Political will for ultimate top notch civil service

I must admit that I never like to deal with government departments or agencies.

For one and I believe most of the people would readily concur with me is that it is a troublesome affair especially when we deal with some incompetent civil servants and are made to run around just to settle trivial matters .

Worse still, we may end up at the departments only to find the civil servants nowhere to be seen taking their much “deserved” tea break.

Of course there are some real good competent and more than helpful civil servants whom we must acknowledge and give them their due credit.

When Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak proposed three structural reforms for the civil service two months ago, many people may cast their doubt on whether such reforms could mean anything other than just a mere rhetoric.

But let us look at the three reforms.

First, there must be a multi level entry into government service, meaning to say the civil service will open up its key positions to talents from the private sector and the government linked companies (GLC).

Najib had said during the 10th Civil Service Premier Assembly at Putrajaya International Convention Centre on April 28 that this was necessary as it would yield benefits of “cross fertilisation”.

Second, the civil service will adopt an open door policy with GLC to allow exchange of officers between civil service and GLC.

This means that civil servants would be seconded to GLC or vice versa for mutual exchange of knowledge.

Third, the civil service would recruit top talents and adopt recruitment plan similar to big corporations like Petronas, Bank Negara and Permodalan Nasional Berhad where there is a systematic career development and talent scouting plan.

According to the Prime Minister, the best civil servants would also be sent to world renowned institutions such as Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Wharton Business School at University of Pennsylvania to gain knowledge in a good effort by the government to improve the civil service.

So far so good as far as what the Prime Minister had said and no doubt about his initiatives.

Four paradigm shifts were also outlined by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to deal with the much needed facelift of the civil service.

First, civil service must be more flexible and the Prime Minister had said that the civil service should realise that it is the private sector that creates wealth and it cannot be the stumbling block to that pursuit.

Second, the civil service must move away from the culture of output and expenditure to one which values aspect of holistic outcome or result oriented, for instance the civil service should not emphasise on the number of meetings or overseas trips but the outcome of such effort.

Third, the civil service must move away from bureaucracy and finally, it must move away from mere productivity to a combination of productivity, creativity and innovation.

Well said and that is what is needed for a better civil service though this should have been done ages ago but again, nothing is too late.

I take what had been drafted out by the Prime Minister as a renewed hope for many Malaysians who are yearning for a better civil service which has over the years earned more criticism rather than praises from the taxpayers.

The civil service must justify that it is worth the huge amount of emolument allocated to it by rendering a top notch service to every single Malaysians.

Otherwise the emolument of RM28 billion in 2006, RM32 billion in 2007 and a whopping RM41 billion last year as stated by the Prime Minister may just not worth a single cent.

One former Member of Parliament and former deputy minister, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Abdullah Ahmad stated in an interview with Off The Edge recently that the ideal figure for the civil service should be capped at 600,000.

But today, he said the number of civil servants in the country had reached a whopping 1.2 million and that the government is going to hire another 56,000 civil servants.

Do we really need such many civil servants to serve the 25 million Malaysians in this age of information technology when everything can be done in an instant speed with just a tab on the keyboard?

I leave that to all to judge.

What is important if the government is serious in improving the civil service is that it must put down its feet and say enough is enough.

There should not be any further rhetoric which is only pleasing to the ears but not the eyes and whatever policies which have been made must be ensured to have been implemented without delay.

Of course there must not be a racial bias when it comes to hiring as what we yearn for is good talented qualified people and the half baked ones who would only tarnish the civil service.

Above all, there must be political will without which everything planned or suggested may just end up as yet another rhetoric.

Speak out or speak not?

Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar dropped a bombshell recently when he commented that Sarawak MPs are debate shy and his comment needless to say has incurred wrath from his fellow colleagues in the BN.

And just before he made that statement, I happened to attend an informal discussion of which the topic was centred on politics with a group of professionals.

A senior lawyer who was present together with us agreed when someone in the room opined that an elected representative must always speak out as his role is to represent the people.

So could what Datuk Wan Junaidi say be akin to washing the dirty linen in the public as his criticism has exposed the “incompetency” of the BN elected representatives?

Before we go any further, it is best that we look at what the politicians have to say on the matter.

The Chief Minister, Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud had commented that there were better things for an elected representative to do other than just speaking out in Parliament as he believes that action is always speaking louder than words.

The state BN chief being a seasoned politician also revealed the many obstacles state elected representatives, especially those from the rural areas, have to face due to the geographical factor. Fair comment I guess.

