Public opinion to decide star rating

KUANTAN: Public opinion rather than the Government’s evaluation will matter when improving the star-rating system to measure the performance and efficiency of local authorities, particularly their delivery system.  

Housing and Local Government Ministry secretary-general Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail said it was better to get popular views other than the evaluation done by a special team. 

“After doing a similar exercise involving government departments, we thought it would be better to get public opinion . 

“We do not want a situation where the public question us for giving a five-star rating to a certain local authority when they feel that it does not deserve it,” he said after attending a meeting between the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan and mayors and presidents of local authorities from Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan here yesterday. 

The star-rating system will be introduced in March involving 48 main local authorities. It will cover the rest of the local authorities nationwide by the end of the year.  

Serve with integrity

In an interview with SOO EWE JIN, the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan outlines his priorities and the challenges that must be faced for the new year and beyond. 

THE Chief Secretary to the Government is a man in a hurry. He is aware of the paradigm shift whereby not only the public is more demanding of the performance of the civil servants but the civil servants themselves have to face challenges like never before. 

Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan looks back at 2007 with a sense of pride because it is clear that the various measures taken to improve the government delivery system have been fruitful. “We are not talking about perception here, but real improvements at all levels,” he said.  

There is no denying that many measures have been put into place that have improved the public delivery system in the past year especially. Could you elaborate on the journey so far? 

Sidek: The journey has been challenging yet fulfilling. What has been heartwarming and encouraging is that public officials at the highest level want change and improvements. The officials at the middle and lower levels have been waiting for this to happen. So the resistance, as you would get in any change agenda, has not been as brutal as I had expected. 

The challenge is to provide public officials, at all levels, the tools and the environment to enable them to change their mindsets and work culture. 

We started the change agenda by ensuring “acceptance and understanding” through explanation and engagement within. For example, when we improved turnaround time for passports at Immigration, insisted that there must be response to editors, and that we have to engage stakeholders, we had to go into a buy-in of why if such is not done, the very existence of the public service will no longer be relevant. 

The mindset change which I keep getting asked about all the time is basically this. The “benevolent public official of Iknow-what’s-good-for-you” attitude does not and will not work in these times anymore.This must and has to be shed and shed fast to a system of listening to the community. 

It is in the nature of most people to be vocal in their criticism but quiet in their praise. How do you motivate the civil servants when the public at large are more generous with their brickbats than the bouquets? 

When one chooses to have a career in the public service, it is simply to serve the public with integrity. That truly is the underlying career motivator. With this in mind, those joining the public service must know that this can be a thankless job. My colleagues and I have always been resolute that the ultimate acknowledgment is delivering on our promises to the public and the nation we serve. 

When we get the brickbats, we need to objectively assess what caused this and what can be done to address this once and for all. Again, going back to the mindset change, like any public listed company, and I would argue that we are as good as one, we need to understand and respond to our investors. The officials must rise beyond the past nomenclature. They are now being counselled and trained to listen and respond objectively. 

By the same token, the public must be equally objective in their demands. They too must educate themselves of their rights. We are often helpless when we have to deal with upset customers whose demands cannot be met because they have not fulfilled the requirements of their requests.  

It has often been said that the people pay the civil servants and that they are therefore to serve the people civilly as it is their job. Your comments. 

I would turn this rhetoric on its head by saying that with a public service of some 1.2 million public officials, a ratio of 26 Malaysians to each public official, it is the responsibility of all Malaysians to ensure that these national assets are effectively mobilised to sustain progress, peace and prosperity for the nation. 

Therefore, whilst you may argue we are here to serve, I would add that every Malaysian has a moral responsibility of ensuring that our society develops as we would want it to. If continual bashing without the occasional credit where it is due brings out the best in a person, then I would disagree. As with any relationship, it has to be meaningful partnership of consultation, discussion and negotiation. 

Often, we do not have all the answers as we are serving an ever changing demographic and nation. When needs change, this must be articulated through effective channels by all parties. Critics are great to listen to when you are not the affected party. Critics with a “way out” solution are truly beneficial for everyone. 

