future demand and population growth but more importantly to ease the current overcrowding problem.

To add to the problem, the number of students in Chinese schools is expected to increase by an additional 65,000 over the next five years.

> Rationalisation of Subsidy, Minimum Wage and Skilled Workers

In Malaysia, only 23% of workers (11 million) are skilled workers, including those with higher education degrees. We are one of the countries with the least qualified workers in the region. Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan have about 40% skilled workers. Lack of skilled and qualified workers in Malaysia is impeding economic progress.

Malaysia is addicted to cheap foreign workers. Studies by the Human Resources Ministry show that 34% of our 1.3 million workers earn less than RM700 per month, below the poverty line of RM720 per month.

What is worrying is the World Bank study on wage trend which showed that Malaysia recorded only an annual 2.6% growth during the last 10 years. The influx of foreign workers depresses the wage increase of local workers.

MCA calls for the execution of a minimum wage policy on a sectoral and regional basis. Over 90% of the countries in the world already have legislations in place on minimum wage.

The setting up of a minimal wage system is in line with MCA’s calls for rationalisation of subsidy. Subsidy cut is a must to prevent distortion in the allocations of the country. Implementation of subsidy reduction schemes cannot stand alone as it needs to be complemented with a minimum wage system to offset negative impact of the reduction in subsidy.

The activation of the Minimum Wage Council now is therefore looking more and more appropriate. At this point, our businesses can no longer win market share by trying to be the cheapest producers of goods or providers of services. In a globalised world, such an edge is only fleeting.

Lasting competitive advantage today has to come from productivity-led growth and innovation. The 10MP includes Government measures to create an environment in which the creativity, energy and initiative of private enterprises can be nurtured and harnessed.

On that note, I believe the Chinese Economic Congress today is most timely. We need to ensure we know each and everyone’s role, to be able to tap into each forte to ensure the NEM and 10MP are executed efficiently to achieve the targets already set out. There is no denying the road ahead will be tough but I have full confidence that, under your leadership, we will see the bright light at the end of the tunnel.

I acknowledge that the business community has certain expectations of what the Government should and should not do.

In the overall scheme of things, 10 years is a mere blink of an eye. But for Malaysia, the next decade may well prove to be a crucial phase in our nation’s history.

Permit me to end with a couple of ancient sayings by Confucius. We should “better be a diamond with flaws rather than a pebble without”. Also, “only the wisest and stupidest of men never change” and for one “to know what is right and not to do it, is the worst type of cowardice”.

So we intend to change for the better and to do what is right. We can start off with this congress where we can brainstorm, learn our roles and how we can help in ensuring the target of becoming a high income advanced nation can be met

Why are the Malays poor? Blame it on Umno!

2010-04-04T17:20:00.001+08:00

Thursday, 01 April 2010 22:23

Who squandered the national wealth on prestige projects while neglecting the poor? Who bailed out crony businessmen by writing off billions of ringgit, asks P Ramakrishnan.

Of late, the pressure is building up to convey the impression that the Malays are poor because of the non-Malays. It is trumpeted that the non-Malays are enriching themselves at the expense of the Malays.

This erroneous and mischievous line of argument is deliberately pushed to achieve two objectives: One, to get the Malays riled up and to create hatred for the non-Malays as the source and cause of Malay poverty. Two, this is a ploy to consolidate the position of these hate-mongers so that they can be accepted as the defenders of the race and champions who would deliver the Malays from their wretched situation.

But these extremist elements do not reveal how they have benefited from the policies of Umno that were meant for the welfare of the majority poor Malays. They do not reveal how the benefits have gone to the crony corporate figures and the well connected political elite irrespective of their ethnicity.

They do not disclose how billions of ringgit had been squandered to rescue the failed ventures of their elite group. They do not disclose how billions were pumped into Bank Rakyat and Bank Bumi to sustain them. They do not disclose why Mirzan Mahathir’s floundering and debt-laden shipping empire had to be bailed out with our national wealth. They do not disclose why Tajudin Ramli’s stake in MAS was bought over for RM8 per MAS share when the market price was only RM3.62.

Likewise many other individual Malays have benefited enormously. They don’t lose out when their businesses fail but they gain in spite of their failure. Contracts, licences, AP permits, new shares and whatnot are grabbed by these individuals for themselves and their families. The poor majority Malays do not benefit from these policies.

It was recently disclosed that out of RM54 billion in shares allocated for Bumiputeras, only RM2 billion were still in their hands. What has happened to the RM52 billion that cannot be accounted for? RM54 billion is a colossal sum of wealth that has been dished out. How did RM52 billion disappear into thin air?

After 40 years of NEP, it is absolutely unacceptable that the deserving poor have not benefited in the way it was intended. Sometimes we wonder if the Malays are kept poor simply and deliberately to get their votes by blaming the non-Malays for their abject situation.

Over the last 40 years, successive Umno presidents and deputy presidents served as prime ministers and deputy prime ministers wielding great powers, influencing policies and determining the fate of the Malays. Every Education Minister since Merdeka has come from Umno. Every Finance Minister after Tun Tan Siew Sin has been an Umno man. Every Rural Development Minister has been an Umno man. The Cabinet was dominated by Umno leaders. How is it that with this heavy representation of Umno leaders in the Cabinet the vast majority of Malays have remained deprived and desperately poor? How did Umno, ever ready to advance Malay interest, permit this neglect?

The Umno-dominated Barisan Nasional holds the purse strings of the national wealth. Why wasn’t this wealth distributed to the poor as well? Why did the greedy grab everything? Was this done without the knowledge of Umno leaders?

Don’t blame the non-Malays who have no say in the policies of the government; blame it on Umno. Who squandered the national wealth on prestige projects while neglecting the poor? Who bailed out crony businessmen by writing off billions of ringgit? It is Umno and nobody else! If the Malays are poor, it is because of Umno. Don’t blame it on others.

There is a serious lesson to be learnt from John F Kennedy’s view: If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

Be warned!

P Ramakrishnan is president of Aliran

Civil Servants Urged To Change Mindset To Ensure Success Of GTP

2010-03-29T12:53:00.001+08:00

March 26, 2010 17:06 PM

KUCHING, March 26 (Bernama) -- Civil servants in the country must be ready to change their mindset to ensure the success of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) introduced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak says deputy director-general of Public Service Malaysia, Datuk Dr Ismail Alias.

The role of the civil servants is significant in carrying out the aspirations and agenda of the government to be more effective in its delivery of services and accountable for outcomes that matter most to the people.

"Transformation is important to improve the quality of service and delivery system so as to realise the wishes of the Prime Minister.

"Transformation must start from the mindset and the innovation, performance, accountability, integrity, loyalty, knowledge, perseverance and vision must be absorbed and put in practice.

"Civil servants must possess a creative and innovative thinking as the right mindset when blended together can result in a successful year for the country," he told reporters after a talk on "Transformation of mindset to face global challenges" at the Sultan Iskandar building here today.

He added that a transformation of the mindset can help civil servants control their emotions and be more organised when carrying out their duties to help the country achieve an advanced, united and just society with high standards of living and become a fully developed nation.

-- BERNAMA

Internet has broken down many walls

2010-03-14T10:46:00.001+08:00

Internet has broken down many walls, says Najib

PUTRAJAYA: Singing praises of the Internet, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said it had broken down many walls dividing the people.

“The beauty of the Internet is that it breaks down the ethnic, religious and age walls.

“We are here because we are connected via the Internet,” he said at the 1Malaysia hi-tea he hosted for his Internet friends at his official residence Seri Perdana here yesterday.

Also present were his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and their two children, Nooryana Najwa and Nor Ashman Razak.

The Prime Minister said about five million Malaysians were active on the social website Facebook, which he described as a good indication that the people used information and communications technology.

About 300 of Najib’s Internet friends of various races attended the event.

“I want all of you to feel that you have the Government that is very responsive to the needs and aspirations of the Malaysian people ... and we will use the latest technology to get connected and communicate with ‘rakyat Malaysia’,” he added.

Najib said the meeting enabled him to meet Internet friends who had taken the initiative to include him on Facebook, with the current total of 120,000 friends growing by the day.

During the dialogue at the hi-tea, Najib said a special website to display the names of successful winners of tenders would be launched soon as part of the efforts to reduce corruption.

Najib said the Government was also making efforts to have a minimum wage in the private sector to help people in the lower income group achieve the highest possible growth rate.

Eight Pillars To Transform The Country

2010-03-14T10:38:00.002+08:00

March 13, 2010 17:16 PM

By Normalazwa Jamaludin and Elmi Rizal Elias

PUTRAJAYA, March 13 (Bernama) -- The civil service, which has 1.2 million members, plays a huge role in making sure the government achieve its aspirations.

This is even more so at a time when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has already started the country's massive transformation process based on eight pillars comprising four key thrusts and four complementary values in his administration which will soon celebrate its first anniversary.

The four key thrusts are the 1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now concept, Government Transformation Programme (GTP), New Economic Model (NEM) and the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP).

The four complementary values are: making creativity and innovation a culture, giving importance to speedy action-taking and decision-making process, striving to provide value for money, and giving emphasis to the virtue of integrity.

These eight pillars, mooted by the prime minister, act as a guideline for the civil service in discharging its everyday duties and in achieving the ultimate objective of making Malaysia a high-income nation.

Even more significant is the fact that this idea was spelled out by the prime minister before a gathering of 4,000 civil servants at the 11th Civil Service Convention at Putrajaya International Convention Centre here on Tuesday.

He chose the event as a platform to explain and emphasis the role which the public sector should play in realising the government's aspirations and visions.

1Malaysia is the core philosophy underlying all the policies of the government with the ultimate objective of fostering national unity.

"This has been the ambitions and aspirations of all Malaysians for so long. Whether we like it or not, in a plural country like Malaysia, any form of national ambitions such as striving to achieve a better life for each citizen will remain a pipe dream without national unity.

"It goes without saying that without national unity, there will be no political stability, which is the core of everything," the prime minister said.

The transformation agenda aims to make the government more responsive to the aspirations and heartbeat of the people, which the prime minister aptly demonstrated when he said that the era of government knows best is over and that it should now act as a facilitator.

The third and fourth thrusts, namely the NEM and 10MP, are two economic initiatives to chart the country's direction in the long, medium and short terms.

The four key thrusts and four complementary values are supporting one another.

To acculturate creativity and innovation, civil servants should possess critical and constructive thinking when carrying out their responsibility by seeking creative, innovative and out of the ordinary solutions when confronted with problems.

Having the speed in taking actions and making decisions is also crucial as this can increase the "velocity of money" in the country's economic system.

The value for money approach will prevent wastage and make sure that the government and the people get maximum returns for every ringgit and sen spent.

The prime minister also emphasises on integrity because through such value, Malaysia can become a developed nations not only in terms of economy and technology but also in terms of social, culture, intellectual and spiritual.

Civil servants hail the prime minister's message, with Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan saying all members of the public service should work together to realise the government's aspirations.

He said it was incumbent upon them to enhance their performance and give first priority to the people.

He also said that the prime minister had given his full confidence to the civil service as partners in fulfilling the government's promise and in giving a full commitment to strengthen the government's delivery system.

Malaysian Institute of Integrity president Datuk Dr Mohd Tap Salleh said the eight pillars were achievable through the cooperation and teamwork among members of the civil service and the administration.

He said there was no difference in the objective of the civil servants and members of the administration as the ultimate aim was to help the people.

"We have set in motion steps to realise the country's aspirations. As the prime minister puts it, now is no longer the time for the first gear but third and fourth gear because the challenge in the future will be huge.

"Based on the country's competitiveness level, we are not at the height where we should be," he said.

He said the emphasis by Najib was not only relevant to the public sector but also to the private sector.

"He emphasises that the corporate sector should also roll up their sleeves and move along. There is no difference between the public sector and the private sector as both should move in tandem.

"The year 2020 is only 10 years away and if this is not done, the objectives set out in Vision 2020 will not be achieved," he said.

Cuepacs president Omar Osman described the eight pillars as a comprehensive message which provided a clear guideline for the civil service in charting the country's future.

The move was in line with the government transformation agenda apart from enhancing the image of the civil service in the eyes of the people and spurring the country towards a developed nation status, he said.

Omar said the change in the public service should involve all levels, from top ranking officers to their subordinates.

The transformation, as Mohd Sidek puts it, will bring change to the country's socio-economic landscape in a short period.

The question is, can the civil service keep pace with the prime minister's speed?

There is no doubt in the minds of many who were listening to Najib's more than one-hour address on Tuesday that the government machinery should move equally as fast or else the prime minister's transformation agenda would be stalled.

-- BERNAMA

Government Has Political Will To Implement NKRA - Koh

2009-12-20T08:59:00.002+08:00

December 18, 2009 22:12 PM

from BERNAMA.COM

PETALING JAYA, Dec 18 (Bernama) -- The government has the political will to ensure every programme under the six National Key Result Areas (NKRA) are implemented to provide the best service to the people said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon.

"If there is no political will, we will not have exhibited the NKRA documents. We would have just kept it a secret," he told reporters when asked whether the government had the capability to implement the NKRA.

Koh, who is also the chairman of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) Board said programmes aimed at reducing crime and increasing People's Volunteer Corps (RELA) had already been implemented.

"Some of the objectives may be short term and some will take longer to do, and some may be trajectory such as for crime. As the reporting system becomes more efficient, we will actually see an increase in crime reports, but if measures are implemented correctly, we will see the impact in crime reduction," he said.

Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala who is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Pemandu Board said the 1Malaysia GTP roadmap to be announced next month, was a strong evidence of the government's political will for transformation.

Idris said they had received about 1,000 written comments and 70 per cent of them agreed with the six NKRA.

He said although some were still not convinced that the plans would be implemented, the government is committed to see it succeed.

"Some came with the pre-conceived idea that civil servants were pathetic. But now they are seeing something different and also the cabinet ministers are totally committed to implement the NKRAs," he said.

Earlier, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang who was among those at the open day commended the NKRA but was skeptical of the government's political will to implement them.

"They are at least making some progress and the deep problem of corruption is being admitted. But is there the political will to break the back of these problems like those of crime, poverty, deteriorating education standards, and making for higher quality of life.

"While what has been presented today is commendable, does it permeate the entire political and cabinet level? asked Kit Siang.

Citing zero tolerance for corruption as one of the target of the transformation, Kit Siang said cabinet ministers were not talking about it.

He said ministers must come forward and the entire cabinet must be committed to the transformation of the government.

"Unless these KPI programmes are reflected by policies and statements by ministers in their daily activities, there is going to be a deficient in public confidence," he said.

Lim said when the government declares a transformation plan, immediate action must be followed.

-- BERNAMA

Transforming – the Idris Jala way

2009-12-20T08:35:00.003+08:00

from The STAR Online; Saturday December 19, 2009

By P. GUNASEGARAM,

DATUK SERI Idris Jala, the man from Bario in the highlands of Sarawak and a career Shell person until he moved to Malaysia Airlines to take a challenging role to turn the ailing national airline around, is of course no stranger to transformation.

To him, transformation is a big change, or as he puts it, it’s about big, fast results or BFR. Along with it comes a large appetite for risk because when changes are very major there are serious risks of things going wrong.

“The bigger the risk, the bigger the resistance to change. I have never gone through a transformation where there is no resistance to change,” he says.

What he brings to the Performance Delivery and Management Unit or Pemandu, of which he is CEO and which will drive the Government Transformation Plan (GTP), is his trademark style of engagement, transparency and accountability which stood him in such good stead with his earlier change plans.

When Jala became managing director of Malaysia Airlines in December 2005 after 23 years at Shell, his mandate was to turn around the airline. It had made a loss of an unprecedented RM1.7bil that year.

Barely three months later, Jala publicly unveiled his first turnaround plan – Malaysia Airlines would cut losses from RM1.7bil to RM620mil in 2006, achieve a profit of RM50mil in 2007 and a record profit of RM500mil in 2008.

It was a move never before or since seen in the corporate world – a listed company publicly stated its profit targets, mentioned broadly how it proposed to achieve them and kept details of how exactly it was going to achieve them out of the public eye. And the targets were simply stupendous.

Most people considered that plan way too ambitious and some even treated it with derision. But in the second year itself, Malaysia Airlines made a record profit of over RM900mil, its highest ever.

That led to Malaysia Airlines’ second turnaround plan, this time for five years. The profit target – RM1.5bil by 2012 and as much as RM2bil–RM3bil if conditions are more favourable.

Over the last 10 or so years, in addition to Malaysia Airlines, he turned around Shell’s LPG operations in Sri Lanka, and led the business turnaround of Shell MDS, the first gas-to-liquids commercial plant in the world and the sole supplier of clean diesel fuel for the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He also headed a business consultancy unit within Shell.

Perhaps his biggest asset is his ability to engage people at all levels and infect them with his eternal optimism, and buttressed by all the effort and detail, turn that to real work done and make the impossible possible.

But there are critics who are sceptical: “This is not Malaysia Airlines, this is the Government. Those politicians and bumbling, bungling government officials will swallow him up.” Perhaps. But that’s not what Jala thinks. He believes success is assured - it’s a question of how much.

“I accept that I can fail. That makes me unafraid of failure,” he has said repeatedly in the past.

That kind of mental mood, and a stoic resolve to let whatever happen after you have done all you can, may be the very ingredient needed for success – it stops you from dwelling on the possibility of failure and doing instead all it takes to gain success.

Below are excerpts of the answers Jala gave us from questions StarBizWeek posed to him on the sidelines of this week’s GTP open day at the Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre.

SBW: What you did at MAS, you’re expanding it into a nationwide approach here?

Jala: Yes, it’s the same. Before you do anything, you better know the details (of the problems and the solutions). When we say we want to improve urban transport, the issues are brainstormed in the lab. We have to come out in detail exactly how we’re going to make that happen.

The lab examined KTM Komuter trains, right down to how many passengers are on the trains every day. We then knew that the answer was to increase the number of trains as they were running at over-capacity.

Then we examined buses and their routes and looked at the integration of the different transportation modes. We brought reams of data into the labs to be analysed.

For crime, we have made a pronouncement that we want to reduce street crime by 20%. But pronouncing a KPI is not good enough. Being clear about how you’re going to achieve that is most important. We got all the data from the police to find out where these crimes are taking place in urban areas and realised that there were only around 50 hotspots.

Once you know that, it becomes obvious where the police need to be deployed. With this intelligence, we are moving away from the old method of deploying police based on geographical spread. Immediately, 1,100 police personnel have been redeployed to these hotspots. We will also install more CCTVs in these areas.

There is going to be a big cost to these projects, such as purchasing new trains. Where is this funding going to come from?

The Prime Minister has made it very clear that the NKRA (national key results areas) is priority and he said so because these are things that the rakyat want. To get the money for these things will involve reallocating funds, using money from other areas which are deemed less urgent.

In the book (a planned road map detailing the KPIs to achieve the six broad goals of the GTP will be published early next year), we will talk about how much we need. These numbers won’t be firm until we get the input from the rakyat.

If the rakyat suggest that there are other things that are more important than what we thought of in the lab, then we may need to rejig it.

What’s the progress so far?

Some activities have started, some not yet. For example, on the KTM Komuter trains, we asked them how many carriages they had, and they said 58 carriages. How many are operational? 25. How many are broken? 33. No wonder we have a problem. How come the 33 are not operational?

It’s because there is not enough money for maintenance. And there is not enough money for maintenance because KTM is losing money. And KTM is not getting subsidy from the Government because it is losing money.

So it is a chicken and egg situation. Two things will happen. We intend to replace some carriages and acquire new ones. The carriages come only in 2012.

Yes, unfortunately it takes time. Just like aeroplanes, it takes time.

But by buying the new carriages, does it fix the bigger problem KTM is facing, which is that it cannot seem to run an operationally profitable business?

To be fair to them, there is a revenue shortfall. They cannot generate sufficient revenue with the kind of fares they are charging. If you never increase fares, you’ll never make money.

There’s also an operational problem of under-capacity. KTM does not have the right capacity to handle the passengers. Today, KTM (Komuter) has carriages that can fill 400 passengers. But there are 600 people going on these trains, so they are really packed. The laboratory was very clear in identifying the problems. Once identified, we then figured out which ones to start with first. You cannot start fixing the problem by raising fares as the service levels are not there yet. So we’re starting by spending money to get the new carriages in and improving the service.

The next step will be to introduce differentiated fares, like Malaysia Airlines, lah. You pay for what you can afford and the service you expect. In the interim, while waiting for the carriages to come, the plan is to increase the frequency of the trains in order to use the carriages more efficiently. That has already begun.