One thing that we have to understand is that it is not always easy to get the opportunity to speak in the Parliament or State Legislative Assembly due to limited opportunity as stated by Deputy Chief Minister, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam.

Therefore, he said BN MPs must arrange among themselves for the opportunity to speak in the august house.

SUPP Organising Secretary, Datuk Peter Chin meanwhile opined that debate is only one of the many yardsticks to measure an elected representative’s performance.

The revelation by Datuk Wan Junaidi was picked up fast enough by state DAP chairman and state assemblyman for Bukit Assek, Wong Ho Leng when he wrote in his blog that BN MPs must resign for not speaking out.

He said MPs should get themselves noticed in Parliament by speaking out the grievances and plight of the people.

Remaining mute, as he stated would give the federal a wrong impression that all is well in the state.

So there you are some of the comments made by politicians when they were asked by the press.

But how about we, the people who voted for these politicians to be in the so-called higher up and what is our expectation of them?

First and foremost, I believe the utmost duty of an elected representative is to speak out in the august house.

I am not parroting what the DAP chairman had said but an elected representative is a person who writes and passes law and therefore, it is incumbent upon him to speak out in the august house whenever necessary.

In order to be able to debate constructively, an elected representative is supposed to be well read and knowledgeable for his ignorance may cause the people to suffer in the long run due to poorly drafted law.

But the sad thing is that most of the politicians instead of debating on the laws have resorted to using the gallery for mudslinging to score political mileage.

The way I see it, much of our elected representatives’ time has been taken up to serving the ground literally, resulting in them having less time to do the much needed research into their debates.

A friend of mine lashed out at most of our politicians when he said that their duty had been reduced to seeing drainage problem.

But I tend to sympathise with our politicians and we should not be so quick to blame them for such a cheap publicity as it is the people who expect them to come personally to do the inspection when this could be done by the relevant departments.

What needs to be done is political education and awareness among the people on the rightful duties of an elected representative.

While I agree that an elected representative must make sure that he delivers his work such as making sure the infrastructure is in good condition, he must also bring up the issues or plights affecting the people to the august house.

Speaking without fear or favour is essential and is requested of an elected representative and failure to do so is tantamount of betraying the trust of the people who elect them.

As whether Datuk Wan Junaidi is washing the dirty linen in the public, I guess BN backbenchers must take the criticism positively and should not be sulking over such a trivial matter.

Move on and tell the truth when it is expected of you or the people will judge you come the time.

To all the YBs, speak out you must but speak not if you are unprepared.

Umno-PAS unity talk a test of PR's cohesion

I have never immersed myself into PAS politics but the recent development which took place in this Islamist party has somewhat caught my attention.

It all started with just a mere talk albeit secretive one between PAS and Umno on the possibility of forming a unity government soon after the March 8 general election last year.

While the talk remains just a mere talk as claimed by both parties and nothing concrete has yet taken its shape, the intention of few PAS leaders which includes its President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and his newly elected deputy, Nasharuddin Mat Isa has generated much debate within the PR coalition.

The intention of these top two leaders in PAS nevertheless does not go down well with some of their colleagues within their own party including its spiritual leader, Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat and what more to say their partners in PR coalition.

The defeated PAS deputy presidential candidate, Datuk Husam Musa may decline the offer to sit in the central working committee while effort is being made to entice another defeated deputy presidential candidate, Mohamad Sabu not to join the new line-up as a sign of protest.

PKR President, Datuk Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in response to comment made by Abdul Hadi on the possible unity government with Umno during the party’s muktamar recently is looking for a clarification on the issue and this is echoed by DAP secretary general and Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng who claimed the party was kept in the dark on the matter.

With the PR three parties coalition expected to call a meeting soon, political observers will definitely keep a watchful eye on the outcome of the meeting where PAS would have to explain its intention to its two partners.

To many in the Opposition front, the unity talk may not augur well for the coalition which is hoping to wrest the federal government from the BN in the next four years after a strong showing in March 8 general election last year where it denied BN of its two third majority.

The subsequent by-elections where the PR won five out of six has renewed its hope and confidence of toppling the BN government which has ruled the country since independence.

But the secret talk has some sort damaged the trust among the three parties within the coalition which may dampen the cooperation and spirit in the PR.

For the voters who have put their trust in the PR, their hope of seeing a culmination of two party systems to provide check and balance to the BN or even as an alternative government to BN may just vanish into vapour should the secret talk on the unity government evolve into a reality between the two Malay dominant parties.

The spirit among the voters has been high since the political tsunami last year that Malaysians are ready for a new dawn of politics which cut across the racial line but this clandestine move by the two parties may curtail the effort of PR to present a change to the people.