There has been much improvement in the delivery system with regard to those with access to the online world, as many things can now be done via a broadband connection. But many people still do not have such access and many things still have to be done manually. What are the measures you need to take to ensure that there is no digital divide between the civil service and the people? 

The public service must serve all and every segment of the populace, nonetheless. 

Our officials must adapt to the evolving and changing needs of our customers and the nation, not the reverse. 

The essence here is “One Service, One Delivery and No Wrong Door”. By this I mean, where internet and broadband is not available, we must continue to run face-to face counter services and other channels of services, for services now available online for instance. Where internet and broadband is available and skills are not, we need to train our customers to access and use online services especially in rural and kampung areas by providing customer kiosks, education in school, training adults and supporting the elderly. 

This is one area the Public Service is working towards in the poverty eradication programmes and initiatives. The fundamental here is to facilitate and provide user-friendly services effectively, be it through the Internet or counter service, by always placing the customer at the core of all services rendered. Our quality of services must not be driven by digital divides. It cannot be short changed and lost by the advancement of technology. Therefore, the fundamental measure required here is to train officials to be adaptable to customers from all walks of life. 

Last year, there was a lot of fanfare about the No Wrong Door Policy and also for the phone to be picked up by the third ring (or within 10 seconds) for those manning the hotlines. How successful has this been? 

The essence of these directives was a means to an end. It was to drive mindset change to stop frustrating our customers by not giving them the wild goose chase. The symbolic meaning of these pledges are: 

1. Pick up your calls and answer them; and 

2. No matter who comes to which ministry, agency, department and local authority with an issue, we are to take this on board and address them with the necessary owners. 

In the past, had you come to an agency that is not responsible for your problem, you may be given the proverbial, “you came to the wrong place”response. Now the approach is that it being practised, the public must advise us immediately. As I said earlier, this goes back to partnership of public service and public at large, failing which we will not achieve the heights we need to as a nation. 

The email of top civil servants are made available to the public at large. When the CEO of the IRD, Puan Hasmah Abdullah, for example, told everyone to email her with their tax complaints, she was inundated with email but managed to respond to all of them. Do you think there is a danger that the top civil servants may end up micro-managing if they are too accessible to the public? 

How do you initiate change? It is purely and strictly through leadership by example. As leaders and managers, we must start the ball rolling. Yes when you start this you will be inundated. A good manager will expound and spread the change down fast; first through fear of monitoring then through discipline of adherence which in time will convert to habitual second nature actions. 

Therefore we need to first micro manage when driving discipline. Now you will note Hasmah or I, for that matter, have stopped receiving the hundreds of mails we received when we first gave out our emails. 

This said, I would still give my email address to the public as with all my colleagues. 

We must be accessible. We must be contactable. We must be approachable. That is one of the facets of creating a customer-centric public service. 

We are aware of many civil servants who diligently attend to public enquiries efficiently even way beyond office hours. Can you share with us some examples and whether you see this as a trend that the civil service must be available at all times and that work is no longer confined to the office or during office hours? 

Your office is not a room or a specific location. In these times of developing technology and virtual office, your office can be wherever you move; through phone, emails accessed through Blackberry, text messages and the like. 

My colleagues who travel abroad respond to mails and phone calls. I have seen many of my other colleagues who have responded to emails through the night even after 10pm. I credit that to dedication and accessibility of technology. You need both. 

My vision is to have public officials, at all levels, responding to our customers at any time of the day or night, with reason of course. Our obligation as an employer is to ensure we create such a workplace and these measures are being earnestly undertaken you will note through the commitments we made in our Public Service Commitments 2008. 

What would you like to say to the civil servants for the new year? 

To my colleagues in the service I would say this – To continue to remain relevant the public service of Malaysia must continually recreate itself by challenging definitions and norms. We need to shift our focus from that of only policy making to more importantly service delivery and outcomes. 

We must collectively acknowledge that the public does not differentiate between the responsibilities of departments, of local government, nor of central government. Their main focus is whether or not issues are solved and how well services are rendered. Hence the efforts of a person, a team, a ministry in meeting these demands can make the whole service proud. The converse is also true. 