Getting basic infrastructure right

Let me shift into other areas – like basic rural infrastructure. A big part of the GTP is to aim to provide the basics in rural areas. We will give them roads, clean and treated water, and electricity. Based on our findings, many of the rural areas do not have access to those things. I think from 2010 to 2012 there will be the highest amount of investment being poured into roads and infrastructure since the start of our independence.

Is it economically viable to do that?

Yes. It will stimulate the economy because there will be more construction. The reality today, as we move towards a high-income economy, when we talk about 1Malaysia, is that it must comprise and include everybody. We must include the poor. We cannot bring a country to become a highly progressive society if there are Malaysians left behind. That is why we are focusing on the low-income households. But we are also looking at urban development.

What is the concern of urbanites? The public transportation system. And if you don’t fix that, the people will say that the Government does not truly recognise their problems. We give the most income tax to the country, and yet how come our public transport system is not as good as in other countries?

What are you doing about corruption?

We’re putting in place a check and balance. We’re cutting the approval time (for all sorts of Government services) so that we don’t empower anyone. Now you don’t have to wait one month for your passport. You get it within two hours. The power is no longer there with that person to facilitate the processing of the passport.

You don’t face problems of resistance?

Sure we do. Every change has resistance. This transformation is not incremental. It is big, fast results. Because it is big, it also carries a big risk. So we must have the appetite for making the big changes and handling the associated risks.

Here’s an example. We have identified that a key problem is a low quality of pre-school education. With a not-so-good foundation, the problems will creep into the secondary and university levels. Currently, only 60% of all the students who go to primary one have access to pre-school. There are 40% of students who have never been to kindergarten. So by the time they go to primary one, that 40% will be lagging behind.

What we have to do now is to improve primary and pre-school education. So we are going to convert something like 20,000 teachers from secondary schools and put them into primary schools. Naturally, there is resistance, but these are fundamental issues we will have to grapple with. If we don’t do this, 23 years from now, this group of people (the students) will be lagging even further.

I have never gone through a transformation programme where there is no resistance to change. So I have said, guys if we want to make incremental changes, that’s okay. Small risk, small resistance. But big transformation is big risk and big resistance. But the price (of not doing it) is big lah. So is the reward.

We all agree that Vision 2020 is a good thing. But at the current cost and speed, we will not get there. But we can get there if we transform and do those things we said we are going to do.

In your laboratory on education, was it addressed that part of the reason why we don’t have good universities is because of the politicking there. We have had a huge brain drain of our university faculty.

That’s partly true and partly false. But we only know the instant calculus. We fix the problem that is there now. And we know that the problem is in pre-school and primary. So we better fix this. So that when these people move into secondary school and university, we have time to fix it.

But you cannot eat a whole elephant. You have to chop it into bits and eat it. We cannot solve the whole problem in one sitting. It doesn’t mean nothing is being done in those areas. The Ministry of Higher Education under Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, is doing things to improve the universities.

Going back to corruption. Malaysia seems to keep falling in the corruption index, so what kind of resistance are you facing?

They are three buckets of corruption. One is called enforcement and regulatory corruption. The other is called procurement corruption. Then there is political corruption.

Some of the recommendations we made include open tenders, and making sure no minister gives out support letters for any projects. The fact is our corruption index is falling. If that keeps happening, foreign investors won’t have confidence to invest here as they feel policies are so opaque.

We have no choice. We have to make changes to the things that we are doing to reduce corruption. Stiffer punishment is another one. We cannot deal with corruption without stiffer punishment. We are also trying to reduce the time for cases to be tried, particularly those that generate a lot of public interest, to under one year. Some drag on for five years.

So are we correct to say that the message now, to those ‘on the take’ is that the Government is going to catch you and punish you?

Yes.

Can Jala and the GTP succeed?

But you really think you can succeed? That this programme is different from all the other attempts the Government has made in the past to change and transform?

I have no doubt about success because success is a matter of degree. We may not get to the highest peak, but definitely we will succeed to higher levels from current levels. I always believe certain things we can control and certain things we cannot. Sixty per cent of the things in our lives is not in our control. The 40% that we can control, we try our best.

We’re sure you spend a lot of time thinking how you are going to get the buy-in from the 1.2 million civil servants.

The first thing we did was not get a roomful of consultants. Instead, we got a roomful of civil servants. I asked the Cabinet for 240 civil servants. “Please give them to me for six weeks. We will sit there and find solutions,” I told them.

The labs are like a nursery. The lab is a safe place for them to grow. Once it is agreed, we then put them for implementation.

We created something called Delivery Task Force which is chaired by the Prime Minister. He has attended every single one of the meetings. Every month.

The political will is there. The commitment is absolutely there. I sit in those meetings. We report what is on track, what is not on track, who is not delivering. Just like in the private sector lah. There is no difference between how I ran MAS and how I am running this.

Again, why is it different this time, from what has been attempted in the past with limited or no success?

Nobody has done it like this. There is no generality. We don’t talk about pronouncement of policies. I don’t want to hear that. We are talking about things to do.

Yes, we have heard of these things before. But nobody pins it down like we are doing. The difference is in the details – the gory details. Every country can say it wants to improve rural development. But how are you going to do that? We bring it down from 30,000 feet to three feet. That is why we came out with the labs.

The solutions are coming from the civil servants, that is why these solutions will be implemented, because it is invented by them.

To be really honest, they knew the answer all this while. It was just that there was never an opportunity for everyone to talk and brainstorm together.

The 6 KRAs

2009-07-28T08:09:00.005+08:00

Targets set for the six Key Result Areas

The Government’s promise of an improved delivery system takes flesh with the Prime Minister’s unveiling of the short-term targets for the six National Key Result Areas.

1. Reduction of crime rate

Reduce street crime, including snatch thefts and unarmed robbery, by 20% by the end of 2010.
Re-train Rela members to help improve public perception on safety.
Upgrade equipment for enforcement agencies and increase the usage of CCTV.
Set up special courts for street crime to speed up the legal process.

2. Combating corruption

Updating relevant policies, procedures and enforcement to improve global perception.
Use open or restricted tender process for all government projects with the exception of those sensitive in nature.

3. Widening access to affordable and quality education

Make pre-school education part of the national education system.
Ensure all normal pupils are able to read, write and count when they enter Year Four before 2012.
Reward school principals and headmasters based on the achievements of each school.
Turn 100 daily smart, cluster, trust and boarding schools into high performing learning centres by 2012.

4. Raising the living standard of the Poor

Pay out all welfare cash aid on the first of each month from January.
Create 4,000 women entrepreneurs under the Sahabat Amanah Ikhtiar programme by 2012.

5. Improving Infrastructure in rural areas

Build 1,500km of roads in Sabah and Sarawak by 2012.
Ensure that no one lives more than 5km from a tarred road in the peninsula by 2012.
Increase electricity coverage in Sabah and Sarawak to 95% by end of 2012.
Provide 24-hour electricity supply to 7,000 orang asli families in the peninsula by the end of 2012.

6. Improving public transport in the Medium term

Increase the number of public transport users to 25% by end of 2012 from the present 16%.
Add 35 sets of four-car-trains to operate on the Kelana Jaya LRT track by the end of 2012.

Source : The Star online.

Integriti dalam Mengurus Organisasi - Perspektif Islam

2009-07-25T08:09:00.003+08:00

ISLAM menuntut umatnya berlaku adil dalam segala hal. Takrifan keadilan dalam Islam merangkumi keseimbangan, kesaksamaan dan pemberian hak kepada mereka yang berhak dan meletakkan sesuatu pada tempatnya yang betul.
Secara keseluruhan, keadilan bermakna tidak berlaku penindasan, tidak ada berkepentingan, tidak menzalimi dan tidak memilih kasih dalam memberi layanan dan hak kepada orang lain.
Justeru, tidak hairan jika Islam menekankan keadilan dalam segala urusannya, apatah lagi dengan melaksanakan keadilan mencegah penindasan, penyelewengan, penyalahgunaan kuasa dan perkara bertentangan nilai murni.
Hal berkaitan keadilan turut dituntut dalam pengurusan organisasi. Tuntutan ini memerlukan kepemimpinan yang bertanggungjawab serta mempunyai kekuatan moral serta kejujuran yang tinggi.
Keadilan dalam pengurusan organisasi bermula daripada proses pelantikan jawatan. Majikan perlu melantik calon berkelayakan dan berkebolehan.
Contohnya, sesi temuduga ialah alternatif yang diamalkan sehingga hari ini. Cara itu terbukti berkesan dan adil bagi mengelak salah pilih pekerja.
Sejarah tamadun Islam menunjukkan contoh keadilan dilakukan Rasulullah SAW antaranya ketika pelantikan Mu'adh Jabal sebagai Gabenor Syam. Baginda yang melakukan temuduga itu.
Baginda SAW mengemukakan soalan sejauh mana kelayakan Mu'adh untuk menjawat jawatan berkenaan dan sama ada beliau mampu menangani permasalahan yang mungkin timbul kelak.
Sementara Abu Zar pula meriwayatkan beliau semalaman memujuk Rasulullah SAW supaya melantiknya sebagai pemimpin. Beliau berkata: "Ya Rasulullah, lantiklah aku. Rasulullah SAW menjawab: Sesungguhnya ia amanah yang menjadi celaan dan penyesalan pada hari kiamat nanti."
Apa yang dapat kita perhatikan, pelantikan dan pemilihan pekerja secara adil bukan sekadar mengisi kekosongan sebaliknya, memilih orang yang layak memegang tugas diamanahkan.

Hal ini menggambarkan kepada kita, pelantikan dan pemilihan calon yang tepat menyebabkan organisasi berjalan lancar dan berkesan. Bayaran gaji dan imbuhan yang setimpal juga perlu dibuat secara adil dan setimpal dengan kelayakan, taraf hidup serta keadaan setempat.
Bagi mengelak penipuan dan diskriminasi dalam organisasi, Islam menghendaki diwujudkan kontrak yang adil antara pekerja dan majikan. Kontrak keadilan penting bagi mengelak sesuatu tidak diingini berlaku antara majikan dan pekerja.
Di samping itu, keadilan dalam kebajikan pekerja perlu diberikan perhatian sewajarnya. Sebagai majikan, mereka perlu adil dalam kebajikan terutama dari segi, kesihatan dan keselamatan. Pengabaian majikan terhadap kebajikan pekerja menyebabkan produktiviti pekerja menurun. Secara tidak langsung, menjejaskan matlamat organisasi.
Dari segi pengembangan kerjaya, majikan perlu bertindak adil dengan memberi ruang dan peluang kepada pekerja untuk kenaikan pangkat, latihan meningkatkan kemahiran dan insentif serta pengiktirafan kepada yang layak atau yang lama berkhidmat.
Begitu juga bebanan tugas dan tanggungjawab yang diberikan perlu adil serta saksama. Islam membenci penganiayaan dalam apa juga bentuk termasuk pembahagian tugas.
Contohnya, pembahagian beban tugas antara pegawai atasan dan bawahan perlu berpadanan dengan imbuhan diberikan.
Prinsip kesaksamaan dinyatakan dengan jelas dalam firman Allah bermaksud: "Allah tidak membebani seseorang melainkan sesuai dengan kesanggupannya. Baginya mendapat pahala (daripada kebajikan) yang diusahakannya dan ia mendapat seksa (daripada kejahatan) yang dikerjakannya." (Surah al-Baqarah, ayat 286)
Majikan perlu memastikan hanya pekerja yang benar-benar melakukan kesalahan dan jenayah diberhentikan atau dikenakan tindakan disiplin. Sebarang hukuman dikenakan tanpa bukti yang sahih menggambarkan ketidakadilan berlaku ke atas pekerja itu.
Sehingga kini, sejauh manakah keadilan dilaksanakan dalam organisasi anda?
Yang pasti, soal keadilan sangat diperlu dalam organisasi bukan saja demi kepentingan organisasi malah untuk kepentingan masyarakat dan negara. Tanpa keadilan wujud masalah seperti penindasan, penyelewengan dan penyalahgunaan kuasa dalam organisasi.

Penulis ialah pegawai penyelidik Pusat Ekonomi dan Kajian Sosial Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
@Petikan dari :Biro Laman Web
bp.Pengerusi PNI
JPS Malaysia

Mind Boggling KPI measurement !

2009-07-23T15:09:00.002+08:00

On Integrity..what say DYMM Paduka Seri Sultan Azlan

2009-07-22T08:26:00.004+08:00

July 21, 2009 15:46 PM

Courts Cannot Find Fault With Transparent, Open Govts, Says Perak Sultan

IPOH, July 21 (Bernama) -- So long as any government or authority administers in accordance with the law in a transparent and open manner, no court can find fault with that government or authority, the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Azlan Shah, said on Tuesday. However, he said, this would not be the case if there were judges who had no integrity or who chose to be political or sympathised with any group or political thought. The major and heaviest test for a judge was remaining impartial, especially in terms of emotion and inclination, he said when opening a special seminar on the federal constitution organised by the Perak State Secretariat, here. As such, he added, it was necessary to safeguard the role of the judiciary as a professional and independent body of integrity.

"Judges held great responsibility in upholding the rule of law and integrity of the courts and their failure to do so will result in an imbalance. The loyalty of judges is to justice in accordance with the law. In fulfilling this responsibility, judges are exposed to public evaluation because there is in place a higher mechanism in the courts, with a panel of more judges, to review judgements," he said.

"The perpetuation of the institution of monarchy was not only to the extent of fulfilling historical values and sentimental values of the people. The ruler had a role to ensure the effectiveness of the check-and-balance mechanism which could help strengthen the institution of democracy," he said.

"As the head of state, the ruler serves as the pillar of stability, source of justice, core of solidarity and umbrella of unity. Implicitly, the perpetuation of the institution of monarchy is the continued retention of the identity of a government buttressed by the Malays. The role, duties and responsibilities of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as well as those of the Malay Rulers are based on the concept of the constitutional monarchy," he said.

This meant that the rulers had sovereign power and responsibility in accordance with the law and that a ruler was a ruler, whether it was in absolute or constitutional terms, he said. Sultan Azlan Shah said the difference between them was that one had unlimited power while the other's power was in accordance with the constitution, but it was a mistake to assume that the power of a ruler was similar to that of a president who was bound by the constitution.

"The role of a ruler far exceeded that expressed in the constitution," he said.

The sultan said the implied spirit behind the formulation of the federal constitution was to develop a stable, peaceful, united and prosperous independent nation, which would be achieved through the solidarity and unity of a people of various religions, ethnic groups and cultures, and speaking different languages.

"The constitution has been so formulated so as to ensure that justice prevails and that it equally protects the strong and the weak, the majority and the minority, the administrators and the administered, the Rulers and the people," he said.
The sultan said there was consensus that every Malaysian citizen was guaranteed protection in a fair and just manner, while acknowledging the fact that the indigenous people lagged far behind in terms of socio-economic progress, wealth, ownership of property and skills. As such, the Malays and other bumiputeras were given an assurance through special allocations which gave them privileges, he said.
"At the same time, non-Malays who had immigrated to this country, considering it as their home and pledging their loyalty to the king and country, have been accepted as Malaysian citizens," he added.

Sultan Azlan Shah said the federal constitution was drawn up in the spirit of negotiation, understanding, the desire to unite the people, and the objective of shaping an independent and a sovereign nation-state. For the sake of peace and prosperity, a culture of living based on the spirit of the constitution should be inculcated in the people - a spirit which accorded respect to the law and respected law-enforcement institutions, he said.

"If this basic principle is not adhered to any longer and is to be set aside due to attempts to assimilate foreign cultural influences, it is feared that the country will degenerate into anarchy. In the end, the history of the nation, peace and prosperity will remain just that - history," he said.

-- BERNAMA

Integrity : What option for Malaysia? - Tunku Abdul Aziz

2009-07-19T20:17:00.002+08:00

JULY 5 - The upsurge of interest in integrity and ethics is not without a good reason. People all over the world have realized that human progress is unlikely to be sustainable without all of us adopting and embracing universal human values — values that transcend cultural, religious and political barriers.

In Malaysia we have the best legal framework, rules, regulations and procedures, but corrupt practices continue unchecked because those entrusted to serve the community are themselves morally and ethically deficient and devoid of ethical values and high standards of personal and public behaviour.

If we lose our competitive position because we are corrupt and lack integrity, we are putting our future as a nation at risk. Corruption kills competition, breeds inefficiency, distorts our decision making processes and promotes social and political instability in the long run. I believe that in societies where integrity is firmly entrenched, corruption can be kept firmly under control. We have to refocus our vision and reshape our views and ideas on what can be done to fight unethical public behaviour, not only on our own turf, but equally important, on the international front because cross-border corruption represents a major source of social, economic and political instability and distortion, if not dealt with decisively.

In the globalised world in which we operate with its own set of demanding rules of engagement, with emphasis on transparency and accountability, we have to learn quickly to be adaptable or we will be marginalised. However described, corruption exacts a heavy toll on a nation's social, political, and economic development. Anyone trying to persuade you that corruption is a victimless crime is just being cynical. There are victims out there all right, if only we care to open our eyes.

As always, they represent the underclass, and are among the poorest, and the least informed and educated members of our society. They are men and women who because of their economic status do not even know their rights as citizens. The recent Malaysian Indian demonstrations in Kuala Lumpur could well have been a manifestation of a sense of being excluded from mainstream economic and social development. There are large numbers of people in Peninsular, Sarawak and Sabah who are in the same boat, and the government must ensure that its service delivery meets their expectations.

I very much hope that we are not fighting corruption for its own sake, or just to feel good for that would be tantamount to abandoning a large part of mankind to perpetual misery and degradation in the face of the relentless onslaught of human greed. We fight corruption not only to be globally competitive, but more to the point, to bring about social justice and to make a difference to the lives of the poor, the real victims of corruption.

The long term, sustainable prosperity of any country depends entirely on good governance, a comprehensive, overarching system for managing the often complex social, economic and political needs of a modern state, underpinned by strong ethical principles.

The current financial crisis has many lessons for us. One is that there is really no substitute for international standards of business conduct; standards that are firmly grounded in transparency, accountability and integrity. Bad governance, whether private sector or government, contributes directly to inefficiency and corruption. Every financial crisis that has hit our nation has had elements of inefficiency, greed and corruption in the final equation. An absence of integrity is not good for business, especially international business.

Corruption in Malaysia is alive and well as revealed in survey after survey. The latest to confirm this is a report released by the World Bank. The economic strength and prosperity of our nation must begin with confronting and resolving our internal structural weaknesses, of which corruption is a serious impediment to global competitiveness. We have to keep ourselves abreast of best international practices if there is to be a return of public confidence in the way we conduct our business affairs. We have to raise the ethical bar by putting ethics in the driving seat. The international punishment for breaches of business ethics meted out to a country perceived to be corrupt such as ours can be swift and damaging in real terms.

Ethical behaviour is no longer the luxury of the virtuous; it has become a business necessity. Malaysia's capacity to prosper must be predicated on the highest international ethical standards. The way forward for Malaysia is to embrace integrity and put it to good use in our fight for a place at the global top table of clean nations. Is the government up to the task? — mysinchew

Najib wants to recruit private sector talent for civil service

2009-07-19T19:54:00.002+08:00

The Malaysian Insider
Sunday July 19 2009

By Adib Zalkapli

PUTRAJAYA, April 28 – Datuk Seri Najib Razak today proposed to open up key positions in the government to talent from the private sector and government-linked companies (GLCs) in an attempt to modernise the civil service.

He also admitted that there was a need for the government to justify the high expenses of RM41 billion to maintain the civil service last year.

“The time has come for key positions in the public sector to be opened to talents from the private sector and GLCs and from services other than the administrative and diplomatic service.

“We cannot be too dogmatic, we need selected talent, the best and tested for the benefit of the people,” said.

The proposal, said the prime minister, was part of structural changes to the civil service, which he called “multi-level admission system.”

“Under this concept, we would be able to benefit from ‘cross fertilisation’ process between talents from the civil service and private sector,” said Najib to thousands of civil servants at a special assembly here.

He asked the civil service to emulate the career development plan and head hunting process practiced by Petronas, PNB and Bank Negara in order to attract the best talent.

He also wanted civil servants to be seconded to GLCs for better exposure to the private sector.

In improving services, Najib wanted operational procedures to be revamped to ensure efficiency.

“Why should we operationally continue practising obsolete work processes, if it can be made faster. This thing can be done if there is a will, it is not impossible,” he said citing the passport application process which can now be completed within hours.