During the PAS muktamar, there were also calls among the delegates that its president, Abdul Hadi Awang be made the Prime Minister should the Opposition grab the power in the next general election.

And all this while, the focus has been on the charismatic Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to assume the premiership should the Opposition come into power since he was the inspiring force which put together the three parties- PKR, DAP and PAS into a coalition.

The call for Abdul Hadi Awang as an alternative premier to Anwar will definitely put much distrust and power jostling between the PKR and PAS with the DAP, being a Chinese dominant party knowing full well that the time has yet to come for a Chinese to be a Prime Minister in the country of Malay dominance.

Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad when asked on the formation of unity government said Opposition was needed as a reflection of the government and it seems from the statement that the former premier is sceptical of the idea.

But his son, Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir sang a different tune when he said Umno-PAS talk was crucial for the nation’s economy.

But one thing for sure is that the Opposition front, in its coming meeting must sort out the matter among themselves and be truthful to each other if they were to stick on together.

Should the meeting end up without any concrete solution and the distrust among the coalition partners still exists, then the only sure thing is that a new beginning of Malaysian politics may come to a halt.

Whether PAS will fall to the enticement remains to be seen and it takes great understanding and trust among the PR leaders to keep the coalition intact to face the BN in the coming general election.

It's a game of perception

There are only two dominant types of creatures in politics as far as I am concerned.

Those who really want to serve the people and contribute to the betterment of the society and the other being those who involve themselves solely for the reason of business opportunities.

I still remember when I used to emphasise on this point with a former political secretary that if a political organisation is infested with the second type of creature, then this may not augur well for the overall development of that organisation and it is just a matter of time before the people vote them out.

In politics, perception really matters and it is the perception that shapes the people’s mind and influence the way votes are cast.

In the aftermath of the 2006 state election, a political scientist from renowned John Hopkins University in Washington conducted a talk on the factors leading to the disastrous outing for SUPP when it lost eight out of 19 seats it contested.

One of the factors mentioned by this political scientist who came all the way from Kuala Lumpur, much to the chagrin of the party leaders present I guess, was that the party candidates were generally much older at an average age of 60’s compared to the Opposition candidates who averagely stood at 40’s.

Another factor was of course the perception that certain leaders were dealing in some business opportunities which was in direct conflict of interest.

So it is these two factors coupled with few other reasons which formed the perception of the people towards the party despite the many explanations given during election campaign ceramahs to quash such notions which led to the overwhelm support for the Opposition especially in Chinese majority seats.

In an online poll conducted recently, BN was overwhelmingly perceived to be practising excessive cronyism, corruption, money politics and abuse of power.

This could well the reason why the ruling coalition was denied its first ever two third majorities since 1969 as well as losing five states to the PR which was perceived to be an alternative better government.

The point here is politicians need to have integrity when it comes to the so-called “serving the people” which has become a common phrase among politicians.

But do these politicians know or understand exactly what does it mean by “serving the people” when the majority of people perceive them as being up there just to grab business opportunities?

In Penang, when its new Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng came out with the new idea of open tender for government projects and it was well received not only by the business circle but also the people.

This practice has definitely put the DAP secretary general in the good book of the people despite the fact that the open tender system may still subject to certain abuses.

But it does not matter whether it is subject to abuses or not as Guan Eng has done what is ought to be done and it is furthermore seen to be done as well, thus winning the hearts of the people.

In a survey conducted by Global Corruption Barometer (GCB), two third of those surveyed had no faith in the ruling government’s effort to fight corruption despite the setting up of Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC).

Contrary to our neighbouring country, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s popularity has surged ahead of the presidential election as the Indonesians value the perceived integrity of their President and this perception may well give him another term to lead the country.

Politicians from both divides cannot run away from public scrutiny as they are the servant of the people drawing taxpayers’ money.

The British MPs expenses scandal may well ring an alarm bell to our politicians here that old time politics is well gone and the people are hot on their heels as they become more educated and well travelled.

If they are in only for business opportunities, then it is better for this bunch of people to leave politics and leave it untainted and remain noble so as to give renewed impression or perception to the people.

The coming state election which is due in 2011 may well be another game of perception where PR, with its battle-cry of People’s Supremacy will be eyeing the state after its successful outing in five out of six by-elections thus far.

BN on the other hand must ensure that Sarawak remains its stronghold while trying to impress people with its Politics of Development.

Whoever is perceived to be the best choice to rule the state will definitely win the game.