What would you like to say to the public at large? 

Every Malaysian has a moral responsibility of ensuring that our society develops as we would want it to. If we do not take up this responsibility and acknowledge our role in society, then we must recognise our complicity and guilt in allowing for the deterioration to standards of accountability. The civil society must take pains in understanding the rule of law clearly. It must understand its rights without ambiguity. The robustness of the services’ integrity is very dependent on public servants as well as the public who are served by the service. 

Serving at All times

Civil service dedicated to serve at all times, says Sidek

PUTRAJAYA: There will be no digital divide when it comes to the public delivery service.  

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan stressed that although many services are now available online, those who do not have access to the Internet will continue to receive services through traditional means. 

“The essence here is ‘One Service, One Delivery and No Wrong Door’. By this I mean, where Internet and broadband are not available, we must continue to run face-to face counter services and other channels of services for services now available online, for instance,” he said. 

“Where Internet and broadband are available and skills are not, we need to train our customers to access and use online services, especially in rural and kampung areas, by providing customer kiosks, education in school, training adults and supporting the elderly.” 

Sidek said this is one area the public service is working towards in the poverty eradication programmes and initiatives.  

“The fundamental here is to facilitate and provide user-friendly services effectively, be it through the Internet or counter service, by always placing the customer at the core of all services rendered,” he said.  

“Our quality of services must not be driven by digital divides. It cannot be short-changed and lost by the advancement of technology. Therefore, the fundamental measure required here is to train officials to be adaptable to customers from all walks of life.” 

This was among the issues addressed by the Chief Secretary in an interview with The Star on the challenges for the public service as a new year begins. 

Sidek said all civil servants must understand that the office is not a room or a specific location.  

“In these times of developing technology and virtual office, your office can be wherever you move,” he said. 

“My colleagues who travel abroad respond to mails and phone calls. I have seen many of my other colleagues who have responded to e-mail throughout the night, even after 10pm. 

“I credit that to dedication and accessibility of technology. You need both.”  

Challenges for the new year

At a special briefing to the media at Putrajaya on Jan 16, the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan outlined the vision of a customer-centric public service and the many tasks ahead for Year 2008. The following is an excerpt from his wide-ranging speech 

THIS year marks a significant point in time for the public service and the nation, as we prepare for the mid-term review of the 9th Malaysia Plan. The process of this review will involve a critical assessment of the public service's strengths, weaknesses and our ability to deliver what the government has promised and set out to achieve in its efforts to ensure the attainment of Vision 2020 and beyond. 

Underpinning the 9MP are priorities that would guide Malaysia’s development over the period and ensure that Malaysia is better able to: 

1. Compete globally; 
   
2. Strengthen national unity; and 
   
3. Bring about a better distribution of income and wealth and a higher quality of life amongst the people. 
   

This necessitates a clear focus of efforts from the public service as it plays a significant role in the achievement of the outcomes outlined by the 9MP. The successful implementation of these plans lies within the ambit of the government machinery, driven by public officials whose mindsets must change to maintain and deliver to world-class standards. 

Commitments for today and tomorrow 

The emphasis on providing a first-class public service is a continuous agenda of the government. Strategies may be refined according to circumstances but the agenda remains unchanged.  

This year will see a strengthening and augmentation of the initiatives started in 2007. This unwavering agenda is predicated on: 

• firstly, effective planning, implementation, monitoring and review; 
  
• secondly, the existence of an empowered quality workforce with the right attitude, skills and working stamina; 
  
• thirdly, that the public service must represent the commitment and passion to the stated priorities of government in both words and actions; and 
  
• fourthly, a thriving and cohesive relationship between the government and the public, nurtured through effective mutual communication, love for quality in service and the pride of being able to live up to expectations and promises. 
  

Initiatives in support of 2008 commitments 

The maxim for the public service in 2008 is to institutionalise a consistent quality and turnaround time of service across all 28 ministries, over 720 agencies and 144 local councils across the country. In essence our mantra will be One Service, One Delivery, No Wrong Door.  

This year will see a persistent steer towards a more transparent public service.  

Creation of transparency requires collaboration from all parties concerned.  