Najib also explained that forming new agencies or departments would not solve the problems facing the civil service.

“We need to control the size of government because the government doesn’t know everything or is in possession of every solution. The reality is, the era of big government and government knows best has ended,” he said.

Ku Li decries routine extension of service for top civil servants

2009-07-19T19:47:00.004+08:00

The Malaysian Insider
Sunday July 19 2009;

By Leslie Lau

Consultant Editor

KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 – Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah criticised today the routine extension of service for top civil servants which he said creates cults of personality and promotes a cosy relationship between senior officers and their political masters.

“This politicises the leadership of a service that is supposed to promote by its own independent processes. Those extended become, in effect political appointees. This erodes the independence of the service as a whole.

“It is by an accumulation of bad practices like this that the independent ethos of the civil service has gradually been eroded by political masters who take the ‘master’ part rather too literally,” the Umno veteran wrote on his blog, today.

He said that the routine extension of service has resulted in a “log jam” all the way down the line. An extension for one person who ought to have retired, he said, was a “promotion freeze” for hundreds of others.

Extension of service is meant to be an extraordinary measure but is now in danger of becoming the norm, said the former finance minister.

“This is bad practice,” he said.

Sidek pledges re-engineering to cut graft, red tape

2009-07-19T19:39:00.003+08:00

The Malaysian Insider; Sunday July 19 2009
By Leslie Lau

Consultant Editor

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 – Chief Secretary Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan says the answer to corruption and inefficiency in the civil service is to cut red tape and re-engineer the way contracts are awarded and payment for work is approved. He said the government would cut down the steps taken to award contracts or make payment, but the post-audit process would have to be tightened to catch corrupt and lazy officials.

“If you have a roadblock everyone has to slow down but if there are no roadblocks people can drive faster. Of course if I were lazy then I don’t have to work. So you have to catch it at the post-audit stage,” he told The Malaysian Insider in a recent interview at his office in Putrajaya.

Mohd Sidek, who has been chief secretary since 2006, was responding to questions about civil service graft and constant delays in the awarding of contracts and payments. Such delays have hampered government efforts to attract businesses and investments, as there have been cases where it could take up to a year from the time a letter of intent is signed until a contract is awarded. Responding to this, Mohd Sidek said the current practice of imposing a series of checks contributes to delays and is based on the notion that government officers cannot be trusted.

“But if you empower one person to check through the documents then it will be much faster. “And at the post-audit stage, if we find that person has been naughty then we will come down with 30,000 tonnes of bricks,” he said.

The chief secretary pointed out that when he took up his appointment in 2006, he received many complaints that payment for contracts was often not on time, even though the rule then was that contractors were to have been paid within 30 days of an invoice being received. “So I told my officers to shorten the period even further, to 14 days,” he said, pointing out that he did not increase his staff strength but instead made his officers work extra hours to clear the backlog.

Citing last month’s statistics, Mohd Sidek said that of the RM100 million in contracts handled by the prime minister’s department, 97% were paid out within seven days. But he acknowledged that it would take time to push through this re-engineering process to all ministries and government departments.

For now, the chief secretary’s office directly monitors the performance of all government departments and ministries. If any ministry is found to have failed to make the 14-day deadline, a directive is issued for the matter to be resolved within 24 hours. Mohd Sidek said that a dipstick survey conducted last year showed that the worst performing government departments were the various land offices and local councils.

He also refuted the perception that the civil service, at 1.2 million strong, was bloated and needed to be trimmed. The chief secretary pointed out that there were nearly 500,000 government school teachers, university lecturers and other staff involved in education. The health services has more than 200,000 civil servants. The police and armed forces also had approximately 100,000 personnel in each service.

“But the public is actually clamouring for smaller classrooms so that means we need to hire more teachers. There is also a shortage of doctors,” he said. Mohd Sidek said his focus now was not on the size of the civil service but to build a “culture of competence and perfection” among government servants.

6,337 complaints on govt agencies in first six months

2009-07-19T19:35:00.002+08:00

KOTA BELUD, July 19 – The Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) received 6,337 complaints against the public sector agencies in the first six months of this year over dissatisfactory service delivery.

PCB director (Complaints) Aziz Ismail said of the figure, 4,281 cases or 67.6 per cent were resolved.

He said complaints over delays or inaction made up 31.5 per cent of the total, followed by poor service including at the counters or through the phone (18.4 per cent) and failure to enforce (10 per cent).

“Although not all the complaints were on delays in taking action to resolve problems, they nevertheless give negative public perception that the civil service is more of a bane than a boon.

“Therefore, public servants must give satisfactory service to the public as that is what the service is for in the first place,” he said when officiating at a programme on the Integrated Mobile Counter for Complaints organised by the PCB and Kota Belud District Office, here, today.

Sabah PCB director Georgie Abas and Kota Belud district officer Mohd Najib Muntok were also at the programme where 21 state and federal government agencies took part. Aziz said by going to the ground to meet the people, it was hoped that public service delivery could be enhanced as the community could directly forward complaints, pose queries or make suggestions to improve services.

“This programme is a people-friendly approach to also prove the government’s seriousness in providing efficient, quality service to the public towards improving their quality of life in line with the concept of ‘1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now’,” he said.

Aziz also urged the public not to make wild accusations that could tarnish the government’s image, but to use the right channels to forward their complaints or suggestions for the good of the nation. – Bernama

KPI theory sounds good but the devil is in the execution

2009-07-18T08:35:00.006+08:00

Friday July 17, 2009 (fr the STARONLINE)

Psychology at Work - By Dr Goh Chee Leong

“KPIs” (key performance indicators) and “KRAs” (key result areas) are fast becoming a buzzword among Malaysian organisations, both private and public. It’s part of a trend that began 10-12 years ago, in line with the global push towards performance management systems as a means for accelerating growth and attaining organisational focus and discipline.

On the whole, I think this is a positive development – it’s a necessity, especially for larger organisations which may have outgrown more informal means of managing goals and resource allocation. The theory is good. Everyone in the organisation must be clear about what they are to achieve, every day, every week, every month, every quarter, every year. All strategic business units are clear on what their targets and goals are. Everything is aligned to the organisational key result areas. Neat, nice, clear and meaningful. The challenge though, is in the implementation. As most of us with management experience will know, the devil is in the execution. It’s easy (relatively) to map out the institutional KRAs and KPIs, but whether this leads to real organisational change (for the better) will depend on the following two things:

Do we have the guts to tie performance with reward and punishment ?

No performance management system will work unless it is directly tied to remuneration. When the system carries no bite, it holds no power. The causal relationship must be clear; if I achieve my goals (as captured in my KPIs) then I will be rewarded accordingly. If I fail to meet my goals, then I will not be rewarded. In fact I may even be punished by being dismissed or demoted.

Human beings more often than not are creatures of necessity. We do things when we have to. If performance doesn’t matter come bonus review or promotion time, then don’t expect anything to change. It takes guts to enforce such a system, especially in organisations that have not been accustomed to performance based rewards. Staff in these organisations may have become comfortable with a more subjective system of evaluation. Some are used to systems that emphasise patronage or systems that emphasise longevity over performance. There will be resistance. Some will leave. This is the cost of change management. No matter how well the process is managed and how well the message is communicated, there will always be those who are determined to resist a genuine, bona fide performance management system because they have all this while been getting away with contributing very little. To be fair, the goals and KPIs themselves need to be achievable and reasonable. It is bad practice when organisations purposely set targets that are out of reach, as they perpetuate the attitude that “it doesn’t matter anyway, because these targets are impossible.” Never set unreachable goals. Some organisations have two levels of targets: basic targets and stretch targets which are a little higher. Staff are rewarded when they meet their basic targets and are rewarded even more when they meet their stretch targets. I think this is a fair system; by providing two tiers it is reasonable and at the same time provides incentives for staff to over-perform.

Have we trained the line managers to run performance management systems?

Some performance management systems fail because no one below the middle management level has any clue as to what is really going on. In some organisations, the KPIs may be displayed all over the office (as part of ISO compliance) but when you talk to the individual staff, they have no idea how the goals will be measured or how their individual jobs are linked to the departmental KPIs. Similarly, there are many staff in many organisations who have no idea how they will be evaluated and appraised because their direct superiors do not manage the evaluation and appraisal process with any clarity.

I remember some executives telling me “I don’t think my boss even knows how to evaluate me; in fact, he gets me to fill up my own evaluation forms because he does not have the time.” This is symptomatic of a lack of buy in from the line managers who may see staff evaluations as an unimportant nuisance. Others comment that “my boss doesn’t provide any feedback; positive or negative during my evaluation meetings; so I have no idea whether he is happy with my performance or not.” This may be due to some managers fearing confrontation with staff and therefore, they avoid providing any critical feedback. A recent survey by a local consulting firm among 50 organisations in Kuala Lumpur indicated that less than 45% briefed their staff regularly on whether their department had met their KPIs. This should be of great concern. If staff don’t know whether they are hitting their targets or not, how can they calibrate their performance?

We must brief all our line managers and make it clear in no uncertain terms that the evaluation and appraisal process should be taken seriously and that all staff must be well aware of their KPIs and should be given regular feedback on whether they are achieving them. It helps when we have clear, hard targets, KPIs that are easy to quantify. Many supervisors struggle with evaluating soft targets. This of course, can be a work in progress.

When organisations introduce performance management systems, it is my recommendation that for the first few cycles, they start with the hard targets. It makes it easier for the organisation to get “comfortable” with a new system when it is neat, clean and clear. Over time, soft targets can be introduced and training and mentoring must accompany these to support the line managers in implementing them.

● Dr Goh Chee Leong is vice-president of HELP University College and a psychologist. We welcome feedback on this article. Please email to starbiz@thestar.com.my

PM Najib's 6 key areas for KPI

2009-07-16T11:01:00.005+08:00

2009/07/11 derived from NST Online;

KUALA LUMPUR, Sat: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today announced six national key result areas (KRA) for more effective attainment of the targets of the key performance indicators (KPI).

He said these are :

1. crime prevention,

2. fighting of corruption,

3. widening access to quality and affordable education,

4. raising the living standard of the low-income people,

5. upgrading infrastructure in the rural and interior regions, and

6. improving public transportation in a moderate period of time.

Najib said these six areas will be given priority focus by himself, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, Cabinet ministers and Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.

Tricky task of fine-tuning KPI's

2009-05-27T05:45:00.002+08:00

Finally, after six weeks, the preliminary key performance indicators (KPIs) for the ministers are ready. What are they and will they actually help our ministers perform their duties better? ANIZA DAMIS speaks to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, who is in charge of driving the ministers and their KPIs, and finds out that this is only the beginning

Q: Why is it that ministers are only having KPIs now? Does this mean the government had no focus?

A: That's not true. The government does have focus but it was done through the civil service. Every ministry has a mission statement, vision statement, objectives and, for each and every programme, they have a listing of what is to be achieved. Budgeting and implementing the budget is in itself a performance-management exercise. It's just that we have not used the methodology, KPIs and the balance-score card system in such a rigorous way. And we have not applied it to ministers and deputy ministers. For example, it used to take three weeks to get a new passport. And then, a year ago, you could get your passport within a day, and now you can get your passport within three hours. So, this is a very clear and obvious success of a KPI exercise.

Q: The ministers have submitted the preliminary KPIs to the prime minister. Have they done a good job of it?

A: This is only the first round. For many ministers, and even for me, there is a learning curve.
In the corporate world, the exercise of driving performance through KPIs usually takes a few cycles, around two to four years, to fine tune, to make sure the targets are correct. The KPIs make the targets very focused, very clear. But I think there's a sense of commitment. I was really impressed that every minister was dedicated to getting their preliminary KPIs done. It wasn't easy. There was concern over how to measure something that doesn't seem quantifiable. For example, take my own portfolio: How do you measure national unity? I'm still in the process of figuring it out. As a rough measure, we used to take what is called the index of inter-ethnic quarrels. Any quarrel between at least two individuals of different ethnic backgrounds may become a police case. So, we take that and track it. We look at how many quarrels there were, how serious they were and how they were resolved.

Q: So, what's your KPIs?

A: I just submitted what was being used as preliminary KPIs, the number of incidents that have been reported to and recorded by the police. I said this was all that we had (as a yardstick). But I have asked the Institute for Inter-Ethnic Relations of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, headed by Professor Shamsul Bahrin, and his researchers to help me find out whether there are already existing ones in other countries and new indices we can create to more effectively measure "national unity" and "social harmony". If we can come up with certain measures as an indicator, then we can come up with an implementation plan to enhance social harmony, national unity, inter-ethnic and inter-religious harmony.

Q: Last year, the National Unity and Integration Department registered 364 demonstrations and street protests. Would you take a demonstration as a positive or negative indicator of unity?

A: That is debatable. In fact, I'm in the process of discussing this with my officers. If it's a peaceful gathering of 2,000 people at a town hall, they are very unhappy and demonstrating their anger, but if they sit down and discuss things, then that's positive, because there would be a fruitful exchange of ideas. But with street demonstrations, although some would say that's an avenue to vent their feelings, I would say that it would be less fruitful than a serious discussion, where there is real communication and dialogue. Whatever it is, we need to resolve the problem.

Q: If it takes a few cycles to fine-tune KPIs, how solid are these KPIs which were prepared in just six weeks?

A: Whatever that was submitted by the ministers are what we call preliminary KPIs. They are very preliminary, based on the KPIs for their own secretary-generals, but not solely based on them. The most important thing the minister has to look at is the impact and outcome for the people and public perception. That makes it challenging. We are trying to do something, that normally takes a very long time, in a very short span of time . Since my official appointment, I've been sleeping and eating KPIs. We have lunch meetings and dinner meetings. I have to do lots of reading and have discussions with people who have a lot of experience with KPIs.

Q: At what point will these preliminary KPIs translate to actual KPIs?

A: After the preliminaries, there will be a dialogue between my colleagues and I to fine-tune the KPIs with the help of experts. Then, the second round will be a discussion with the prime minister, to see whether the KPIs are realistic. Then, we will implement it. The prime minister has set another deadline in November, which is when they have the first assessment. After Nov-ember, we will be going into KPI Version 2.0.

Q: That means the first assessment in November is not going to be an assessment on the ministers, but rather it is an assessment on the effectiveness of the KPIs?

A: Yes. There is a wide range of quantitative and qualitative aspects of performance, and of a different nature, too, from ministry to ministry. The International Trade and Industry Ministry and the Domestic Trade Ministry, for instance, have more quantitative measures. But even then, you have to see what the relevant measures are. For example, if you take foreign direct investments as the absolute amount, how would you measure it? We must also have a relative measure, because in the context of a global economic crisis, you cannot expect Malaysia to have an increase in FDI when the whole global FDI is collapsing. So then, it has to be relative. This is what I mean by fine-tuning. The danger is, if you set your KPIs too high, you're going to be in trouble, because people will say, "You're boasting". You can be 100 per cent sure that there will be a shortfall and you'll end up punishing yourself. But if you set your KPIs too low, people will think it's ridiculous, because it doesn't make any difference. So, the setting of targets itself is extremely challenging.

Q: Besides setting a target for what is deemed to be a success, are ministries setting a target for what is deemed to be a failure?

A: I think there would a grading scale. For instance, if we set a target for getting a passport ready in three hours, would it be realistic to say that, if for some reason you deliver it within six hours instead, that it is a failure? No, I would still say that it is a success.

Q: How many hours would constitute failure?

A: That would depend on public perception. People want speed, but most are also reasonable. They ask for reasonable speed. If you tell people their documents will be ready the next day before 5pm, and you keep to that promise, they would be happy. But, for those who need their passports urgently, special efforts will be made to get the passports ready in time. If we set our target too unrealistically and invest in too many personnel, we can get the passport done in one hour, but then the law of diminishing returns would come in. For instance, if in the past it took three weeks and now it takes three days, that's a tremendous improvement. But, if it takes five times the resources to drive it to one day, then it may not be worth it. Because those resources are actually public resources, and could be used to drive other things. So, you have to have a very holistic view of the allocation of resources, and this is where some of us come in. Because, even if you have billions, it is still limited resources. So, part of it is setting expectations. People want speed, certainty and courtesy; that's the three most important factors in their perception of government service. We should drive our organisation so that it works to its maximum. But we should also not over-drive it so that it's humanly not possible.

Q: How are you going to measure public perception?

A: We would like our political leaders and civil servants to be sensitised, so that they can immediately detect public sentiments. They must be sensitive, yet positive to complaints. Secondly, we can conduct public opinion polls. Or we can even have certain devices for people to vote whether they are happy with the service of that particular officer. In some countries, there are certain buttons to push: green is for "very happy", amber is for "so-so", and red is for "very bad". We might adopt that for certain counter services. But this would only come in later, after we have assessed the situation.

Q: What are the KPIs for the home minister?

A: Each minister will probably have a few KPIs. But we would like the minister to identify what he thinks are the most important and relevant KPIs to the people. That can only be arrived at through the experience and acumen of the minister as a political leader and the head of the ministry; but more importantly, through some kind of feedback from our clients.

Q: At what are the KPIs targeted? Is it the satisfaction of the people or the well-running of the government and nation?

A: They are inter-related. There are KPIs that can be objectively measured -- in the delivery of certain services. But then there's also the qualitative aspect, which is perception and sentiment, which may not be completely related and determined by the objective and quantitative measure. For instance, I can give you your passport within a day. But if I give it to you with a sour face and with certain negative remarks, you're going to be very angry. Today, through technology, we will get much more feedback than 10 years ago. That in itself is a monitoring process and wake-up call. It's already there. And the final analysis is how people will vote.

Q: Keeping voters happy does not necessarily mean that the government is being run properly.

A: Yes. That's why we need objective measures.

You can be a populist and make people very happy over a period of time, and yet, misuse and abuse your resources. Or doing things that are not right, and yet keep people happy. For example, a very easy thing to do it is to give people money. Or to give a waiver on fines and summons; people can do what they like. But is it fair for other members of the public, if people park indiscriminately and they are not given a traffic summons? That's why we need objective measures.

Q: What is the role of Khazanah in all this?

A: Khazanah plays a very supportive role. But it's not Khazanah alone. We have within the civil service today the PSD (Public Service Department), Mampu (Malay-sian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit) and ICU (Implementation Coordination Unit). We are talking to everybody, because we would like to have a cross-fertilisation between the public and private sectors and what better group to turn to for experience?
Khazanah and Malaysia Airlines used KPIs to turn the airline around.
But I have not exhausted all the possibilities. I have yet to have a very deep conversation with Pemudah (task force to address bureaucracy issues in business-government dealings), for instance, which is a fine example of how you can get the public and private sector to work together to drive delivery.

Q: How much of the KPIs are the public going to be privy to?

A: We would like to have KPIs that are relevant, that have a direct impact and outcome on the people. There are many KPIs that are related to procedural, technical aspects, which even if you explained to the public, they won't be interested.

Q: Is a minister's performance going to be made public?

A: The public is going to be making their assessment anyway, with or without disclosure. But there are bound to be some headline KPIs. For example, if the Immigration Department had announced three years ago, before they embarked on this exercise of reducing the time it takes to make a passport, that would have been a very publicly-known, trackable KPI.

Q: KPIs are supposed to make ministers more answerable than in the past. But, like the report card system previously, no one knows what the report card reads. Surely we shouldn't have to wait five years for the elections?

A: We will make the KPIs public in less than a year. In fact, many of the KPIs will be determined by the public. For instance, the public will say it wants the crime rate to be reduced. So, what's the measure? What category of crimes are we talking about?

Q: How will you assure the people that their opinion matters outside of election time?

A: We can assure them, because the prime minister has repeatedly talked about it, we are driving it and within 30 days, we were even able to come up with the preliminary KPIs, when it would normally have taken half a year.

Q: If the public doesn't know what the preliminary KPIs are, how are they going to know whether six weeks' work is any good at all?

A: It will be judged by our final delivery. People will not want to wait for too long. So, we are putting a lot of pressure on ourselves.

Q: Everything I've heard so far are just promises. You are promising that you want to improve something. But you haven't told me what you want to improve, how it's going to be improved, and how I am supposed to know whether it's improved.

A: We would like you to tell us the five most important things that you would like us to improve.

Q: If the people want to give their feedback, how can they do that?

A: They can do that through the media.

Q: Is there a more formal channel?

A: We can do that through every ministry, if the matter is ministry-specific. They can write to the prime minister's 1Malaysia blog; they can write to me. And many of us are going to the ground, going on walkabouts.

Q: Is the feedback going to be collated properly?

A: We are setting up a system. Every ministry also has its own public clients' charter, and service information unit. We also have the Public Complaints Bureau. I can only start gauging things when we are in the thick of it. With the kind of commitment I see from the prime minister and my colleagues, the awareness, the consciousness and commitment, there will be a marked improvement in the next one to two years.

Q: Do your brother and sister ministers know what their goals are?

A: They know what the broader objectives are for their ministry. They know the programmes and the projects. But now what we are trying to do is to actually give a methodology for them to set a target within a timeframe. A target that, preferably, would be measurable and trackable and a methodology of implementation and a way of measuring it daily or weekly so that we stay focused. Every one of them is trying his best. But trying our best is not good enough. We must try our best within a certain framework, guidelines and methodology that have proven to be effective in corporate companies and even in governments. We want goals that the public can benefit from so that they can feel there is a difference. Part of driving KPIs is to look at the whole mechanism. It's not just tinkling with changes and procedure. It may involve changing the procedure itself! We are asking every minister to drive his own KPI exercise. I am only serving as a promoter and facilitator.

Q: Does every ministry have a specific section in its ministry or website that allows the public to send feedback?

A: Hopefully, within six months or so, every ministry will have a website that is interactive, that will be able to take more comments.

Q: When the exercise actually starts, what do you see your role as being?

A: The exercise has already started. I have to try to deliver this framework and guidelines, as well as supporting staff in order to drive other ministries. We will set up a new unit called Pemandu (Performance Management and Delivery Unit) which will draw upon existing units from Mampu, ICU, PSD, EPU, as well as Khazanah, to have a more focused group to support each minister and ministry in their drive. The whole KPI exercise is actually to get everybody focused and to get them to do a lot of things in their own area of responsibility, to contribute towards that goal.

Najib umum pembaharuan...bakat swasta boleh dilantik ke perkhidmatan awam

2009-04-29T05:36:00.003+08:00

Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Mohd Najib hari Selasa mencadangkan pembaharuan sektor perkhidmatan awam dengan memperkenalkan dasar terbuka dengan membenarkan jawatan-jawatan utama sektor itu dibuka kepada bakat-bakat daripada sektor swasta. Malah katanya, jawatan utama kerajaan juga harus dibuka kepada pegawai-pegawai perkhidmatan lain dan bukan hanya daripada Perkhidmatan Tadbir Diplomatik (PTD).

“Dari segi pembaharuan structural, pertamanya saya ingin mencadangkan kaedah sistem kemasukan pelbagai peringkat’ ke dalam perkhidmatan awam. Di bawah konsep ini kita akan dapat memanfaatkan proses cross fertilization di antara bakat-bakat sektor awam dan sektor swasta,” katanya semasa berucap pada Majlis Perdana Perkhidmatan Awam Ke-10 di Putrajaya. Selain cadangan tersebut, Najib turut mengutarakan gagasan agar pegawai-pegawai awam boleh dipinjamkan ke syarikat berkaitan kerajaan (GLC) dan pegawai GLC dipinjamkan ke sektor awam.

"Dengan cara ini pegawai perkhidmatan awam boleh didedahkan kepada keperluan sektor swasta yang merupakan peneraju utama pertumbuhan negara," ujarnya. Beliau turut mahukan perkhidmatan awam mempunyai pelan pembangunan dan pencarian bakat kerana pengenalpastian bakat yang mantap akan menjadikan sesebuah organisasi hebat.

Sistem tersebut kini dilaksanakan oleh PETRONAS, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) dan Bank Negara.

Dalam ucapannya juga menggariskan empat anjakan dalam proses modenisasi paradigma perkhidmatan awam agar sektor tersebut sesuai dengan pencapaian kejayaan pada alaf baru.

“Apa yang saya maksudkan dengan anjakan paradigma adalah pertamanya anjakan dariapda ketegaran kepada keanjalan. Anggota perkhidmatan awam seharusnya menyedari bahawa kerajaan tiak mencipta kekayaan.

“Peranan ini dimainkan oleh sektor swasta yang mencipta kekayaan, dari kekayaan yang dicipta pihak swasta, kerajaan mempunyai saham yang dikutip di dalam bentuk cukai,” jelasnya.

Anjakan kedua katanya, ialah beralih dariapda budaya ‘output’ dan perbelanjaan atau kesan nyata semata-mata kepada mementingkan aspek ‘outcome’ atau dampak keberhasilan secara holistik.

Ketiganya, beliau mahu anjakan dibuat dariapda birokrasi yang menyukarkan kepaa birokrasi yang memudahkan.

Manakala keempat pula ialah anjakan dariapda produktiviti samata-mata kepada gabungan produktiviti, kreativiti dan inovasi. Dalam ucapan sulungnya bertemu dengan pegawai-pegawai kanan perkhidmatan awam tersebut, Najib menegaskan usaha modernisasi perkhidamtan awam bukanlah usaha yang “hangat-hangat tahi ayam”.

“Saya tidak mahu mengambil sikap hangat-hangat tahi ayam di dalam usaha pembaharuan ini. Saya mahu mengatakan kepada anggota perkhidmatan awam bahawa apa yang saya katakana hari ini, apa yang saya janjikan hari ini. akan berkesinambungan dengan tindakan susulan. “Selepas ini kita tidak mahu sekadar memanterakan slogan yang muluk-muluk tetapi kosong. Apa yang mustahak, kerja mesti dijalankan,” kata beliau. Najib juga mengingatkan kewujudan perkhidmatan awam adalah untuk berkhidmat kepada rakyat.

“Ini kerana sebab musabab kepaa kewujudan perkhidmatan awam itu sendiri adalah untuk mengkhidmati rakyat. Kepuasan hati rakyat adalah tanda aras utama kejayaan sektor awam. “Bertoalk dari situ, pada hemat saya juga, jika kita benar-benar ingin berkhidmat untuk rakyat, kita perlu mengetahui rintihan massa. Kita eprlu fahami setiap masalah, kekangan dan kesulitan yang dihadapi oleh rakyat, barulah kita mampu untuk mengambil langkah-langkah sewajarnya bagi mengatasi masalah,” tambah beliau. – 28/4/2009

Ucapan penuh Datuk Seri Mohd Najib pada Majlis Perdana Perkhidmatan Awam :

TEKS UCAPAN

Y.A.B. DATO’ SRI HJ. MOHD NAJIB BIN TUN ABDUL RAZAK

PERDANA MENTERI MALAYSIA

DI MAJLIS PERDANA PERKHIDMATAN AWAM KESEPULUH (MAPPA X)

PADA 28 APRIL 2009 (SELASA), JAM 9.30 PAGI

DI PUSAT KONVENSYEN ANTARABANGSA PUTRAJAYA

TEMA :

SATU MALAYSIA:

RAKYAT DIDAHULUKAN, PENCAPAIAN DIUTAMAKAN

Bismillahirahmanirrahim

Assalammualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh dan salam sejahtera.

Y.A.B. Tan Sri Muhyiddin bin Mohd Yassin,

Timbalan Perdana Menteri Malaysia,

Y.B. Menteri-Menteri, Timbalan-timbalan Menteri,

Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Mohd Sidek bin Hj. Hassan,

Ketua Setiausaha Negara,

Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Ismail Adam,

Ketua Pengarah Perkhidmatan Awam,

Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Dr Wan Abdul Aziz Bin Wan Abdullah

Ketua Setiausaha Perbendaharaan,

Y.Bhg. Tan Sri-Tan Sri, Dato’ Seri-Dato’ Seri,Dato’-Dato’, Datin- Datin, Dif-dif Kehormat,

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan para hadirin yang saya hormati sekalian,

1. Alhamdulillah, saya mengucapkan rasa syukur setingginya ke hadrat Allah SWT kerana dengan izin dan kurnia-Nya jua satu proses peralihan kuasa yang tertib, licin dan sempurna telah berlangsung pada 3hb April yang lalu. Terima kasih yang tidak terhingga saya rakamkan kepada YABhg Tun Abdullah Hj Ahmad Badawi yang telah memungkinkan peralihan tersebut berjalan dengan begitu baik. Justeru, saya berasa amat sukacita kerana inilah julung kali saya bertemu dengan tuan-tuan dan puan-puan dalam Majlis Amanat Perdana Perkhidmatan Awam (MAPPA) kali ke sepuluh atas kapasiti sebagai Perdana Menteri Malaysia yang baru.

2. Saya majukan ucapan terima kasih kepada Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Mohd. Sidek Hj. Hassan, Ketua Setiausaha Negara dan juga kepada Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Ismail Adam selaku Ketua Pengarah Perkhidmatan Awam dan juga kepada Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara (INTAN) atas perencanaan dan pengaturan majlis ini bagi saya menyampaikan gagasan, hasrat dan harapan secara langsung kepada tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sekalian.

3. Kehadiran tuan-tuan dan puan-puan dari seluruh pelosok negara menjadi manifestasi komitmen dan iltizam tuan-tuan dan puan-puan kepada perkhidmatan awam yang telah lebih lima dekad menjadi tunjang dan nadi kepada pembangunan negara. Sungguhpun inilah kali pertama saya bercakap sebagai ketua kerajaan, hakikatnya saya telah lama kenal sebilangan besar tuan-tuan dan puan-puan sepanjang perjalanan kepimpinan dan politik, lebih 33 tahun.

4. Mengimbau sejarah, kira-kira empat puluh tahun yang lalu, Allahyarham ayahanda saya telah diamanahkan sebagai Pengarah MAGERAN. Pada saat dan ketika itu, perpaduan kaum ibarat retak seribu dan rakyat Malaysia sudah hampir hilang harapan. Selaku Pengarah MAGERAN, ayahanda saya telah berjaya memulihkan demokrasi serta harapan rakyat Malaysia dengan dibantu oleh anggota perkhidmatan awam yang amat berintegriti, berkebolehan, berwibawa dan berdedikasi. Pendek kata, ramai daripada pendahulu-pendahulu tuan-tuan dan puan-puan adalah mereka yang berada di barisan hadapan dan sangat instrumental dalam usaha memulihkan negara pasca episod hitam 13 Mei 1969.

5. Sekali air bah sekali pantai berubah. Salah satu hakikat zaman adalah perubahan; Untuk maju manusia perlu sentiasa berada di hadapan keluk perubahan manakala untuk kekal di hadapan manusia perlu menerajui perubahan, sebaliknya jika hanya bernostalgia dengan sejarah kejayaan lampau tanpa gigih mencari kejayaan-kejayaan baru akan menyebabkan gejala jumud dan beku membudaya. Oleh itu setiap generasi penjawat awam perlu membuktikan kerelevanan mereka kepada rakyat dengan mencipta semula peranan mereka sesuai dengan masa. Melalui kaedah ini barulah mereka boleh memainkan peranan secara berkesan sebagai pemelihara kepentingan awam.

6. Satu ketika dahulu penjawat awam Malaysia mempunyai reputasi yang amat cemerlang bukan sahaja di kalangan rakyat tempatan tetapi juga di peringkat rantau dan antarabangsa. Bukan maksud saya untuk mengatakan bahawa perkhidmatan awam Malaysia hari ini tidak secemerlang dahulu kerana telah terbukti bahawa perkhidmatan awam Malaysia telah memainkan peranan yang pro-aktif di dalam proses transformasi negara dari sebuah negara pertanian kepada sebuah negara perindustrian. Namun kayu ukur dan tanda aras hari ini telah berubah akibat proses globalisasi, ledakan maklumat dan peningkatan taraf sosio ekonomi rakyat. Sesungguhnya penambahbaikan yang ingin saya lakukan adalah satu kesinambungan kepada transformasi berterusan sektor awam yang telah dimulakan sejak lama dahulu.

PENJAWAT AWAM : DALAM KONTEKS MENDEPANI CABARAN EKONOMI

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan,

7. Hakikatnya, hari ini kita berhadapan dengan dua cabaran monumental. Pertamanya cabaran jangka pendek dan keduanya cabaran jangka panjang. Di bawah cabaran jangka pendek ini terdapat tiga cabaran berkaitan. Cabaran jangka pendek pertama ialah untuk memastikan negara akan mengalami impak yang seminima mungkin kesan kegawatan kewangan dan ekonomi global yang sedang berlaku. Cabaran jangka pendek kedua ialah untuk keluar dari kemelut ekonomi dan kewangan yang ada, dengan kadar paling pantas. Cabaran jangka pendek ketiga ialah untuk membantu rakyat Malaysia bagi menangani keperitan hidup yang dialami.

8. Manakala cabaran jangka panjang pula ialah untuk melakukan pembaharuan dan perubahan struktural kepada ekonomi Malaysia berasaskan kepada satu model yang baru berteraskan kreativiti dan innovasi. Di bawah model baru ekonomi ini kerajaan akan membangunkan sektor perkhidmatan bagi menjadi peneraju pertumbuhan dan pembentukan kekayaan baru pada masa yang sama menggalakkan sektor pembuatan untuk bergerak ke rantaian nilai yang lebih tinggi.

9. Langkah-langkah ini diharapkan agar dapat menyelesaikan secara tuntas kemelut yang dialami negara selama ini dari segi ekonomi iaitu “of being neither here nor there” yakni, sementara kita bukan lagi boleh dianggap sebagai pusat sektor pengeluaran berkos rendah, kita juga belum berupaya melonjakkan negara ke peringkat lebih tinggi dalam rantaian nilai sektor yang sama.

10. Model baru ekonomi ini juga diharapkan akan menjadi pemangkin kepada Malaysia untuk meningkatkan statusnya dari sebuah negara “upper middle income” kepada negara “high income” dan dalam masa terdekat meletakkan kita kembali di landasan yang betul bagi merealisasikan Wawasan 2020 untuk menjadi sebuah negara maju.

11. Saya yakin dan percaya bahawa sektor perkhidmatan awam akan terus mampu memainkan peranan bagi menangani cabaran-cabaran ini kerana sejarah telah membuktikan bahawa tuan-tuan dan puan-puan telah berjaya membantu dalam proses transformasi Malaysia daripada sebuah negara pertanian berubah menjadi sebuah negara perindustrian moden sehingga Malaysia muncul di kalangan 20 negara perdagangan terbesar di dunia.

SATU MALAYSIA

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan,

12. Apabila saya mengambil alih kepimpinan negara, saya telah mengutarakan konsep Satu Malaysia, rakyat didahulukan, pencapaian diutamakan. Konsep ini bukanlah sesuatu yang baru. Ia sebenarnya adalah kesinambungan kepada apa yang diperjuangkan semenjak Almarhum Tunku Abdul Rahman. Selama ini pun, Malaysia berjaya kerana kita menjadikan kemajmukan rakyat yang ada sebagai sumber kekuatan walaupun kita telah menyaksikan banyak negara didunia telah hancur dek faktor kemajmukan. Malah kita juga telah merasai sedikit sebanyak bagaimana kemajmukan yang tidak diurus dengan betul telah hampir meranapkan negara seperti mana yang telah dialami semasa tragedi 13 Mei.

13. Maka yang demikian, suka atau tidak suka, kita mesti mengakui kemajmukan yang wujud adalah realiti yang harus di terima. Inilah merupakan teras kepada konsep Satu Malaysia, mengakui realiti yang ada dan menjadikannya sebagai platform untuk mencapai kejayaan demi kejayaan. Konsep ini tidak sekali-kali lari daripada apa yang telah dimaktub dan dimuafakatkan melalui undang-undang tertinggi negara iaitu Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan prinsip prinsip Rukun Negara.

14. Di bawah Konsep Satu Malaysia ini setiap rakyat Malaysia yang berkelayakan dan memerlukan bantuan serta pertolongan akan kita bantu. Tidak akan ada mana-mana pihak yang akan dicicirkan. Sesungguhnya lagi janganlah mana-mana pihak menganggap mereka adalah warganegara kelas dua di negara tercinta ini, kerana setiap anak Malaysia adalah potensi modal insan yang penting kepada negara, setiap mereka perlu dimanfaatkan sebaiknya.

15. Ketahuilah, setiap warganegara mempunyai hak dan tanggungjawab masing-masing sepertimana yang telah digariskan oleh Perlembagaan Persekutuan. Kewarganegaraan bukan sahaja menggariskan hak tetapi juga menuntut tanggungjawab. Janganlah mana-mana pihak terlalu taksub terhadap tuntutan hak dan melupakan tanggungjawab mereka sebagai warganegara.

16. Di bawah Konsep Satu Malaysia kita perlu memastikan tiada rakyat Malaysia yang terpinggir daripada mendapat perhatian kerajaan. Bagi kerajaan, meritokrasi bukan bermakna kesaksamaan yang membuta. Malah kesaksamaan bermaksud meletakkan sesuatu pada tempatnya yang hak. Dari itu, seorang anak yang datang dari keluarga miskin tidak kira dari bandar atau luar bandar walau dari etnik manapun, tetapi ternyata mempunyai potensi sememangnya berhak mendapat bantuan kerajaan berbanding anak-anak golongan berada yang sudah tentu mempunyai peluang pendidikan yang terbaik.

17. Maknanya, kita boleh menawarkan akses pemula dengan menyediakan datar permainan yang adil tetapi kita sebagai kerajaan tidak berkemampuan memastikan ‘outcome’ yang sama. Dalam kata lain, kerajaan tidak boleh memainkan peranan ibubapa, keluarga atau masyarakat setempat, kerajaan juga bukanlah galang yang boleh mengganti kehendak, kemahuan, usaha serta iltizam seorang pelajar atau peniaga juga usahawan untuk berjaya. Apa yang kerajaan boleh buat seperti yang saya katakan tadi, adalah menyediakan garis permulaan yang adil. Pendek kata, antara prinsip-prinsip utama yang mendasari Satu Malaysia adalah kebersamaan (togetherness) dan kekitaan (sense of belonging) dalam satu keluarga besar.

PENJAWAT AWAM : DALAM KONTEKS MENDEPANI CABARAN PENTADBIRAN

MODENISASI SEKTOR AWAM

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan,

18. Bagi menjayakan segala perubahan yang diperlukan negara dalam perjalanan kita untuk memastikan Malaysia terus aman, maju dan makmur pada abad ke-21, kita memerlukan sebuah persekitaran yang kondusif untuk semua rakyat Malaysia mengoptimakan potensi mereka. Di sini peranan sebuah perkhidmatan awam yang cekap, berkesan, responsif, luwes dan berani berubah adalah amat mustahak. Saya amat gembira kerana dalam melaksanakan inisiatif modernisasi ini saya telah mendapat sokongan dan kerjasama padu daripada barisan kepimpinan tertinggi perkhidmatan awam, khususnya Ketua Setiausaha Negara, Ketua Pengarah Perkhidmatan Awam dan Ketua Setiausaha Perbendaharaan. Sesungguhnya pembaharuan yang akan dilakukan ini bukanlah bersifat ‘top down’ tetapi sebaliknya melibatkan gabungjalin semua segmen perkhidmatan awam bermula dengan pimpinan atasan.

19. Usaha ini memerlukan proses modenisasi menyeluruh yang melibatkan bukan sahaja modenisasi paradigma tetapi juga struktural. Kita memerlukan perkhidmatan awam yang sesuai dengan pencapaian kejayaan pada alaf baru ini. Apa yang saya maksudkan dengan anjakan paradigma adalah pertamanya anjakan daripada ketegaran kepada keanjalan. Anggota perkhidmatan awam seharusnya menyedari bahawa kerajaan tidak mencipta kekayaan. Peranan ini dimainkan oleh sektor swasta yang mencipta kekayaan, dari kekayaan yang dicipta pihak swasta, kerajaan mempunyai saham yang dikutip di dalam bentuk cukai korporat. Hasil ini seterusnya digunakan bagi membangunkan negara dan untuk membayar gaji kakitangan awam.

20. Keanjalan ini penting bagi menghadapi cabaran untuk berjaya di dalam ekonomi baru yang ditandai oleh proses globalisasi. Kita harus mengubah kerangka minda, strategi dan kaedah bekerja jika kita ingin memanfaatkan fenomena yang ada. Sesungguhnya “extraordinary times requires extraordinary measures”. Sektor awam perlu menjadi pemudah cara kepada penciptaan kekayaan tanpa mengenepikan peranan mereka sebagai pemelihara kepentingan awam. Penjawat awam sekali-kali tidak boleh menjadi penghindar proses penciptaan kekayaan ini kerana jika mereka berbuat demikian, yang akan rugi pada analisa akhirnya adalah rakyat.