We seek proactive public participation towards creating a joint culture for participatory decision making where the public are actively engaged in the process. By so doing, there will be greater empathy between the service and the public and we are able to optimally act in harmony with the public thinking of the times.  

We will explore establishing a collaborative audit panel between the public and private Sectors to develop a balanced checking mechanism to avoid loopholes and oversights. 

Our ultimate commitment will be to deliver a service culture that places the customer at the core of all services provided by the government based on the following attributes 

• reliability and predictability 
  
• high level of responsiveness 
  
• timeliness of response 
  
• courtesy and competence (soft and hard skills) 
  
• customer friendly environment 
  

Areas to reinforce 

1. We will review the processes and parameters used to measure public officials’ performance. 

2. More effective and accurate research will be undertaken to facilitate planning, implementation, monitoring and review exercises. 

3. The public service will be committed to informing the public and its other clients of the progress attained. Greater emphasis will be placed on dialogue, feedback and consultation. 

4. Heads of departments will engage with the media on a sustained basis to transparently communicate improvements and changes that are instituted to enhance the public service delivery. 

5. Government officials will be required to fulfil human resource empowerment plans as defined by a needs analysis programme to ensure officials with the right skills are placed in the right places in the service. 

There is no place in the Malaysian civil service for the “benevolent public official”. The “I-know-what’s-good-for-you” attitude must be shed and replaced with a system of listening to the community. The traditional regulator-regulated relationship between the public and private sectors is being transformed to an ongoing and effective partnership in moving Malaysia forward. 

Engagement of all stakeholders from the public service, the private sector, civil society and every Malaysian will ensure that oneness of purpose and shared sense of direction for all as the nation faces the challenges ahead. 

There will certainly be those who doubt the approach advocated in this outlook and view it with some degree of reservation. 

However, one of the attributes of excellence is to approach with a firm belief that we can be successful if we truly believe in our capacity to do so. The nation expects and demands a higher level of public service delivery for the greater good of all, and we should all rise to the challenge together. 

We are here to serve the public. Our very existence and relevance is to ensure our standards of service meet the objective expectations of our customers. We must deliver on our promises. 

About changes in the public services

CIVIL SERVANTS: Change not about e-this or e-that

By : PROFESSOR HAZMAN SHAH ABDULLAH, Faculty of Administrative Science & Policy StudiesUniversiti Teknologi Mara 

THE advice by the chief secretary to the government to public agencies to drop the "I know what's good for you" attitude is heartening and long overdue ("Public to get first-class service, says Mohd Sidek" -- NST, Jan 17).

There is nothing new in this declaration. What is new, however, is that it is coming from the highest-ranking civil servant, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan. That carries weight in the rank-conscious civil service.

This patronising attitude prevents agencies from seeking citizens' input on policies, programmes, improvements and changes before committing huge sums of public money. It also hinders learning from others.

Many faltering e-government projects are the product of this mentality. 

Their online interface leaves many users cold. It comes as no surprise that people are not often excited about the improvements and do not embrace many of the e-services.

Citizens do not always seek faster service. There is more to be done in the civil service than just speeding up and e-enabling the processes. 

Unless the public agencies seek out the real, value drivers of their clients, they will be misdirected in their improvement efforts. 

I also hope that Sidek's counsel, expressed within the context of creating a first-class public service, will not stop at merely improving the quality of public service. 

Public agencies should not consider themselves as producers and the citizens as purely customers. 

As customers, citizens want good service. As citizens, they want the public agencies to deliver services, implement programmes and enforce the laws in an accountable, transparent, just and participative manner. 

Only when both these dimensions are met can the civil service become first class.

When the bureaucrats jettison their "I know what's good or what you want" attitude, they will discover that the citizen-customer has many, and sometimes complex, needs.

Service quality is an important one. It can be achieved and has been achieved as in the case of e-services without much change in the governance of the agencies. 

Accountability, transparency, rule of law and integrity are wanting. 

The first-class public service cannot be built merely by hastening and simplifying the processes. New standards must be met as well.