21. Anjakan paradigma kedua ialah beralih daripada budaya output dan perbelanjaan atau kesan nyata semata-mata kepada mementingkan aspek outcome atau dampak keberhasilan secara holistik. Perkhidmatan awam harus menganjak paradigma daripada menilai kejayaan yang berasaskan ‘output’ kepada kejayaan yang berasaskan ‘outcome’. Misalnya dalam bidang pelajaran, bukan sahaja jumlah sekolah atau makmal yang mencukupi harus diberi penekanan tetapi perhatian yang utama harus diberikan kepada soal kejayaan menyeluruh termasuk kebajikan dan moral pelajar. Begitu juga dalam hal menangani gejala penagihan najis dadah, perhitungan kita bukan hanya berapa kepada berapa banyak pusat serenti yang mampu dibina, akan tetapi berapa ramai penagih yang berjaya kita pulihkan. Contoh lain pula ialah penekanan kita bukan pada bilangan mesyuarat yang diadakan atau kekerapan lawatan ke luar negeri tetapi kepada apakah hasil yang tercapai daripada mesyuarat dan lawatan yang telah dibuat.

22. Anjakan paradigma ketiga adalah anjakan daripada birokrasi yang menyukarkan kepada birokrasi yang memudah cara dan menyenangkan rakyat. Kita memperakui sistem birokrasi yang ada di Malaysia telah membawa pembangunan ke seluruh penjuru negara sejak lima puluh tahun yang lalu, namun hari ini terdapat tanggapan bahawa pentadbiran awam berada di belakang keluk perubahan negara mahupun global. Jika diteliti perbelanjaan emolumen untuk pembiayaan sektor awam ianya terus meningkat saban tahun. Hakikatnya kerajaan membelanjakan satu perempat daripada perbelanjaan pengurusan setiap tahun untuk emolumen sektor awam. Pada tahun 2007 kerajaan telah mengumumkan kenaikan gaji asas kakitangan awam dari 7.5 peratus sehingga 35 peratus. Dari segi peruntukan, kerajaan telah pun membelanjakan jumlah yang besar untuk membiayai emolumen sektor awam pada tahun 2006 dengan sejumlah RM 28 billion untuk tujuan ini. Angka ini telah meningkat kepadaRM 32 billion pada tahun 2007 dan kepada RM 41 billion pada tahun 2008. Persoalannya, dibenak rakyat tertanya-tanya, adakah perbelanjaan ini berbaloi. “Are the rakyat getting value for their tax dollars?”.

23. Lantas, untuk melakukan proses anjakan dan pembaharuan, kita memerlukan sektor awam yang bukan sahaja memahami realiti semasa tetapi mempunyai kemahuan dan berani membuat perubahan. “We do not need mere seat warmers, we need actual doers”. Di sudut yang lain pula, kenapa kita harus secara operasionalnya terus-terusan mengamal tatacara kerja yang usang, menyulitkan lagi melambatkan jikalau ia dapat dilaksanakan atau disiapkan dalam masa yang cepat. Perkara ini boleh dilaksanakan jika ada kemahuan, usaha dan tekad, ia tidak mustahil. Suatu masa dahulu untuk membuat atau memperbaharui pasport antarabangsa baru mengambil jangka masa yang panjang namun kini ianya boleh disiapkan dalam masa beberapa jam sahaja.

24. Dalam konteks ini juga, salah satu perkara yang sentiasa menjadi rungutan orang ramai ialah khidmat kaunter yang lambat. Rakyat mengeluh kerana walaupun jumlah kaunter dilihat begitu banyak namun kebanyakan waktu jumlah kaunter yang dibuka pada waktu puncak tidak pada jumlah yang optima yang dapat menangani jumlah pelanggan. Begitu juga jika rakyat menelefon jabatan-jabatan kerajaan pegawai atau kakitangan tidak menjawab atau jikapun mereka menjawab mereka mengatakan tidak tahu. Walaupun bukan semua yang terbabit akan tetapi hal ini telah menyebabkan tanggapan buruk rakyat terhadap perkhidmatan awam sebagai penyusah bukannya sebagai pemudah cara. Justeru kenapa masih memegang teguh kepada birokrasi yang menyusahkan, beranjaklah kepada birokrasi yang bersifat memudah cara. Saya lihat, salah satu langkah terbaik ialah Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri dengan kaedah e-filingnya yang merupakan pendekatan yang memudahkan penuh kreativiti dan innovasi.

25. Anjakan paradigma yang keempat pula daripada produktiviti semata-mata kepada gabungan produktiviti, kreativiti dan innovasi. Kalau selama ini kita mengukur pencapaian dari segi produktiviti, hari ini ukuran ini perlu ditambah baik melalui kreativiti dan innovasi. Ukuran produktiviti secara konvensional hanya memberikan kita penambahbaikan secara bertokok (incremental), manakala jika digabungkan produktiviti dengan kreativiti dan inovasi, ia akan memberikan kita penambahbaikan secara anjakan berganda (quantum leap).

26. Jelasnya, produktiviti yang digabungkan bersama kreativiti dan innovasi mampu melonjakkan kecekapan dan keberkesanan perkhidmatan awam Malaysia. Tanggapan bahawa setiap masalah boleh diselesaikan dengan menubuhkan jabatan/agensi baru atau menambah kakitangan adalah pandangan yang tidak tepat. Dengan kemajuan teknologi maklumat produktiviti setiap pegawai dan kakitangan boleh dioptimakan. Kita perlu mengawal saiz kerajaan kerana kerajaan tidak tahu semuanya atau mempunyai penyelesaian kepada setiap permasalahan. Realitinya, era kerajaan besar dan kerajaan mengetahui segalanya sudah berakhir.

27. Semua jabatan dan agensi kerajaan harus memaksimumkan aplikasi kreativiti dan inovasi ini. Matlamat utamanya adalah untuk meningkatkan kepuasan hati klien sektor awam yang utama iaitu rakyat. Idea-idea baru tidak harus dilihat dengan penuh syak wasangka atau dibakulsampahkan hanya semata-mata ianya tidak konvensional. Untuk menjadikan perkhidmatan awam Malaysia sebagai tanda aras kecemerlangan peringkat global maka budaya pemikiran diluar kotak kebiasaan perlu menjadi norma harian dan rutin bukannya kepelikkan. Barulah nanti wujud persekitaran kerja yang dinamik lagi bertenaga dan berdaya saing.

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan,

28. Dari segi pembaharuan struktural, pertamanya saya ingin mencadangkan kaedah ‘sistem kemasukan pelbagai peringkat’ ke dalam perkhidmatan awam. Di bawah konsep ini kita akan akan dapat memanfaatkan proses ‘cross fertilization’ di antara bakat-bakat sektor awam dan sektor swasta. Sudah tiba masanya kini jawatan-jawatan utama sektor awam dibuka kepada bakat-bakat daripada sektor swasta dan dari perkhidmatan selain perkhidmatan tadbir dan diplomatik. Kita tidak boleh lagi terlalu dogmatik, kita perlu mendapatkan bakat yang terpilih, terbaik dan tersaring demi kepentingan rakyat.

29. Keduanya saya juga mencadangkan satu dasar pintu terbuka di mana pegawai-pegawai perkhidmatan awam boleh dipinjamkan ke syarikat berkaitan kerajaan (GLC) dan pegawai GLC dipinjamkan pula ke perkhidmatan awam untuk saling menimba pengalaman. Dengan cara ini pegawai perkhidmatan awam boleh didedahkan kepada keperluan sektor swasta yang merupakan peneraju utama pertumbuhan negara.

30. Oleh itu ketiganya bagi mendapatkan bakat yang terbaik, perkhidmatan awam perlu mencontohi pelan pembangunan kerjaya dan pencarian bakat yang diamalkan seperti Petronas, Permodalan Nasional Berhad dan Bank Negara yang mempunyai sistem pengenalpastian bakat yang mantap serta telah menjadikan mereka organisasi yang hebat. Kita akan menghantar yang terbaik dikalangan penjawat awam untuk menimba ilmu di beberapa institusi tersohor di dunia seperti Kennedy School of Government, di Universiti Harvard, dan Wharton Business School di Universiti Pennsylvania.

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan,

PENCAPAIAN DIUTAMAKAN

31. Dalam menterjemahkan aspirasi ini, saya komited bagi memastikan perkhidmatan awam Malaysia akan dianggotai anak-anak Malaysia yang terbaik. Saya mencabar generasi muda yang hari ini mengkritik sektor awam untuk bersama-sama kita menambah baik sistem dari dalam. Marilah bersama menyertai perkhidmatan awam, mempersembah kudrat dan pemikiran saudara saudari demi pertiwi. Kita sedar buat masa ini kita tidak boleh menandingi kelumayanan yang ditawarkan oleh sektor swasta kepada saudara saudari tetapi apa yang kita boleh tawarkan adalah rasa kepuasan berkhidmat demi rakyat dan negara. Walau apapun, kita sedang berusaha untuk menyemak dan menambahbaik skim-skim perkhidmatan yang kritikal agar pengorbanan saudara dan saudari dihargai.

32. Di atas segalanya, saya amat maklum bahawa mengurus sebuah negara yang kompleks seperti Malaysia memerlukan kerjasama semua pihak. Paling utama harus ada kesefahaman diantara anggota pentadbiran sebagai pengubal dasar dan anggota perkhidmatan awam sebagai jentera pelaksana dasar. Ini kerana, sebaik manapun dasar yang telah digubal tanpa mekanisma pelaksanaan yang cekap maka matlamat dasar tidak akan mampu direalisasikan.

33. Lantaran itu, baru-baru ini, semasa mengumumkan anggota kabinet, saya telah menggariskan jangkaan terhadap pencapaian mereka. Saya telah mengamanahkan mereka untuk bekerja tanpa mengenal penat lelah bagi kepentingan rakyat. Sehubungan itu saya turut mengumumkan satu sistem petunjuk utama prestasi (KPI) yang akan dirangka bagi mengukur pencapaian mereka.

34. Namun, semboyan berkhidmat ini tidak terhenti setakat para anggota kabinet, anggota perkhidmatan awam adalah merupakan rakan kongsi utama kepada anggota pentadbiran untuk menunaikan komitmen kita kepada rakyat Malaysia dalam memberikan khidmat yang terbaik. Justeru, saya berdiri di sini pada hari ini, bagi mengulangi seruan kepada tuan-tuan dan puan-puan agar menumpah khidmat kepada rakyat dengan sepenuhnya.

35. Saya yakin dan percaya dengan pelaksanaan sistem pengurusan yang berteraskan pengiktirafan perkongsian antara anggota pentadbiran dan penjawat awam merupakan satu-satunya jalan untuk kita menempa kejayaan pembaharuan yang besar. Perubahan tidak datang hanya dengan pengumuman atau berucap mengenainya. Ia terhasil daripada dedikasi dan kerja keras sepasukan manusia yang diikat oleh apa yang disebut dalam istilah bahasa Arab sebagai wa’ad dan bai’ah yakni satu tautan persetiaan dan perkongsian komitmen yang padu antara penjawat awam dan pentadbiran.

Tuan-tuan dan puan-puan,

36. Kepimpinan tidak akan bermakna jika ia tidak berpaksikan kepada pencapaian. Bila rakyat menilai kepimpinan sektor awam dan politik, apa yang ingin diukur oleh mereka ialah pencapaian. Kepimpinan berteraskan pencapaian adalah kemuncak penilaian kepada kepimpinan. Sebab itulah saya telah merangka KPI kerana piawai kepada pencapaian itu perlu ada. Ini akan membolehkan perkhidmatan awam dinilai secara holistik merangkumi penilaian kuantitatif dan kualitatif. KPI ini bukan alat atau kaedah untuk menghukum atau mendera kakitangan awam tetapi sebagai kayu ukur yang objektif terhadap tahap penyampaian. Ingatlah bahawa setiap sen dan ringgit yang kita terima akan dipertanggungjawabkan bukan sahaja didunia ini tetapi juga di akhirat.

37. Sesungguhnya, modenisasi sektor awam adalah suatu usaha murni yang besar dan berterusan. Saya tidak mahu mengambil sikap hangat-hangat tahi ayam didalam usaha pembaharuan ini. Saya mahu mengatakan kepada anggota perkhidmatan awam bahawa apa yang saya katakan hari ini, apa yang saya janjikan hari ini, akan berkesinambungan

NewsFocus on KPI: Setting meaningful targets key to making it work

2009-04-26T19:11:00.003+08:00

The men and women of the civil service will ultimately determine whether a ruling party’s policies succeed or fail.

Key performance indicators are metrics designed to evaluate how well an organisation performs in meeting its stated goals. Launching his '1Malaysia, People First, Performance Now' agenda, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that KPIs would be instituted for Cabinet-level positions as well as the civil service they command. YONG HUEY JIUN and SHERIDAN MAHAVERA examine the promise and potential pitfalls of KPIs in that context.

PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's ambitious agenda to measure the performance of cabinet ministers with key performance indicators (KPIs) will require adaptability, resoluteness, a focused strategy and a steely determination to see it through. The idea was greeted with "cautious optimism" at best, and cynicism at worst. The Prime Minister's Department, appointed to oversee the formulation of these KPIs, is expected to face a series of challenges from the start.

Omar Mustapha, managing partner of consulting firm Ethos & Co, notes that "in business, it is pretty straightforward: as your stakeholders are the shareholders of the company, we can assume that shareholders are interested in the long-term financial success of the company". But it's different with governments: "We need to start by understanding what is important for the country as well as the rakyat. "Overall, this should be about making Malaysia a competitive and prosperous country that provides the rakyat with a high quality living environment, i.e. safe from crime, good healthcare access, etc.

"Various documents -- Vision 2020, the National Mission statement -- should be the guide for understanding national aspirations." The government's KPIs, he says, "need to measure those metrics that have the most leverage in terms of impacting the identified national aspirations". If, for example, the objective is to provide the rakyat with a quality living environment, what constitutes "quality" to the rakyat? "It may be about improving public safety, better transport infrastructure, more affordable housing, better healthcare or cleaner environment." The outcome KPI, therefore, must apply to the minister and government agencies concerned with this particular objective. Omar cautions that there must not be too many KPIs, with a balance between near- and long-term goals, and between what is important for national competitiveness and what the rakyat wants. Getting the KPIs right, he warns, depends on setting meaningful targets. "The worst thing that can happen is that the government publishes data that show that they have met their targets, but the rakyat knows this is incongruent with what is actually being experienced on the ground." Critical to success, he says, is ensuring substance over form.

Omar itemises six criteria in this regard:

- Selecting KPIs that really matter;

- Setting targets for each KPI that is tied to national aspirations, as opposed to what is comfortable for the ministry to achieve;

- Supporting the KPIs with clear action plans;

- Ensuring integrity in performance reporting;

- Having clear consequences for non-performance; and,

- Developing clear communication and buy-in.

"Generally, you start from the top and then cascade down.

"This is the only way to have KPIs that are truly strategic and focused on key priorities."

He recommends that top management itself, i.e. ministers, deputies and secretaries-general, be involved in KPI development. "The prime minister must be personally engaged in this process to ensure focus and attention is given to the priorities that truly matter, to how the government as a whole, will be measured and evaluated by the rakyat at the next general election."

At the mercy of civil servants

BELOW are true stories in dealing with the civil service.

* An Immigration Department officer openly contradicts official policy by refusing re-entry to a foreign maid because she had gone home during a 2004 amnesty for foreign workers. When her employer tells the officer that the home minister had publicly guaranteed that workers like her could come back to work in Malaysia, the officer replies: "What the minister said is one thing but I have not received any new directives, so we will continue with the old policy." * An illiterate man from Taiping tries to apply for a birth certificate and is shoved to Ipoh and Putrajaya, only to be told that he has to go back to get a sworn statement from his village head. The man seeks help from his member of parliament, who tried in vain to get the document in time for the general election. The MP is then blamed for being inept.

* A man turns up at the Housing and Local Government Ministry's headquarters with a bag of garbage, dumps it in the foyer and stomps off. He tells the shocked security guards that he is disgusted with not being able to get garbage collection services despite numerous complaints to the ministry. In all these cases, asks former deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk M. Kayveas, who do you think gets blamed at the end of the day? "The Barisan Nasional, even though we as ministers and deputies tried our best to make dealing with the government as people-friendly as possible." The relationship between the civil service and political appointees such as ministers is complex. So, when it comes to instituting KPIs on ministers and deputy ministers, Kayveas bluntly says it misses the point.

"A minister and his deputies' performance are very much dependent on the senior government officers and the civil servants below them. "A minister can come up with brilliant ideas but if the implementers under him refuse to cooperate, those ideas will only remain as ideas. "So how do you fairly rate a minister's performance? What kind of measures do you use that takes all this into consideration?" And implementers can throw up a thousand and one barriers if they want to hamstring a minister. Relating his experience, Kayveas tells of how a plan could not get off the ground quickly because the officer in charge was away on course. When the officer returned, months were spent on getting a proper working paper drawn up. More months passed before the necessary approvals were received. "By the time we could really move ahead with it, the general election was already called." The number one reason why great ideas do not get translated into working policies is because there is a yawning chasm in motivation and incentive between political appointees and civil servants. Political appointees have to do their best because they can get dropped from the cabinet, they go through the mother of all assessments -- the general election.

In contrast, civil servants jobs are for the most part secure and effectively free of public scrutiny and appraisal. This, Kayveas says, has turned the civil service's senior managers -- directors and secretaries-general -- into an exclusive cabal. "There is a common saying among them: 'A minister comes and goes every five years but we stay forever.' "There are brilliant officers but they are not given a chance to shine. "They are often sidelined by either their superiors whose positions are threatened, or by their colleagues who fear that their performance would reflect badly on them." In his opinion, the only way to ensure that the machinery performs is to replace directors and secretaries-general with elected politicians. "At present, the elected party does not run the government. We allow civil servants to run it but it is the politician who has to face the people when there is a fire, a flood or when someone cannot get documents."

A KPI for political appointees may help the prime minister choose his cabinet, but it has little impact on the common folk who have to deal with the government every day. Another set of KPI for the civil service's senior managers would also be pointless. Kayveas cites an example of how even the most derelict and scandalous officers are shielded from action by the "cabal".

"If you want improvement in how the government functions, put the politicians in charge."

NewsFocus on KPI: Cuepacs wants 'two-way' evaluation system

2009-04-26T18:48:00.004+08:00

from the NSTOnline 26/4/2009

CUEPACS, the umbrella body of low-ranking workers in public-sector unions, wants the KPI for senior government officers such as directors, secretaries-general and their deputies to be based on how well they get along with their subordinates.

It is these officers, who rank from "Grade 41 to the Chief Secretary", that can motivate the clerks, drivers, technicians and assistants, who made up the bulk of the government's machinery, to work well. Ultimately, it will also determine whether ministers or deputy ministers can achieve their own KPI. "If clerks in a department do not give a 100 per cent in their jobs, the department does not perform at 100 per cent and the minister's KPI will not be attained," said Cuepacs president Omar Osman. To get the most out of the 950,000 staffers in the civil service, it is crucial that senior officers get along well with their subordinates, and the KPIs for these officers must recognise this. Relations are easily soured when senior officers refuse to give their staff salary increments. Omar claims that there are about 50,000 union members who have never been promoted despite working in the same office for 30 years.

In the public mind, it is these people who represent the listless civil servant showing up late for work because he runs a burger stall at night, and allows the stacks of application forms to pile up on his desk. But what is seldom recognised is that these are also the people who were passed over and over again for pay rise and promotion by senior officers, who are intent on rewarding those whom they liked.

"It is a welfare issue between the worker and the employer. If a worker does not get enough from his primary job, he may have to go out and find a supplementary income.

"The worker's welfare is determined by the senior officer because the person who decides whether an employee gets an increment is this officer," said Omar. It is discouraging when senior officers neglect to hold the intra-departmental council meetings (majlis bersama jabatan) with their staff. Everything, from overtime schedules to training courses and disciplinary problems is meant to be discussed at the meetings, which were supposed to be held four times a year.

The MBJ is compulsory, yet there are senior officers getting away with not holding them at all. The problem, Omar said, is the absence of supervision on the performance of senior officers, unlike for union members who are assessed by their superiors. It can even be argued that ministers and deputy ministers are also assessed by an independent entity -- the voters -- who judge them every five years in a general election.

"So when it comes to KPIs for these senior officers, the congress is urging the prime minister to include officer-subordinate relations as a component to ensure that they foster good working relationships with their staff, and that they hold the MBJs and act on their recommendations," said Omar.

"Most importantly, action must be taken against senior officers who fail in these areas."