Sidek's counsel is a good beginning and a launching pad for a wider concept of improvements and excellence in public service.

from the NST

Change is good

" Change is good. You go first "

Dilbert.

Kita sedia menerima bagi menyesuaikan diri mengikut masa, tetapi adakah orang yang kita pengaruhi sanggup menerima yang sama ?

Satu dari cabaran besar sebagai pemimpin adalah bagi mengurus perubahan. Ia mungkin amat payah kerana peralihan didalam organisasi kadangkala mengugat orang yang berkepentingan sama - pekerja, keluarga mereka, pemberi khidmat, kontraktor, peniaga, dan pelanggannya. Cabaran utama kita ialah menyakinkan mereka akan menafaat yang akan diperolehi jika berlakunya perubahan. Dengar juga pandangan mereka, beri peluang mengeluarkan pendapat secara terbuka. Kadangkala bukan mesej yang jadi rintangan; ianya mungkin disebabkan kurangnya mesej. Kita tidak boleh menjamin semua orang akan berasa gembira bagi setiap perubahan. Namun begitu, kita boleh membantu mereka memahami sebab musabab dan bagaimana mereka juga akan mendapat faedahnya. Jika pun tiada nampak faedahnya dengan jelas buat permulaan, sekurangnya kita membantu peralihan ini dengan licin dan berkesan jua, insyaallah.

Managing Change to batik every Thursday

It’s batik wear for civil servants on Thursdays, but Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan (second from left) wore a suit and tie instead to the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry’s monthly assembly in Putrajaya.

Sidek had on Tuesday reminded civil servants of the circular on the batik wear, which was issued by the Public Service Department and signed by director-general Tan Sri Ismail Adam. Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis (second from right) and his deputy Datuk Kong Cho Ha (left) adhered to the circular.

From the NST.

Managing Change

" The wave of the future is coming,

and there is no stopping it "

Anne Morrow Lindbergh

MAPPA VIII - PICC Putrajaya

Sebilangan orang menghabiskan sejumlah tenaga yang menakjubkan bagi melawan perubahan. Mereka akan melawan sebarang perubahan dalam proses kerja. Melawan kemajuan teknologi. Melawan sebarang keperluan bagi mempelajari kaedah baru kemahiran bagi menghindar peralihan tumpuan serta pasaran sediada. Mereka melawan sedaya upaya yang termampu hingga akhirnya mengorbankan mata pencarian yang hendak mereka selamatkan.

Perubahan adalah faktor utama jika hendak bertahan lama didalam perkhidmatan atau perniagaan. Kita mesti memujuk orang orang yang kita pimpin agar merasa selamat dengan kedatangan perubahan ini. Tak usah meminta mereka menerima perubahan atas sebab perubahan semata mata dengan membabi buta tanpa tidak perlu mempersoalkannya. Tunjuk mereka akan keberkesanan dan faedah kompetitif yang diperolehi didalam suasana dunia masakini. Mereka tidak boleh memberhentikannya. Pujuk mereka supaya mengamit kedatangan perubahan itu dengan peluang peluang yang dibawa olehnya.