KPI is S.I.M.P.L.E

2009-04-26T11:56:00.001+08:00

No organization can prosper without having the right people in place doing the right things at the right time. However, in today's fast-paced business world, more and more employees are expected to perform a variety of tasks, wear many different hats, and think outside the box. As a result, the lines of responsibility and accountability have become blurred.

Managers and business leaders often assume employees know what is expected of them. They are then surprised when the work doesn't get done as planned; fingers are pointed and blame is placed (often misplaced).

As a manager or business leader, it's your responsibility to set your employees up for success. You need to define your expectations and then hold your employees accountable for those results. But how do you do this?

Actually, it's simple. Follow these six SIMPLE steps with your employees and start to realize the results you've always wanted.

S=Set Expectations

The success of any organization comes down to one thing: how well it organizes its members to focus on and work toward the same purpose. Your employees need to know what is expected of them before you can hold them accountable for anything. You can't assume they know what is supposed to be done, when, and to what quality level. The more clearly you set expectations and goals up front, the less time you will waste later clarifying - or worse, arguing about - what was really expected.

I=Invite Commitment

Just because your employees know what to do doesn't mean they will do it. After goals and expectations are set, employees need to commit to achieving them. Employees are more likely to do this when they understand two things: how the goals will benefit them personally, and how the goals will help move the organization forward. Once this connection is made they are more likely to buy into the goals, and actually welcome you holding them accountable for the results.

M=Measure Progress

You need information to hold your employees accountable. You must measure their ongoing performance and gauge whether or not they meet the goals and expectations to which they had previously committed.

Goals are only measurable when they are quantified. Measure the results and compare them to your employees' goals to discover the gaps that require further attention.

P=Provide Feedback

Share the information you gather with your employees. Feedback won't solve problems by itself, but it will open the door for problem-solving discussions and follow-up actions. Your employees need feedback to do a good job and improve in areas where performance is falling short of expectations. Most of the time, giving objective, behavioral feedback is all it takes. Setting expectations followed by quality feedback is the backbone of holding someone accountable for results.

A note about the way in which you provide feedback:

True feedback is a gift. To be effective, the feedback you offer must come from a sincere desire on your part to help or support your employee, not to merely fixhim or her. If you can't come at it from this perspective, you may fail, no matter what words you choose or methods you use. Intent is more important than technique.

L=Link to Consequences

Sometimes employees need a little external motivation to live up to their commitments. When they struggle to reach their goals, you can help them by administering appropriate consequences. Do not confuse consequences with punishments. Punishments are those things inflicted on employees that make them pay for their shortcomings. They do not contribute to a solution. Consequences, however, will guide and focus employees' behavior and encourage them to take their commitments more seriously.

E=Evaluate Effectiveness

Once your employees have committed to the expectations you set and you have provided constructive feedback and support along the way, it is time to evaluate your results. Look at the quantifiable goals you set forth and determine if you were successful at holding your employees accountable for reaching those goals. Also, review how you handled the process. Find ways to be more effective at applying the principles of accountability and hold yourself accountable for holding others accountable.

Employee accountability is a big factor in business success. Sure you're busy, but don't make the mistake of hoping your employees will figure out what they should do on their own. Help them achieve success for themselves and for your business by setting expectations, inviting commitment, measuring progress, providing feedback, linking to consequences, and evaluating effectiveness.

Put a systematic and consistent method in place and you'll find that when people are held accountable for the work that must get done, it gets done – and then some!

Grading by KPI - A measure of Serving the people ?

2009-04-26T10:59:00.004+08:00

KEY performance indicators — does the civil service use them and have they helped? More importantly, will they ensure that we get a good and civil service? ANIZA DAMIS speaks to the civil service’s top man, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Sidek Hassan.

Tan Sri Sidek Hassan at his office in Putrajaya.

Q: Is the civil service cooperative of the leadership's directives?

A: Yes. How else do you think we are where we are? How did we manage to develop in terms of infrastructure which is "first world" and in terms of where we are now as a nation? Look at our neighbours: How do we fare, in relation to some of them? Even with the current economic situation, I think we are faring very well, relative to the world. How did we do it? Because the public service has responded to what the government wants us to do. We're not perfect, and we'll keep on harping on this issue of integrity, efficiency, customer-centric issues. But, I am unequivocal in saying that the civil service has been very responsive to the wishes of the government and the wishes of the people.

Q: So, the outcome of the 2008 general election is not a reflection on the civil service? Is it just a reflection of the government's political failures?

A: I don't know whether that was a "failure", but that's up to the electorate.

Q: And the decision of the electorate is not based on the performance of the civil service?

A: It is, in some ways. You cannot divorce the civil service from the government, as if we are entirely oblivious to what the government is doing.

Q: So, if the electorate says, "This government is lousy; it doesn't collect my rubbish", is that a reflection of the political party or the civil service?

A: That is the problem of each and every one of us. It is a very close symbiotic relationship.

Who collects the rubbish? It's the local authorities. Who runs the local authorities? Not all of this is the prime minister's job; some of them will be part of my job. So, if the prime minister were to ask me to do something and I don't, would you blame the PM for that? When I became the KSN (Ketua Setiausaha Negara or Chief Secretary), I tried to address major areas where we could carry out improvements in terms of public service delivery. It's okay now, but we can improve further. The role of the local authorities is quite simple in my mind. It is the SLR (sampah, longkang dan rumput -- rubbish, drains and grass). I'm a rakyat, too. Imagine if they don't collect my sampah, and they don't clean my longkang, and they don't cut my rumput. And then, the lampu (streetlight) near my road is missing, and the jalan (road) is a mess. But is that the problem of the prime minister or menteri besar? It's not.If it's in Kuala Lumpur , that's the problem of the mayor. But you cannot expect the mayor to make sure all the SLR is done. He expects his Number Two and Number Three to work. But, beyond the SLR, there are other things that the local authorities have got to do. For instance, if I want to build a house, I want to make sure that my plan is approved fast -- not like 20 years from now. Therefore, it's about addressing the core business. You blame the prime minister because he's the leader. But if you start blaming the prime minister, people should also start blaming themselves. Because, in some ways, you allow that to happen. If, for example, I see my longkang not being cleaned, why didn't I complain? I have allowed it to continue.

Q: So, people should complain if they are unhappy with the services provided?

A: Yes, of course. But they cannot at the same time always say: "This is the PM's and minister's fault." You can't. Secondly, when you have generated rubbish (when in public), do you put it in your pocket until you can throw it away in a proper place? Or do you throw it away carelessly?

I always see people throwing it around. It's not about the government; it's about us.

Q: Does the civil service have KPIs and what are they?

A: It depends on how you define "KPIs". In January, every one of us is evaluated on how we performed the previous year, through the LMPT (Laporan Penilaian Prestasi Tahunan -- annual performance assessment report). They are evaluated based on their SKT (Sasaran Kerja Tahunan -- annual work target). But if you talk about KPIs in the formal sense, then only the 38 people at the top of the civil service will be involved. That includes me, all the secretary-generals, the director-general of the Public Service Department, the Attorney-General, the Inspector-General of Police and the chief of the Armed Forces.

Q: Does what is expected of each individual vary between ministries?

A: Of course. It has to be unique to the person because each person's portfolio and responsibility is different.

Q: How do you assess them? Is it through exams?

A: The assessment for the purpose of evaluation (LMPT) is done at two levels: one is by your immediate supervising officer and his immediate supervising officer. They will judge whether you have fulfilled what you promised to do in your SKT. There will also be a judgment on your integrity, how well you relate to others, communication skills, etc. The other form of evaluation is for the purpose of promotion. Most people would go to Intan (Institut Tadbiran Awam Negara or National Institute of Public Administration), where they are evaluated on the course they took, the papers they wrote and class participation. There is also the facilitator's assessment and a peer assessment.

Q: How effective or realistic are these assessments?

A: I've been trying to convert many people to this "religion" of being objective and honest.

The grading is done in numerics, with "1" being the worst, and "10" the best. Out of 100 points, if you get 90 and above, that is melintang . If you get 80 to 89.9, that is menegak, and that's still very good. If you get below 79.9, that's not very good. Supervisors should be marking their people along those lines. But if you were to grade everyone at 95 per cent throughout, then either he or she is lucky to have so many good officials or there's something wrong with the marking. Therefore, how realistic it is depends on how these supervisors do it.

Q: Are there any ministries or departments that do this?

A: I think there are some, but more and more now, we are telling them the value of being honest.

Q: How effective is an assessment by your boss? For instance, if you're someone who always stands your ground for good reason, which may inconvenience your boss, how will that person be assessed?

A: I'd give very good marks. He or she would be promoted. The civil service is all about merit. In the civil service, that is the "religion" the prime minister is talking about, and it is also the "religion" the former prime minister espoused.

Q: What is the public service's role in promoting 1Malaysia?

A: Everything. The role of the civil service is about everything that the government wants to do.

It's very critical for all of us to appreciate the importance, the pivotal role that we, the 1.2 million civil servants, have. Imagine if the civil service didn't deliver? The two huge stimulus packages, or the budget, or any programme that the government has come up with would be affected. Therefore, it's a question of implementation; of carrying out the policies, projects and programmes of the government. The prime minister came up with the 1Malaysia concept but do you think the whole thing can move if the civil service doesn't move? Impossible.

Q: The prime minister has asked the cabinet to come up with KPIs for themselves. What are your KPIs?

A: Very simple - to improve public service delivery. What do you think of the public delivery service? Is it that when you complain about your drain, that I look into it? Is it when you complain your light is faulty, I come straight away?

A good public delivery service goes far beyond that -- it means that you don't have to complain. Why should you complain that your drain has not been cleaned, or your rubbish has not been collected, or your streetlight bulb has not been changed when it is expected that all this is supposed to work properly?

Even so, if, occasionally, you do have reason to complain, then the problem should be rectified immediately. We want to have such a good public delivery service that people have no reason to complain. And if they do have complaints, then it's going to be attended to very quickly. So, I suppose my KPIs are that the public service delivery should be what people want.

Q: And how were your KPI performance for 2008?

A: I didn't check the number.

Q: You're not bothered?

A: The KPIs now are a 360-degree model. They are moving around now and asking what my bosses think of me. They are asking my colleagues and secretaries-general what they think of me and how I perform. I'm not going to ask how I fared, but if you're talking about integrity, then, deep in my heart, I have been honestly trying to deliver on my promise. And that is the biggest KPIs anyone should have.

Q: You said there's this group of 38 very senior management people. How are they assessed?

A: The KPIs are assessed by their boss, their peers and by their subordinates -- it's 360 degrees.

Q: Should senior management have external assessors instead?

A: You can. But for the ministers, they also have a lot of external assessors. Every four or five years, they have the external assessors (meaning the electorate).

Q: Yes, that is the ultimate assessment for politicians. But should the top management in the civil service have external assessment?

A: But what would be the outcome?

Q: Perhaps it would be more neutral?

A: For what?

Q: For instance, if you have to work with a secretary-general, and you have to work together whether you like it or not. So, you're not going to give a bad assessment of this person, are you? Have you ever given a bad assessment of a brother senior manager?

A: How do you define "bad assessment"?

Q: Let's say if that person's not performing...

A: Do you think I've given everyone 100 per cent?

Q: What's the worst?

A: 46 per cent.

Q: What happened to that person?

A: I don't know where that person is now. Sometimes, people who are not performing are just taken out of their positions and put in the pool. And they stay there. What is the reason for having external assessors?

Q: To have a neutral force.

A: Who defines neutrality?

If a secretary-general is being assessed, he is assessed by the director-general of the Public Service Department and I am the counter-signee. Then, there'll also be assessments by his peers -- the other secretaries-general. Are you questioning the integrity of Sidek Hassan, the Chief Secretary of the Government? Do you doubt my integrity? You think it's better to trust someone out there instead?

Q: How much input do subordinates have on their bosses?

A: Now, not so much. Except for the 38 top people.

Q: What is the weightage of the assessment by the managed on the manager?

A: At the moment, not much.

Q: Would you say that that input is important?

A: That's why we are going for 360 degrees. We have done that for the 38. For the rest, hopefully, it will be applied within this one year or so. Right now, we are also working on the level below the 38 -- the deputy secretary-generals and deputy director-generals. This is where people have to take very seriously the evaluation. I am truthful to myself and take this very seriously. I've always made sure the assessments I made were photocopied. Then, the person being assessed puts down the marks he feels he deserves. When he comes to me with it, I look at the original assessment and we negotiate. But what is actually important is the mentoring. It's not about a once-a-year affair. It's about continuously improving. Many people think they should wait only once a year. Some use it to take their revenge on a subordinate. But this is not the right attitude. Human resource is the most important thing. I go to Intan and talk to new recruits, or soon-to-be promoted senior managers, telling them what my expectations are. I also speak to the bosses and tell them what to do -- the mentoring part. People always take the LMPT as the main indicator of improvement. But it shouldn't be. That is purely after you mentor them the whole year and try to improve them. Talk about public service delivery. Speak about efficiency, doing it now, so that your customer is happy. If you have done that, the LMPT is only to put the mark. But it should be a continuous process. And all of us must behave like that. It's very important.

Q: The PM, when he was talking about KPIs for his cabinet, mentioned loyalty. What is your idea of what loyalty is in the civil service?

A: Loyalty means 1Malaysia, "People First, Performance Now". It's about being loyal to what I'm supposed to do. Call it loyalty, integrity or whatever. Loyalty is doing what you're expected to do.

Q: And what are you expected to do? Service to nation?

A: Yes.

Q: If people are really unhappy with the civil service, they shouldn't give the prime minister the chop. They should just give civil servants the chop.

A: They should tell the prime minister and the prime minister will give the civil servant the chop.

I would give them the chop.

Q: So, if people do give the prime minister or any minister the chop, it's actually because of the lack of leadership?

A: Of course. Like the Americans say: "The buck stops here." So, of course the buck stops there! But you cannot be blaming the president of the United States for everything that goes wrong.

Q: What is the penalty if a civil servant doesn't perform?

A: Depends on what was agreed upon. We cannot sack a person at the drop of a pin. But there has to be some sort of penalty.

Q: Are civil servants too secure in the idea that they can't get sacked?

A: Even secretary-generals cannot be so sure. If everybody takes care of his own area of responsibility, then we'll live happily ever after. It might be conceptual, but it works. I believe in punishing people. The punishing part is something that not many of us like to do. But, if you know that you are responsible for meting out punishment and you have not done it, then action should be taken against you. And that is something that we are doing. For instance, why is it that sometimes people are "hanged"? And why do they hang them in public or chop off their heads in public? One reason is to get rid of the offending person. The other is to make sure there are no other intended offenders. And that, sometimes, is more important than getting rid of the offender.

from the NSTOnline 26/4/2009

The public will be the judge of govt’s performance finally

2009-04-26T08:13:00.004+08:00

from the NSTOnline 2009/04/18

THE NEW government administration taking over during a credit crunch and politically fraught times has the unenviable task of getting everything perfect from the word “Go.” What does the Najib government need to do to show the people that it is doing a good job of running the country?

ANIZA DAMIS speaks to Integrity Institute of Malaysia president Datuk Dr Mohd Tap Salleh on Integrity and Key Performance Indicators.

Q: We now have a new administration, what does this administration need to do to ensure its integrity?

A: Since even before he became prime minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been stressing on integrity.

I think this is a good start, and it shows commitment.

But we’ll have to wait and see.

The people have got two years to make the judgment. The time has come for politicians to realize that you cannot promise and not deliver. Because the playing field is slightly different from before. Before, they can make promises, but not deliver it in full; but now, it is not that possible any more.

The people are expecting so much from the promises, it needs to be delivered. If it is not delivered, then the people will speak.

But it’s not just simply the delivery of services as per normal public service delivery system.

The question here now is, the time has changed; the citizens have also changed. The citizens’ demands are also different. One person’s needs might be different from an other person’s needs, so it’s not a question of you just delivering a service which the government thinks should be delivered.

People are better informed now. The new administration cannot take things for granted.

Politicians cannot say, “You must be thankful to us, because we provide schools and clinics to you.”

If you are in the government, that is your function.

Last time, you could say, “You must be thankful; vote for us, because we provide you will schools and roads.”

But we cannot do that anymore.

Times have changed.

But, if you can provide better service, better schools, better roads, for the same cost, then you can tell people, “You must be thankful, because I am able to provide a better quality service.”

But you cannot simply say, “You have to vote for us, because you have to thank us for giving you schools.”

Whomever is elected to government, that’s their function. That’s what taxes are for.

Q: And the federal government has to provide, even for an opposition state, isn’t it?

A: Being in the government means you have to provide the service. You cannot say “You have to be thankful, because I have provided you with this and this.”

If another government is formed tomorrow, they will be doing the same thing.

But, you can demand whatever you want to demand, if you can provide a better service, that is cost-effective.

Q: It’s an open-tender system?

A: That’s right. This is something which whomever is a leader will have to understand.

The citizens’ demands are very simple: They want services which they need. It is not the services which we think they need.

To know their needs, we need to engage them.

Hopefully this will become the culture of delivering services.

These are the changes that need to be looked at by the administration.

So, the government’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) would need to take this into account. Before any drawing out of the KPIs, the people will have to be consulted.

Q: Politicians make campaign promises all the time. And they have absolutely no shame in never fulfilling them.

A: But these are not normal times. This is a new en vironment we are in. The prime minister has stressed on the fact that we need to change or be changed. This is his mantra at the moment.

The other thing the new administration stressed on was that it should be “people-centred, not self-centred”, and I thought this is something which they should realize.

The people have realized this a long time ago, and the next election may be another two or three years, and this would give the new administration ample time to deliver. And hopefully it will be delivered. By the sounds and statements that have come out from everybody, especially from the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, I’m very op timistic about this – that it’s going to be delivered to the people.

The government has consult the people. Consult means, not asking the citizens to develop policies, because the policies are already there; but, how to deliver the services, because, for so long, the government has delivered services that it thinks the citizen wants or needs. In the past few years, the public services around the world have changed, and you will notice that – we used to talk about, for example, “We need to consult the people.” It is no good to simply get people together in an auditorium and then ask them, “What are your problems?”, because first, you have to educate the people as to what they need to ask. One basic example is problems with strata titles; but, they need to be educated in terms of the building by-laws – and on their rights – what is it that they can get from the government, or developers.

So, the function of the government now is not simply to tell people, “If you have any problems, tell us; we’ll take action.” We can’t do that anymore. We need to educate our citizens. Not by sending them to universities, but to educate them on their rights, on the workings of the government.

My assumption is that when Najib asked for KPIs for all the ministers and ministries, he stressed not only on the min isters, but also on the ministries.

It’s basically these things: you have to deliver services, it’s got to be transparent, you’ve got to be accountable – you cannot simply make a decision “This is what we want to do.”

The KPIs, I presume, will have an indication as to whether the decision made is in the interest of the public, or specific groups. He said a few days ago that decisions should not be in the interest of specific groups or elite groups.

When you are making a decision, you have to ask yourself, “Is this going to benefit some people, or a lot of people?”

If it benefits the public, then, that’s a good decision. That’s a start. At least, when citizens ask, “Why do you give the project to A, B, and C?”, then you can account for it. And this is what the people want. The people don’t want to meddle with the government. I don’t think they want to develop policies; but once the policies or the regulations are there, to administer them, they must be consulted. And I think what the PM and DPM have stressed in this past week, at least in their actions, is to take people into account.

I’m very happy when he says that we should have less form and more substance. When you go down (to the ground), you don’t need all these fanfare.

I attended a forum on anti-corruption and integrity in South Africa a year ago. President Mbeki was in attendance, and a few other ministers. It was a very simple opening ceremony, attended by 1,000 – 2,000 delegates from 180 countries. The ceremony was very simple, and the salu tations was simple. The Public Service Minister said, “Pres ident Mbeki, president of South Africa, and all protocols observed.” Meaning, whomever is important, is considered important.

She had only this sentence just before her speech; rec ognizing the VIPs and all the delegates. And I thought that was the most beautiful introduction: she gave recognition to the president, and “all protocols observed.” I asked, “Is this how it is done in South Africa?” and they said yes.

I’ve worked in the UK for a few years, and it’s very simple there. I’ve been introduced to the Queen at dinners with diplomats. You just bow, and then she says, “Hello” and asks you a few questions. There’s no such things as an an nouncement of her arrival; they just ring a bell, and “the Queen has arrived.” That’s it.

This is something which we should learn.

To me, when Najib says “Go to the ground”, and he walked in Petaling Street, does a walkabout in Brickfields, I thought this was a good start. No fanfare, nothing.