At your service

Over the past year, Pemudah – the high level public-private panel to reform the delivery system – has brought hope to an apparently incorrigible bureaucracy. panel member Westport executive chairman Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam tells R. Nadeswaran and Terence Fernandez why things can only get better in the civil service. IT has been a year since Pemudah’s inception. What have you to say to the skeptics? As you can see, a series of things have already been done. We are announcing a few more of them now, and there will be a lot more in the pipeline. We remain confident that things will change and we will do it. You can see for yourself when you walk into most government departments. Could you outline some of these achievements? You can see some changes in the speed of income tax returns from 30 days to two weeks. Approving work passes for expatriates has also been expedited with a maximum seven days for approvals. The speed in doing business is also very significant. The CCM (Companies Commission of Malaysia) for instance has reduced the time it takes to register a new business from three days to just an hour! So you see, we have plucked the low-lying fruits. Now we will go higher up the tree to pluck the fruits up there! How do 24 people set out to change the mindset of 1.2 million? Changing mindset is not the issue. If you get the system in place, then you create the opportunity to work within the system – not around it! Another way is simply not letting them perform like they did before. To me corruption is the function of time and discretion. If you have the time to delay and the discretion to deliver, then you breed corruption. If the time is shortened and the discretion removed, then you also remove risks of corruption. If you can get your passport in one day as is the case now, who do you want to pay money to, to expedite your application? Those days, one week. If you pay someone you will probably get it in three days! You tell me, who’s going to corrupt people if you can get your passport in one day? We are changing mindsets also by making procedures that are clear and transparent for everybody. We need to cut the gravy train. If we can get local councils to cut time for CF (certificate of fitness) approvals for instance, it would help reduce the instances of those who will take advantage of the flaw in the system. Why did Pemudah succeed when previous initiatives failed? We are blessed to be led by an ex-civil servant. Pak Lah (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) is from the system and understands the problems. He wants to attack this on two fronts – he owes the citizens of this country a good delivery system, and he wants the civil service itself to regain its self-respect. As far as I am concerned, I 100% believe in such reasoning and another 100% I believe in is that we have the right team of people in Pemudah to implement these policies and measures. I have to say that the KSN (Chief Secretary to the Government) Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, Tan Sri Ismail (Adam, director-general of public services) and the KSUs (secretary-generals) … all those guys are quite keen. They themselves are tired of this (negative) image of the civil service of which they are a part of, and they think it is not very difficult to overcome these issues and they should be given the credit for that. As far as I’m concerned the public sector is only a catalyst – they only expedite the decisions that have been made at the top. Like I had said previously, why not give the coffee shops licences for five years, for 10 years…. Why not for life? Then the approving authority will argue that they won’t be able to get revenue … Yes! But they have to be very open-minded about these things. I have dealt with civil servants all my life. I tell you this bunch of people (in Pemudah) are very committed and Pak Lah had done the right thing by extending the KSN for another two years. So we have two very good ingredients – an ex-civil servant leading the government and the right civil servant leading the service. The top is of a different wavelength from the ground. Is there resistance to change (in mindset)? They are so set in their ways. This is a decades’ old system. There is no reluctance at the top level. Absolutely no reluctance! The D-Gs (director-generals), the KSUs, no reluctance whatsoever. The problem is down the line. You mean the ones who are actually dealing with the public? Why? The message does not trickle down to them? They refuse to adhere? We have to get the message to them. That’s why we are publishing notices (in the papers), that’s why the KSN spoke to you, why I am talking to you now! Every citizen is informed and every civil servant is also informed. We owe it to both the citizens and the civil servants. That’s why we are coming up with these advertisements in all papers so that they get the message. Our commitment is to every citizen and civil servant. If we mean it we should just do it! Rehabilitate or terminate? Carrot or stick? Which are more effective? The KSN has demoted top officials even! Down the line is much easier to punish! If you take action against a KSU, for instance, the minister might want him, but the KSN can tell the prime minister: "Look, that guy is not performing, we have to move him". And I don’t think anyone will go against the PM! OK. What are the causes of the decline in our competitiveness? The world is becoming more competitive. There are countries emerging which are becoming more attractive. For example the US is losing to China in production. People are going to China because China is arbitraging on the indices of the world in terms of production. It’s not only Malaysians, you know! People are going to India for IT because Indians are arbitraging on the whole world! As Ismail Adam says, "it’s not business as usual"! We have to become more competitive. And when we become more competitive we find there are more issues – how many work permits can you get, how long does it take to get a licence for this, a licence for that … these are factors which will decide how competitive we are and we should try to improve. Are our protectionist policies part of the reason why we are a less favourable option? What protectionist policies are you talking about? IDR (Iskandar Development Region)? We say "100% all of you come", Eastern Corridor, Northern Corridor, Sabah Corridor … we say "all please come", so who are we protecting? The one’s who want protection are the ones grumbling (not competitive enough). They are screaming their heads off asking for protection! It’s not protection policy. We were never protective! Well, we were protective until now. Protectionism is the first casualty of globalisation. No! Even the last 20 years, what were we protecting? The (national) car? As a businessman yourself, what do you tell your foreign counterparts and partners? I tell them in spite of what you call "protectionist policies" the government was still able to achieve 6% growth. You are optimistic that we will improve on the World Bank’s Doing Business Report from the current 24th place to 10th by the end of the decade. The reason why we have improved is because we have highlighted to the World Bank all the improvements we have made, and they were quite impressed. For example, our infrastructure: in Malaysia we have excellent infrastructure. These are important considerations. I highlighted to them our roads, our ports, airports. We have won awards every year for our infrastructure. We have enough electricity, enough water, enough power, enough communications systems, enough multimedia … what else do you want? But the infrastructure alone is not enough if you don’t have the right systems and people in place to operate the infrastructure. No … when you compare (in this instance), you must compare with say, Thailand. You cannot say Thailand is better than Malaysia in terms of infrastructure … that they are more competitive than me? The Bangladeshi prime minister once said, instead of bringing 500,000 workers to Malaysia, why don’t you just move your factories to Bangladesh? How do we move there, where there is no power, no fax machine, no telecommunications, no roads, no ports ... ? I have a story to tell you: One day I was woken up by a phone call at 2am! The guy was screaming his head off, complaining that he had been waiting two hours to berth his ship. I asked him if he was within the window (i.e. if he was on time) ... and of course he was not. So I asked him, where were you coming from? He said Bangladesh. How long did you wait there? TEN DAYS. And he is screaming his head off over two hours! And I said: "Dey! What’s wrong with you? There you can spend 10 days, here two hours you cannot? That’s the expectation of people. It is the norm to wait for 10 days in Bangladesh, but not two hours here. So, in a way it is an indication that we are so much better than most countries. Now, issues with most MNCs and even local companies concern visas and permits for their foreign workers. But how much of these are the fault of the system and how much of it is the fault of the applicant? Ninety per cent is the system, but of course the applicant is also to blame. This comes down to the middle-man. He wants to squeeze as much as possible, so delay here, delay there unless you pay something … About RM2,000 to RM7,000 (to get a work permit processed). The KSN was shocked when I told him that this is how much it takes to organise visas and permits. But why pay? The private sector also contributed to the rot! Doing business in Malaysia is expensive due to the hidden costs, the various approving agencies, not to mention the existence of agents, rent-seekers and patronage. What is being done to eliminate these unhealthy components which have become part and parcel of our commerce? KSN has said it: "Don’t go to middle men, don’t use touts". That’s why we are encouraging and initiating online payment and online applications to eliminate these middle men. Time is money. As long as the system is not improved, businessmen will be willing to pay the middle-men to expedite business. To me there are three things – timing is one, discretionary powers is one and the third one is, I think it is about time we praise them (the civil servants) so that they are motivated into doing more and being better. What about benefits, the "carrot"? Look at Singapore, the public sector is as attractive as the private sector, so you get the best people in both the private and public sectors. You give graduates and the best brains an option to join the civil service. As far as the administration is concerned, this is being addressed. You must also look at the Key Performance Indicators (KPI), then rewards and punishment will follow. But the system must be clear about everyone’s role, and then there will be no ambiguity. Everyone will know what their responsibilities are. Then he will know his job, but if he still doesn’t want to do it, then murder him! If he doesn’t know, then why murder him? Getting information is among the main issues affecting the public. How do we improve on the disseminating of information? The One Stop Centres (OSC) … the building approval plans … I don’t think you can have a better communications system than that. About 500 civil servants, every MB (mentri besar), half the federal ministers, all the top civil servants were on stage (during the launch of the OSC guidelines booklet) and Pak Lah read it (the policy) out and (Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri) Ong Ka Ting outlined what needs to be done. Pak Lah handed the booklets to all the mentris besar and said don’t blame the postal service … and every District Officer was also given a booklet. That’s why a lot of them are crying now. They have lost their source of income with the establishment of OSCs. The old system: health department, planning department … all can collect. Now only one fellow collects, so there is still resistance to implementing it. You have to remove people-lah. Ismail Adam and Sidek, have moved people, demoted them. Little Napoleons are still the bane of the civil service. How do you suggest we get rid of them when they are acting at the behest of powerful politicians? Little Napoleons do exist but to be fair to the KSUs and the KSN, they need concrete evidence to take action. They need the time, the place, the name of the person and the issue. Until then, it is all hearsay. Like what we told Tan Sri Sidek (in a previous interview), at the Federal level, he will have little problems. In fact you can see the improvements at federal level, IRB, NRD, Immigration. But the problem is at the local level. This is where the big issues are, politicians, warlords … But he has gone down to Ampang, Shah Alam… he has identified the problem areas and is going down to try to improve things hands on... But the question is this: Do we need the chief executive to go down to the ground? They (the civil servants) must realise what it is expected of them to deliver! You see, every chief executive in the world has gone to the floor. And things don’t happen unless the chief executive goes down to the floor. They will do it but if you improve the system, you’ve solved 50% of the problem already, the other 50% is (changing) the people themselves (mindset and/or physically). It’s not as easy as that. You look at some of the poor council heads, even the State Secretary; they’ve got Sidek in their left ear and the MB (mentri besar) in the right! That’s not the issue… That’s the biggest issue! I know! What I am saying is sort out all these things first, and even if that civil servant is an MB appointee (but is) not following the rules, then we remove him. But like you said, remove him but then the guy gets appointed elsewhere … On promotion! Then what’s the point? As far as I’m concerned, removing someone is one issue, what happens to him after is the real issue. We want to resolve an issue. We don’t want to transplant a problem. There’s also no point if the guy replacing him is of the same stock and does the bidding of the politicians. You think Pak Lah does not know what’s going on? He is serious about cleaning up the system, improving it. What do you think Pemudah is all about? We have achieved so much in one year; can you imagine how much more we can achieve by next? Miti (Ministry of International Trade and Industry) should be a benchmark of an excellent service and system, and like we told Tan Sri Sidek (who was Miti secretary-general), the Miti culture must be contagious. This culture must spread to other departments. You know there are seven ex-Miti guys in Pemudah? That’s why I told the Prime Minister: "These are the best civil servants you can ever have". These are the people – the men and women who want to and can change things.