Q: But all prime ministers do some kind of walkabout in the beginning, and then you never see them walking again…

A: He’s the sixth prime minister. So, hopefully the sixth prime minister, and onwards, will change.

To me, I’m very positive with this, because he also men tioned, if you remember in one of the interviews, “I cannot understand for the life of me, that photos of prime ministers and ministers are in the posters.”

To me, this is something that I have been very upset with myself.

The Tourism Ministry wanted to promote holiday spots throughout Malaysia, and they have photos of the prime minister and the ministers. Why do you have to sell yourself at the government’s expense?

Q: Maybe it’s for tourists who want to come to Malaysia just to meet our politicians?

A: When he says we should be simple, we should go straight to the people, I think this will hold true in the future. What he says about posters having the faces of the ministers, it’s not necessary. And in terms of integrity, it’s not right. Because you are advertising yourself. So, to me, when he mentioned this, I thought it was good.

This combines with the South African salutation, and the fact that he went on walkabouts, and he dropped in unan nounced at the Sikh celebration for Vasakhi, tossing chap patis.

Of course, that is what politicians do. Kissing babies and all that. But hopefully they’ll do it with less fanfare. I think this augurs well with the people. At least they are not special; they are ordinary people. And I saw the other day, the DPM in shortsleeves, just talking to people.

I’m an optimist, and I hope this will last.

There are occasions when of course we need to be very formal, that we cannot do without. But (cutting down) will save the government a lot of money.

Q: We are so protocol conscious. It’s impossible to have a meeting without half the budget being spent on the preparations.

A: This is what I think should change. Because the people have complained that you have all these expenses, and yet, the trickling down to the ordinary people is minimized because of these expenses.

If you have a programme, to get the flowers ready, to get everything ready, it costs a lot. And you need to engage an event management company just to handle this. Why do we need that? Having event managers to manage your pro grammes is a bit costly to be borne by the ministries; especially when the money should be given to projects proper themselves.

To me, that’s a good start, and I’m very happy that it is happening. Because the public service, the government has got to change. Everybody talks about this, and he (the PM) talks about this.

ON KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Q: The prime minister has said for the Cabinet KPI, there are four indicators: Integrity, Capability, Loyalty, and Dedication. How do you measure any of these?

A: For Integrity, you can measure it through the level of complaints that you receive, or the reports made against you on corruption. It’s not difficult.

With Capability, if you are supposed to complete three schools this year, why is it only half-completed? You’re not capable of managing or allocating resources?

I don’t think measuring these is difficult.

Q: And Loyalty?

A: Probably if you don’t vote against the government, that’s loyalty, isn’t it? (laughs)

Q: To whom should this loyalty be?

A: To the government in power – whomever is holding on to the government.

But this loyalty must be taken into account with integrity. If something is against the good of the citizen, then a person is not bound to be loyal to that kind of decision.

So, when you say you are loyal to the government in power, it should be conditional on the fact that it is not against the rules, the regulations, and not against the people.

Q: This KPI will determine whether a person is going to be promoted, or whether that person is deemed to have to performed or not. Is loyalty something that you even need?

A: We have not seen the finer print yet. We are just speculating on what the terms for loyalty are here.

There are already set procedures and laws governing a government servant and ministers. As long as you do not go against that, that would be integrity. If you know for a fact that you are going to move people because some of your cronies are going to get a project there, that, to me, is not very loyal to the citizens.

Q: Is loyalty even a value that’s needed in a service? At the end of the day, the customer only wants you to do your work.

A: You are working for the government that has been voted in by the people. If you are in Perak, then you are loyal to the state of Perak. If you are Kuala Lumpur, then you are loyal to the government that has been put in by the people.

Q: ‘Loyalty’ suggests that you must not only do your work, but that you must also love the people that you work for.

A: Not ‘love’ in that sense; but to me, you are there being paid for by the public. And the public has put a government in power. So, you as a public servant, should be loyal to the government in power, because the public has put that government in power.

The moment you are not able to do that, that means the trust of the people that put the government there is not there. What’s to stop you from leaving, if you basically do not agree with what they are doing? It is not a question of loving the citizen, but the citizens put the government there, and the government employs you; so, you’re supposed to work for the government.

Q: If you do your work honestly, do you need loyalty? Are we mistaking this demand for loyalty for the requirement not to shirk responsibility?

A: We do not know the finer prints of this ‘loyalty’ that they talk about. But to me, it’s about being loyal to the government in power. Maybe your leaning is towards a different political party, but you cannot compromise your position; you cannot be disloyal to the government in power, even though you do not agree.

Q: The fourth indicator is Dedication. How do you measure that?

A: It’s subjective; but if you have people working with you, you can pick some people with extra dedication. If something needs to be done, they will go the extra mile to do it.

Let’s say take your colleagues: you know that some people will go the extra mile just to get the right story with the facts and everything; but there are others who will just flip through, and that’s it. 9-to-5, and that’s it. There are others who would go beyond that, and that is dedication.

If I’m the prime minister, I would know which ministers perform well. If the ministry is performing very well, then, to me, that’s dedication. It’s subjective, but you can make that judgement. It’s not difficult.

Q: The first KPI report is supposed to come out in November. If someone is found to be not performing, what action should be taken?

A: I presume there would be a cabinet reshuffle. Wouldn’t that be what should happen?

Of course, before that happens, as a good manager, the prime minister would counsel the minister.

Maybe the performance of the ministry is not due to the minister, but due to the others. So, it’s not fair just to sack a person just like that. It has to be looked at as to whether the minister is at fault for not giving directions, or the fault of the public servants who don’t do the job.

There will be difficulties. For example, if I’m the Education Minister and one of the KPIs is me to build 20 schools in a year. But I do not build the schools, because the schools are built by the Works Ministry. So, how do we judge the performance of the Education Minister, vis-à-vis the con struction of the schools?

Should it be the Works Minister, or the Works Ministry that would be judged, in terms of competency and efficiency? Tis is an area that has to be looked at when they draw up the KPIs. It’s not simply about having a target and meeting it; sometimes there are inter-ministerial programmes and in volvement.

It’s not just a straightforward thing. They have to develop a mechanism to make the judgements or to make sure it is fair on the ministers.

But at the end of the day, if they are not performing, then there would be a cabinet reshuffle, which has been done before.

Q: Should this report card be made public?

A: What is the purpose of it being made public?

Q: To name and shame.

A: Now, even without KPIs, a minister that does not perform in a ministry has been brought to task by the public and the media anyway.

Q: By having a KPI that’s made public, you acknowledge that this is how you’ve performed. If you’ve performed well, you acknowledge it; and if you haven’t performed well, you acknowledge that, too.

A: If Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak wants to be an open administration, it can be made public.

Q: Should it be made public?

A: I don’t think so. I’m probably a traditionalist. If I have a disagreement with my manager, I wouldn’t want the whole world to know. It should be an internal issue to correct that. The powers of the prime minister is that he can change the cabinet members anytime he wants. So, basically, name-and- shame would not solve the problem.

Q: What happens if the prime minister doesn’t perform well? What if his KPI is low?

A: The people will speak.

Q: Who’s to know?

A: The whole country will know! How can he hide it, if he’s not performing?

Q: If his cabinet colleagues don’t perform well, he can reshuffle cabinet. But which prime minister will actually say, “I am going to reshuffle myself out of this cabinet.”?

A: Ultimately, the people will make the decision; he cannot hide behind the desk, even though he is the prime minister.

The whole government will be judged by the people. The failure of the prime minister to take action against, or to improve, any ministry’s delivery services will fall on him at the end of the day.

Q: The thing about the KPI is not about the people making the government accountable; it is about the government being proactive in being accountable for itself. If we wanted to wait for the people to decide, it would only be once every five years. This is about making sure that corrections that need to be made now are made now.

A: The prime minister will make corrections to make sure that he is seen to be performing.

The judgement as to whether a prime minister is per forming well or not is the sum total of all the ministers’ performance. So, for him to say, “I’ve done a good job”, he needs to make sure the ministers are performing or keeping to their KPIs. The solution is not to kick them out and put in somebody else.

At the end of the day, if they don’t perform, the prime minister will be judged to not be performing. He doesn’t have to say, “Somebody is going to judge me,” because whatever he does or is not going to do to all the ministers and the ministries, the delivery of service to the people is the sum total of his performance.

That, in itself, is his KPI – whether he’s able to keep in check the performance of the 27 cabinet members.

The prime minister’s KPI is that all the ministers and ministries deliver all the programmes that have been promised to the citizens.

He doesn’t need another body or commission looking at his KPI. But, if he doesn’t make sure that the 27 ministers perform, then, his KPI is kaput.

And of course, he cannot kick himself out. But for politi cians, the judgement day will be every five years.

Even if he doesn’t hold any portfolio, his KPI is every six months, when he reviews. If there are any weaknesses in any of the ministries or ministers, then he has got to correct it. Because that will be seen as his weakness.

Q: So, if he sees a problem and doesn’t do anything about it, that is also under-performing?

A: Exactly. This is one area I thought the new administration must look at, in terms of enforcing laws and regulations that we have. We have enough laws as it is for everything. But it is a question of the government enforcing it; whether it is traffic fines or corporate fraud, if the government is able to enforce all the laws that we have, I think the people would be very happy.

Look at the discussions in the media these past few days, in terms of taxi and tour bus licensing. Some say they do not have the power, and that the power is resting with another authority.

To the normal citizens, they are not interested as to where the power lies. To them, what matters is the power of enforcement; of making sure laws are being observed, that the taxi drivers behave as they should. They’re not interested in whether the authority is with the CVLB (Commercial Vehocle Licensing Board) or the Transport Ministry. If the laws are not enforceable, then it’s the government that’s to be taken to task.

This is something that the current administration will have to decide on. We have the laws, so we have to do it (enforce them).

The prime minister’s responsibility is that: If we have certain regulations, so we enforce them. If we have any shortcomings in the ministry, he has got to counsel and make sure that this will not happen or take longer for them to correct themselves.

And of course, he is being helped by the head of the public service, because at the end of the day, the performance of the ministry is also the performance of the public servant within the ministry. Everybody has got to play their part.

Any inability to enforce or make sure that all these KPIs are adhered to or being followed strictly will reflect on the prime minister’s performance. He knows that.

ON THE 1MALAYSIA CONCEPT:

Q: To a certain extent, society is becoming racially-polarised. So, for instance, on some issues, you get someone saying, “This is a Malay issue; don’t get involved.” Someone says, “This is an Indian issue,” and you don’t get involved. So, in the end, you don’t get involved in anything.

A: This is another statement made by Najib at a press conference after the first cabinet meeting: he said, if you see a road accident victim, why should we talk about he’s a Chinese, Indian, Malay? – He’s a Malaysian!

Malaysians can identify themselves when overseas. I’m very happy when he says about this 1Malaysia concept – that we should not be thinking about our race.

If somebody knocks you down, you should get angry with that person, not with him being Malay or Chinese or Indian.

This is something which we have to protect. In Sierra Leone, you see neighbours chopping the hands of the neigh bour’s children because they come from another tribe – although they look the same physically.

I’ve seen this in Uganda. But Sierra Leone makes you think about human beings. When the rebels come to the village, they will ask the children, “You want long sleeve or short sleeve?”

Short sleeve is when you chop (off the hand) at the elbow. Long sleeve is when you chop at the wrist.

Sure enough, when I went to this compound, you see children with short and long arms.

We do not want that to happen here. We have experienced May 13, 1969. we shouldn’t be going through that.

I was a student in Monash in May 1969. When it happened, we saw it broadcast over Australian tv – such horrific pictures of the riots. You don’t want to go through that, and I’ve seen this in Africa.

So, what Najib said on Wednesday was very good. It needs to be done.

If we start thinking of all problems in terms of race, then the future for us will not be good.

We need to change.

Q: In the way that people are trying to define 1Malaysia, we are already divided. There are some people who say that 1Malaysia means a Malaysian Malaysia, and then there are people who say that Malay rights will still be protected. And then you have a newspaper frontpage headline which screams “Bangkitlah Melayu” (Arise Malays).

A: That is why the statement by the prime minister a few days ago is critical for us to really understand, when he says that, when you talk about this so-called affirmative action, it will be there for the poor – there will still be affirmative action; that will not be erased.

But what he is saying is that, there are poor Malays, poor Chinese, and poor Indians. So, these will be helped accordingly.

What he is saying is that, it is not for us to deny that we are Malay or Chinese or Indian, but we need to look at issues not in terms of a Chinese issue, Malay issue or Indian issue; it’s a Malaysian issue. That is why Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui says that if we cannot accept this 1Malaysia concept now, then, where are we heading?

To me, we have to make a stand that this is what we want to do. Otherwise, there are so many countries that have shown that this (racialism) is not going to be helpful for our future. We have seen countries like Burundi, Uganda – these are things that we have seen on tv. This is the real world. So, if we do not still change in terms of how we see things, then, this is where we are heading.

Q: All this talk is the sort of stuff that you want national leaders to talk about. Not only to talk about, but also to act on. But is it possible for these national leaders to fulfill it, given that they are also political leaders who are dependent on votes?

A: They have to change. This is what the prime minister said – we have to change how we see things. And I presume he will be talking in the cabinet and stressing these issues.

Q: But do these politicians have enough integrity to say, “I am going to push this through, regardless of how I think the voters are going to react.”?

A: They have to ask themselves: What kind of Malaysia do they want for their children?

Do they want a kind of Malaysia like countries that have suffered from racism or tribalism? We have seen, almost every day, on tv, where problems such as these are not strategically or seriously addressed – with neighbours cut ting each other’s throat. This is happening in other parts of the world.

If politicians are only interested in their own political future, which is a short-term game because you want popularity by playing the racial line, then, there’s not much hope for the future.

This is something which the politicians have got to answer themselves: Do you want to play along racial lines, or do you want to play Malaysian lines?

We can only hope that they make the right choice. And I think the prime minister has shown the way. He has stressed on this, and these are issues we have to seriously talk about.

On Wednesday, a newspaper frontpaged a story that went against what the prime minister is talking about.

We have to seriously think about this.

Q: Do you think that this country has enough leaders, whether in government or opposition, who have enough love and sincerity, to actually push this one Malaysia concept together?

A: I only hope that they will do that.

I can’t say whether they will be doing it seriously as a group, or 100 per cent, but hopefully, the majority will buy it.

Irrespective of the fact that it is coming from the prime minister and Barisan Nasional, this is an issue that is already on the table.

We need to be seriously praying that our political leaders will accept this across the political divide. It does not matter which political party or political beliefs, this is something in which we have to be united on.

This is something which, for the past 10 years or so, you see that the issue is getting more serious, and the demands by different groups is getting worse and worse. If it is not addressed seriously, then we will be in for a rough time.

A lot of people say there are various ways (to achieve 1Malaysia), but the government has not come up with a blueprint for that yet.

Hopefully we’ll see it soon.

The fact that they have a minister in charge of integration, hopefully the minister will come up with something concrete that everybody can accept.

The basic principles need to be agreed upon by people across the coalition.

I think this is critical. We are becoming so polarized now.

I look at my son, and he has evenly racially-balanced friends. They come to the house, go for holidays together.

But I also see my neighbours who do not behave this way.

anizad@nstp.com.my

Are our civil servants less than civil?

2009-01-01T16:58:00.003+08:00

Malaysia’s public delivery system has seen some degree of improvement, over the past few years, thanks to the efforts of the Abdullah administration. However, the Public Complaints Bureau has in recent months seen complaints against government frontliners piling up. once again. NURRIS ISHAK finds out where are civil servants going wrong

Immigration officer Nor Azura Wahyu attending to a family applying for passports. Those in the public service sector should be proactive in dealing with the public.

THOSE who grew up in the 1980s would remember an advertisement by Filem Negara Malaysia on government department frontliners.

The advertisement featured a man waiting in line early in the morning to buy stamps at the post office. The problem was he had no small change and ended up being berated by the clerk behind the counter.

Have things changed since?

Over the years, there have been many directives from ministers and chief secretaries to the government directing civil servants to be more courteous and efficient.

Admittedly, some things are much easier. Renewing your passport, for example, is only a matter of hours instead of days. And gone are the days when getting your identity card would mean waiting for a few months. Now you can get it between 10 and 14 days.

These changes are the result of the push by the administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to improve the public delivery system in the country.

Recently, though, frontline officers in government agencies have come under fire again.

Statistics from the Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) shows that the number of complaints against government departments and agencies has more than doubled in the past three years. The complaints range from delays or failure to take action, unsatisfactory quality of service, failure of enforcement, unfair action and failure to adhere to procedures to abuse of power and misconduct. For the past three years, police recorded the highest number of public complaints received by the bureau, followed by the Public Works Department and government-linked Tenaga Nasional Bhd.

When it comes to states, the most number of complaints in 2006 and last year were against the Selangor government, followed by Johor. However, Johor tops the list of complaints for the period from January to October this year.

Last week, Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan said the rise in the number of complaints should be translated as "the public's response" on how to improve it. He said the more complaints received, the better it was, because it would help the civil service to see where it was going wrong. Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Ismail Adam thrust the much-maligned service into the limelight recently when he said the quality of service among civil servants was on the decline. Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Senator T. Murugiah said the Public Service Department should hire quality people to work for the government. "They should not be taking in their friends or family friends or family members into the service. They must look for quality, not quantity, when recruiting those who want to join the government sector. "They have to look for those who are academically qualified and disciplined." Those in the public service sector should also be proactive in dealing with the public and not wait around for the people to call on them before taking action, he said.

"Even then, one of the most common complaints is that the officers in government departments don't answer phone calls. As public servants, they should be serving the public. "They should go to the ground and meet with people. Most importantly, they should like their jobs. "They should realise that they are collecting their salary from the government so they have to perform their duties well, they are obliged to serve the public." The problem does not lie with the leaders, said Murugiah. Most times, the department or agency leaders are good, but their subordinates fail to follow instructions for whatever reason. "This is where the problem lies. The order would come from the upper levels, but either it is ignored or executed halfheartedly. "Some ministries have complained about me, saying that I am interfering in their affairs but I'm only trying to assist them in rectifying the matters." He said many people had complained that despite having written formal letters, making calls and having spoken with the officers in charge, no action was taken on their complaints. Thus they have no choice but to go to the Public Complaints Bureau. "The problem is when a ministry or a department has to be represented during the mediation process, they would send officers who don't have the authority to make the decisions. These officers will excuse themselves by saying they have to refer the matter to their higher-ups as they are not the decision makers. "The problem would then remain unresolved or matters have to be postponed for them to get the approval from their bosses. "I've tried to explain to all the ministries that when there is a meeting with the PCB, they should send someone who can make decisions. "It's hard to do my duty. We give the instructions but they don't follow. The leaders want to do their job well. But when the instruction is given, the officers don't want to follow, so the files move very slowly." The PCB has 270 officers specialising in different areas, and all are well-trained to assist complainants. "My office is open to the public every Tuesday, from 10am till late at night so that they can come in and lodge their complaints directly to me. "I have engaged three other officers to assist me, as sometimes we would get between 200 and 300 people coming to lodge complaints." The director-general of PCB, Dr Tam Weng Wah, said the government had been trying to ensure that the public delivery system was working well, finding out what was lacking and resolving problems. "The PCB monitors all departments and agencies, and some may be more difficult to deal with than others, sometimes because of the bureaucracies. "But if we were to compare the number of complaints against the size of the population, it is quite low. "The delivery system has improved by leaps and bounds in certain cases. As the technology changes, we can still improve it further."

By Nurris Ishak;NST Online 27/12/2008

CUEPACS kesal persaraan awal Pengarah Penguat Kuasa Imigresen

2008-12-21T17:03:00.000+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR 11 Dis. — Kongres Kesatuan Pekerja-Pekerja Dalam Perkhidmatan Awam (Cuepacs) hari ini melahirkan rasa kesal terhadap persaraan awal Pengarah Penguat Kuasa Jabatan Imigresen, Datuk Ishak Mohamed.

Ishak, yang berusia 55 tahun pada 4 Januari ini telah memilih persaraan awal “atas dasar prinsip” dan dikatakan ditukar ke Kementerian Perdagangan Dalam Negeri dan Hal Ehwal Pengguna pada 1 Disember lepas.

Presiden Cuepacs, Omar Osman memberitahu Bernama bahawa kesatuan itu akan membangkitkan perkara itu dengan Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) esok.

Katanya adalah menjadi malang bahawa pegawai berdedikasi dan cekap bersara awal kerana Ishak “menjalankan tugas dengan baik” dalam membendung kemasukan pendatang asing tanpa izin ke negara ini.