Rebranding for change

WHEN Public Service Department director-general Tan Sri Ismail Adam speaks of a need to "rebrand" his department, he should be careful not to allow a racy bit of marketing jargon to run away with the concept. To "review and refocus" the PSD's "core business", as he put it, makes better sense -- it alludes to the potential benefits of turning the department into a galvanising force in the civil service; "to enhance," as Ismail said, "the capacity of the public sector in human resource and organisational capability". "Rebranding", however, is a different matter. In market-speak, it involves altering the public perception of a product, service or organisation; in this case, presumably, changing the notion that the civil service is a hide-bound tangle of red tape, inefficiency and petty corruption, into the image of a dynamic, clued-in, conscientious and efficient, eager-to-please public sector.

We would certainly wish the PSD D-G the best of luck with helping generate what the prime minister expressed to an assembly of civil servants at the National Institute of Public Administration on Monday as the need to "give the people one service, one delivery and no wrong-door policy". But it should be borne in mind that such a "rebranding" can only be the natural consequence of the upgraded performance and capabilities Ismail is calling for from the civil service. It grows from the ground up, with improved service and delivery, and is not sprayed from above with slogans and catch-phrases.

Ostensibly dispassionate analyses such as Malaysia's rankings in the Switzerland-based Institute of Management Development's assessments of "world competitiveness" might go some way towards offering an objective appraisal of the country's track record: 6th in the world for "economic performance" (among countries with populations over 20 million); 4th in "business efficiency"; 10th for "infrastructure"; 8th in overall "competitiveness", etc. But such positive generalisations can seem far removed indeed from the negative sentiments arising at the counter level, if the public sector's service to the public falters in meeting expectations.

Such expectations have risen steeply in the more than four years since the present administration took office -- the need for a better, brighter, more efficient and "Malaysian" civil service has stayed firmly on the agenda. There has been much improvement, certainly in counter services. But the urgency with which the 8,000 public officers at Intan this week were addressed by their bosses clearly emphasises how much more needs to be done.

From NST: editorial 30.01.2008