Sejak memegang jawatan itu sejak empat tahun lepas, Ishak bertanggungjawab memperkenalkan sistem penggunaan biometrik bagi mengesan kesahihan kad pengenalan diri, pasport dan dokumen perjalanan pendatang asing di negara ini. - Bernama

'Saya mahu tidur sepuas-puasnya'

2008-12-13T11:28:00.001+08:00

PUTRAJAYA 12 Dis. - "Saya mahu tidur sepuas-puasnya," kata Pengarah Penguat Kuasa Imigresen, Datuk Ishak Mohamed yang akan bercuti selama dua minggu mulai esok sebelum memulakan persaraan awal berkuat kuasa 3 Januari ini.
Ishak yang lebih dikenali sebagai Pak Sako di kalangan wartawan berkata, beliau hanya akan berehat di Perak dan membantu isterinya berniaga di negeri itu.
katanya, beliau tidak akan membawa ahli keluarga untuk melancong ke luar negara kerana kekurangan wang untuk berbuat demikian.
"Pertama sekali dalam tempoh dua minggu ini saya hendak tidur sebab saya memang kekurangan tidur sejak menjadi Pengarah Penguat Kuasa Imigresen lima tahun lepas.
"Anda cuba bayangkan, hari ini pasukan Helang Hitam (dari Imigresen) mahu lakukan serbuan, esok pasukan Pemburu dan lusa giliran polis. Saya kena menyertai semua operasi sehingga saya kekurangan tidur," katanya pada sidang akhbar di sini hari ini.
Ishak sebelum ini dilaporkan memilih untuk bersara awal kerana tidak mahu berpindah ke jabatan kerajaan lain.
Ditanya kemungkinan kerajaan akan menolak permohonannya untuk bersara awal, Ishak berkata, beliau hanya akan membuat perancangan selanjutnya selepas kerajaan membuat keputusan mengenai statusnya.
"Bagilah saya tidur dahulu (cuti) dan lepas saya jaga (dari tidur) nanti, saya tengok keadaan macam mana," katanya.
Ditanya kemungkinan beliau akan berubah fikiran mengenai keputusannya untuk bersara awal, Ishak berkata, beliau tidak ingin bertukar ke jabatan kerajaan lain selain daripada Imigresen.
"Kalau saya tidak bersara, saya kena tukar ke jabatan lain dan saya akan kehilangan semangat untuk berkhidmat.
"Saya akan berkhidmat di jabatan baru dengan jiwa 50 peratus sahaja, lebih baik saya bersara daripada membazir duit kerajaan," katanya.
Dalam pada itu, beliau juga tidak lupa mengucapkan terima kasih kepada media massa yang membuat laporan mengenai Imigresen.
"Sumbangan wartawan dalam membantu meningkatkan imej Imigresen akan saya simpan dalam hati dan tidak akan lupa," katanya.

By How much ? Who's talking.

2008-12-11T16:01:00.003+08:00

Published: Thursday December 11, 2008 MYT 1:28:00 PM

Civil service heads told to cut costs, up efficiency

By SIM LEOI LEOI; thestar online.

PUTRAJAYA: Heads of government departments and agencies have been reminded against spending more to “improve” the level of their service to the people. Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan said on the contrary, measures to enhance public service delivery were supposed to help the administration save money. He said currently, many Government agencies often went about creating new posts, promoting existing staff or give other allowances as a way of promoting productivity and efficiency. “If these measures are effective, the agencies should be helping the Government save money and we don’t have to spend. “For instance, measures to enhance service can simply mean doing away with unnecessary forms or cutting down the number of staff processing certain applications and reassigning them to other tasks,” he said in his speech at the launch of the Prime Minister’s Department Quality Day on Thursday. “The effort taken by a staff to speed up a process does not need extra money. Similarly, we don’t have to spend to handle queries at our counters with a smile or in a polite manner. “As civil servants, we should carry out our duties immediately and with a sense of urgency,” he pointed out. Mohd Sidek said similarly, the implementation of extra activities or a programme by an agency following a Government directive did not have to involve additional allocation or too huge a sum. Agencies and departments, he added, had to also think “outside the box” and be prepared to be self-criticised in their quest to further enhance their service. “During this global economic crisis, higher productivity and efficiency become more important in drawing foreign investors,” he said, adding that both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister had indicated their general satisfaction with the level of public service.

On the Government’s offer of quarters to civil servants affected by the Bukit Antarabangsa landslide, Mohd Sidek said so far, 11 people had indicated their interest. “Out of this 11, five of them have taken their keys. They will be placed at the quarters in Precinct 14. Although they are not entitled to the quarters, this is a special case,” he said.

On the report that Immigration enforcement director Datuk Ishak Mohamed opted for early retirement after he refused to take up a transfer to the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry, Mohd Sidek said he was not aware if the former had been “forced” to do so by those in charge.

I respect you, my brother !!!

2008-12-11T15:37:00.002+08:00

Pak Sako bersara awal?

Oleh HAMDEN RAMLI

Datuk Ishak Mohamed

PUTRAJAYA 10 Dis. - Lazimnya tingkat empat bangunan Imigresen di Presint Dua di sini yang menempatkan Bahagian Penguatkuasanya tidak lekang daripada dikunjungi orang ramai, termasuk para wartawan.

Jika orang ramai berurusan kerana pasport, para wartawan pula hadir kerana menanti berita-berita daripada Pengarahnya, Datuk Ishak Mohamed yang tidak jemu untuk melayan kerenah wartawan dalam mendapatkan berita.Kebiasaannya hampir setiap minggu Ishak yang lebih mesra dipanggil Pak Sako kerana namanya sama seperti pejuang kemerdekaan dan bekas wartawan Utusan Melayu, Ishak Haji Muhammad, mengadakan sidang akhbar memaklumkan kejayaan anak-anak buahnya membanteras penyalahgunaan pasport dan pas-pas kerja oleh warga asing.

Bagaimanapun sejak dua minggu lalu, tingkat empat Jabatan Imigresen itu kelihatan 'sunyi' kepada wartawan, sekali gus menimbulkan pelbagai persoalan termasuk mengatakan Pak Sako sakit.''Tidak, dia baik, sihat tetapi sedang bersiap untuk pergi," kata seorang kenalan rapat beliau ringkas kepada Utusan Malaysia, tanpa mahu menjelaskan maksud 'pergi' itu.

Bagaimanapun selepas diselidiki, Utusan Malaysia difahamkan Pak Sako akan meninggalkan kerjaya yang telah diceburinya lebih 25 tahun lalu kerana memilih untuk bersara awal. Tindakan Pak Sako memilih untuk bersara awal jelas menimbulkan persoalan besar kerana berdasarkan keadaan semasa, tidak ada sebab untuk beliau memilih bersara awal.

Melihat kepada semangat yang ditunjukkan dalam mengemudikan bahagian penguat kuasa itu tidak ada tanda-tanda menunjukkan beliau sudah mahu mengangkat tangan ataupun semangatnya telah pun surut.Dan jika melihat kepada prestasinya, tidak keterlaluan dikatakan bekas Pengarah Imigresen Perak itu telah menjalankan tugas dengan baik sejak menjawat jawatan itu empat tahun lalu. Tidak kira siang dan malam, beliau akan turun padang bersama anak-anak buahnya menyerbu lokasi-lokasi tertentu bagi mengurangkan masalah pendatang tanpa izin di negara ini.

Malah ketika jabatan itu 'panas' kerana diserbu Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR) tidak berapa lama dahulu, nama Pak Sako juga disebut-sebut bakal diserkup BPR kerana kedudukan jawatan beliau yang mudah terdedah kepada amalan yang menyalahi undang-undang itu. Namun ia hanya spekulasi semata-mata dan Pak Sako terus mengemudi bahagian penguat kuasa sehingga hari ini. Sehingga kini usaha untuk mendapatkan reaksi Pak Sako mengenai keputusannya bersara awal masih menemui jalan buntu.''Keputusan itu dibuat kerana beliau sayang kepada jabatan ini. Beliau rela bersara awal daripada ditukarkan ke jawatan lain di kementerian lain yang jelas berbeza dengan kerja beliau selama ini," kata seorang lagi kenalan rapat Pak Sako kepada Utusan Malaysia.Menurutnya, ketika ini di tingkat empat sibuk mengadakan persiapan majlis perpisahan Pak Sako pada Jumaat ini, meskipun Pak Sako telah meminta supaya tidak diadakan majlis seumpama itu.

Jangan sebab Nyamuk Kelambu dibakar

2008-11-15T08:30:00.006+08:00

Nyamuk sejenis makluk perosak yang tidak disukai manusia sering membawa penyakit penyakit vektor yang payah diubati dan kadangkala membawa padah hingga maut dibuatnya. Penyakit penyakit yang sering disebut dan sinonim dengan nyamuk ini adalah malaria, elephantiasis, denggi dan chikungunye. Seringkali, perhatian utama terpaksa diberikan agar aku mesti menjauhi dari ancaman nyamuk ini. Sikit saja gigitannya akan membuatkan keresahan, rasa marah yang membara dan tindakan membunuhnya mesti dilakukan segera kalau tidak dia akan mengancam lagi dan akhirnya membuat hidup aku langsung tidak bermaana. Nyamuk ini jelas sejenis serangga yang licik dan menampakkan tabiat nya sebagai binatang yang tidak disukai manusia. Tapi ianya kejadian makluk ciptaan tuhan yang hidup bebas mengikut azali ianya dijadikan. Walaupun aku tak suka namun hakikatnya aku tiada pilihan dan tempuh saja lah kerana sebagai manusia biasa, aku lemah tak berkuasa melawan kehendak illahi. Walaupun tuhan maha kaya, apa saja kehendak aku untuk melenyapkan serangga ini, walaupun dengan doa tidak mungkin ianya lenyap dimuka bumi kepunyaan tuhan ini.

Bertambah malang adanya manusia yang tabiatnya macam NYAMUK, tanpa ia sedari, banyak menggigit mangsanya dan macam nyamuk betul adalah amat licik, menghisap darah kawan taulan dan bertindak tanpa dia sedari. Kalau ianya memimpin sesuatu organisasi maka awaslah ...tak tau apalah nak diceritakan disini. Aku terkena lagi gigitan NYAMUK ini didalam bilek mesyuarat semasa QTime...dibelakang aku tanpa kerelaan, tanpa merujuk keputusan minggu lepas, tanpa persetujuan diperolehi NYAMUK ini mengenakan aku lagi, tak serik serik aku juga nak digigitnya, tak mau dia gigit diri dia sendiri dengan alasan kurang bijak, siapa tak marah dan melenting dek bisa digigitnya...kalau sekali tak apa dah 3 kali, Gigitan Pertama, Gigitan kedua dan Gigitan Ketiga yang aku tak perlu cerita dan menjadikan Sejarah hidup aku, ingatan sakit yang tidak mudah aku lupai hingga akhir hayat aku, Nyamuk ini cari peluang menggigit kalau tidak ia meracau dan mencoccok cocok ketelingga bos atau orang atasan dengan "Ngennng.. Ngenggg.. Ngeengg' sehingga bos aku jadi pendendam keatas aku, sampai ketahap bos aku menghalau aku keluar dari bilek pejabat... tau je lah hari itu hari dimana lapuran penilaian prestasi kena disiapkan oleh bos untuk aku... Diantara perkara perkara yang tidak akan aku lupa keakhir hayat ku dan akan disebut oleh anak cuccu ku ...ini lah bahawa bisanya gigitan NYAMUK sehingga peluang naik pangkat pun hilang kerana prestasi kurang baik seumur hidup macam kena lumpuh gigitan nyamuk yang berbisa.

Bos yang menilai aku tu pun seorang yang rapat, amat aku kenal semasa di UiTM dan AIT sehinggalah beliau pi Birmingham dan aku pernah singgah disana berhari raya dirumahnya. Tak mungkin atas dasar itu beliau menghukum aku begitu kejam kalau tidak disebabkan NYAMUK tadi...aku tetap sanjung dia dan mendoakan kejayaaan beliau walaupun pena dia merekodkan prestasi buruk kepada aku.

Salah seorang rakan sekelas aku dulu telah cuba meredakan keadaan idalam sessi petang jumaat 14 november; QTime semalam dan menasihati dengan ungkapan dan amaran tajam kepada aku kerana bersikap marah dan tidak menghormati 'seniors as leaders'. Aku akur aku tidak seperti dia dah naik pangkat, aku syukur kerana beliau bernasib baik dan aku perlu 'respect' dia pasal dulu pun dia juga menghantar mempelai pengantin semasa aku kahwin dulu. Aku rasa beliau mahu di hormati sebagai orang atasan sekarang sewajarnya dengan taraf yang dinikmati beliau ...tapi ...............

"As leaders... Respect is earned and not demanded".

Beginilah bercelarunya keadaan apabila adanya NYAMUK membiak didalam organisasi dan menganggu ketenteraman orang yang keciwa seperti aku ini.

Disebabkan ini aku marah dan marah yang sepatutnya, kerana....

" The world needs anger. The world often continues to allow evil because it isn't angry enough. "

Bede Jarrett

"It is better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life. "
Elizabeth Kenny

Ignore integrity at your peril

2008-11-09T18:05:00.002+08:00

Raja Dr Nazrin Shah

HOW often do you hear a top leader say "integrity applies to me, too"?

Until Thursday night, I'd never heard it said in this country.

The executive dinner talk to observe National Integrity Day was a precursor to the National Integrity Convention held in Kuching, Sarawak. The hotel ballroom was filled with some 350 leaders, politicians and civil servants.

"Seminar integriti, seminar integriti, seminar integriti!" huffed one civil servant. He'd been to so many, and was tired of hearing of integrity this and integrity that but not seeing it practised by the top leadership.

Not that integrity is a fashion or trend that needs to be set by the people at the top, but it would be some consolation to the masses to see their leaders living lives of integrity. If for nothing else, then at least to know that while the people themselves are leading honest, hardworking lives, the nation's treasure chest is not being emptied by those entrusted to guard it.

When Raja Muda of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah stood to give his speech on integrity, it was to a respectfully quiet audience who were looking forward to hearing wise words spoken.

Such is Raja Nazrin's reputation.

On paper, his speech was 30 paragraphs long, taking up five printed pages in size 10 font. But when spoken, it was enunciated so well, so thoughtfully and so sincerely that one hardly felt the time pass.

The full text can only really be appreciated in its original Malay, which was peppered with different words describing greatness of royalty and rule -- and all these responsibilities inextricably bound to integrity.

"Integrity is not a new theory, concept, creation or discovery. It is a basic principle which cannot be ignored; it is essential: a component that must be had, a character that must be lived to a convincing level; it is the prerequisite for determining an administration that is bersih, cekap, amanah (clean, efficient and trustworthy)....

"The fall of an empire, a monarchy, a nation and leadership is often caused by practices which ignore integrity....

"In the records of the history of the Malay Sultanate, integrity is the foundation that determines the sovereignty of a ruler, the majesty and nobleness of the monarchy, and the supremacy and greatness of a government."

Raja Nazrin then referred to 14th century texts of Malaccan laws and the Tuhfat al-Nafis, which prescribes that the main function of one who claims to be a ruler or raja is to uphold God's laws on earth. If the raja ruled according to his whims and ignored God's edicts, crisis would befall the nation.

He further referred to Hikayat Raja Pasai and notes by Tun Seri Lanang on the ruling administration of the Malay sultanate of Malacca, observing that the fall of rulers and governments past were because integrity was set aside to serve the raja's lust for power and property.

In giving the examples of the unethical practice of the Raja Melaka who kidnapped Tun Teja, who was betrothed to someone else, and the occasion where the Raja Melaka mistreated the bendahara's entire family only because he wanted Tun Fatimah, who was married to Tun Ali, Raja Nazrin, to his credit, did not look to history for texts that would give greater freedoms to royals and justify unjust acts. Rather, he chose those that highlighted what is unacceptable of rulers.

For instance, history has shown how rulers were brought down because of their excessive ways, like Sultan Seri Alam, who was removed from his throne because of his extravagant spending.

"In upholding integrity, there is a two-way line of communication between raja and subjects in the spirit of the contract between Demang Lebar Daun and Seri Teri Buana, which outlined the 'magna carta' of the royal-ruled Malays and is manifest in the phrase raja adil-raja disembah (a just ruler is a respected ruler).

"The raja is obliged to maintain high integrity to ensure the people's loyalty to him. Thus, rulers need to realise that with their position comes power, and with this power comes responsibility; therefore, each one who has power is actually undergoing a test of his values, trustworthiness, honesty, sincerity, justness and impartiality."

Stressing that the monarchy was not merely symbolic or useful for just opening events and attending parties, Raja Nazrin said "a raja acts on the advice of the government that is chosen by the people".

"However, if this advice runs contrary to the spirit of the Constitution, the law and justice, then a ruler must not follow this advice. He must not side on injustice or condone any action that does not reflect truth."

But, it was not just rulers or leaders that needed to have integrity. It was important for every citizen to have high integrity. A leader or citizen who had no integrity was the enemy within the nation.

"Integrity would cease to exist not only through the wrongful actions of the ruler or top leadership, but also when those responsible for checking-and-balancing the leaders do not possess the strength to correct wrongs."

Were Raja Nazrin's words that night mere rhetoric?

When the regent was scheduled to arrive at 8.15pm, he came. At 9.45pm when he was scheduled to give his speech, he gave it. At 10.30pm when the function was scheduled to end, the prince promptly shook hands with his hosts and left. Bedtime was a reasonable hour for all who attended.

The text of his speeches contain footnotes for his many references. This is not just the act of a scholar but also the act of an honest person. And remember, too, that this is the prince who paid for his wedding, even though, as the Raja Muda of Perak, he was entitled to use public funds. As a person of means, it is unconscionable to dip into the public purse, especially where you are the primary beneficiary. Also, in Islam, the man is the provider of the family. Therefore, if a man cannot pay for his wedding without going into debt in the process, then he is not ready for the responsibilities of setting up a family.

That Raja Nazrin has set these positive examples for everyone to look up to and follow lends greater meaning to his speech on integrity. Political leaders would do well to take his lead. It is ironic that, in this democratic nation, a handful of young royals like Raja Nazrin, who have not been elected to their positions, are fulfilling their responsibility to the nation and its people, vote or no vote. But, that is integrity.

Aniza Damis, NST Online 9 November 2008

Anti-graft commission to start as early as January 2009

2008-11-09T08:30:00.002+08:00

KUCHING: The formation of the Malaysian Commission on Anti-Corruption (MCAC) may be sooner than expected.

Anti-Corruption Agency director general Datuk Seri Hamdan Said said the commission might begin its work as early as January. "The cabinet has given the nod and the bill will be tabled in Parliament next month. "We expect everything to be done in the next one or two months, or even sooner," said Hamdan after the Program Gerak Mesra BPR Media event on Friday. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in his keynote address at the National Integrity Convention 2008 here on Friday, had said the MCAC law would replace the Anti-Corruption Act 1997. Abdullah had also said the parliamentary session would be extended to Dec 18 to debate the bill, which included provisions for the setting up of an Anti-Corruption Advisory Board and a Special Committee on Corruption. Hamdan said the advisory board and special committee would consist of non-governmental organisations, parliamentarians and ACA officers.

"Their role is to monitor investigation procedures to make them more transparent." The agency is also expected to recruit more than 1,000 officers to facilitate reinforcement. Hamdan said the agency's five-year plan included employing some 5,000 officers from various backgrounds, such as engineers, auditors and accountants, and other law enforcement officers. "With the professionals on board, incentives and benefits will be drawn up to commensurate with their expertise." In Kuala Kangsar, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said the MCAC Bill 2008 would be tabled for the first reading in Parliament by Dec 11. He said a draft of the bill was being printed to be distributed to members of parliament. On the setting up of the advisory board and special committee, he said seven to nine members would be appointed to the two panels, with prominent members of the community sitting on the first panel, and MPs and senators making up the second. Both panels, he said, would be chaired by the commission's chairman. "This is a check-and-balance mechanism to eradicate corruption in the country," said Nazri, who is also Padang Rengas MP, after opening a dialogue on the works of Tan Sri P. Ramlee at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Temenggong Kati yesterday. "The important thing is for the MCAC to improve the service rendered by the Anti-Corruption Agency." The advisory board will advise the commission on matters concerning corruption in the country, while the special committee will study the commission's annual reports. The commission will have the liberty to determine matters such as salaries and staffing.

by Dennis Wong; NST Online 9 November 2008