CIVIL SERVICE NEEDS REINVENTION

Reinventing Civil Service

PRIME MINISTER CALL FOR RE-INVENTION OF CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEM

According to PM Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi, in order to safeguard the image of the civil service, public sector employees must be creative, inventive, fluid, consultative, courteous and free of corrupt practices.

PM sent this message when addressing over 3,000 decision-makers in the public sector, ministers and CEOs of government-linked companies on January 20, 2005.

PM further added that there must be free flow of ideas between top-level officers and their subordinates for the betterment of the service.

According to PM, efforts were underway to quicken the delivery of services, including by empowering officers so that they could independently make decisions without consulting higher levels. The Prime Minister wants to see that the current towering pyramid system that were entrenched in the civil service system for more than 50 years will be no more. “We will seriously cut down on red tapes to fulfill the public’s expectation of faster, quality service,” PM said.

Pak Lah also reminded the civil servants to not ever shut people out and give them the run-around. “Do not pass the buck either. When things are not done, just do it instead of blaming others for the things that are not done. “I know that these are still happening and I want them to stop as they are causing a blight in our effort to improve the image of the civil service,” PM said.

Abdullah Badawi has sent these strong messages to all his CEOs in the public sector.

Will they listen?

What is the problem?

What is it to be creative, inventive, fluid, consultative, courteous and free of corrupt practices?

The paradox is: "weren't they creative, inventive, fluid, consultative, courteous?"

In order to entrench these values, what has to be the philosophy of management and what is required so as to drive the system to the destination. What about the doctrinal system currently in place?

The message was sent by Pak Lah. Will it be received in clarity and understood? What will be the elements to exercise and the necessary steps to be taken to drive home the system? But the words are so global, undistinctive and not object-oriented. These words will travel in virtual space, but will not find the space to occupy within the body and spirit which is supposed to consumed them and digest them, so that it will translate into action-oriented and value-based process flow. It is similar to telling your children - BE GOOD, BE HARDWORKING, AND BE NICE!. To the children, what is it that they are yet to be good and nice? To the kids, playing around with other children is good and nice. Eating what they like to eat is good and nice. But Hardworking? Does it mean helping mum to wash dishes considered as hardworking? Is going to school, hardworking?

To public sector employees, take for example, the Income Tax Dept: Is pushing hard to collect tax from errant contributors considered hardwork? To police, is collecting summons door-to-door, everyday, considered fulfilling their roles and responsibilities as required to achieve the mission of what Pak Lah is preaching? To the Higher Education Ministry, is bringing to court those who didn't pay their scholarships the answer to Pak lah's call? If all these are not, then what is it????


Creative - what is it that civil servants need to do to be considered creative? Coming up with Ops Warta IV, isn't the police creative? Sending the higher education fund defaulters to court to recover loans; is this creativity? Going door-to-door and publishing the names of tax defaulters, is this creativity?

Everyday, we read in the papers of these creativity. What else? We need to hear of what the government wants of creativity.

Inventive - Invent what? Invent spaceships, new technology, invent system, invent process, invent what? Even if there is desire to invent, the civil servants need to know the targets, the areas, the process, the infrastructure and the system that will support their ideas and spirits. Would they suffer punishment for being inventive, because it will make their boss looks nutty?

Fluid - to be fluid means to be flexible and quick. But to be fluid, it must be supported by a system to get things done, on time, within budget and fitness for purpose. Does the current system permits fluidity? Isn't the processes masked with red-tapes, political prerogative oriented, and bureaucratic?

Consultative - to achieve consultative system organization wide, there is a need for common language (work-based and knowledge-based). Do the people share the same ideology and philosophy? What about the cultural aspects? Would you senior managers consult your subordinates who lacks knowledge-based system management? or, would the subordinates who have face the real world of difficulties and were limited by the system to perform be able to get their superiors to empower them? Empowering, paradoxically can also mean, giving away power to subordinates, who later may outshine the superiors. For that reason, the subordinates may be punished, weren't they? Look at the case of the MRR2? What happens? Who was crucified? The contractor is OK. Samy Vellu is Ok. But someone in the civil service took all the blames for telling the truth to the investigation committee and he was punished. Is that consultative punishment of the honest and straight guy?

Courteous - smiling always, and wishing everyone you meet means Courteous? When you board the plane, the MAS steward and stewardess will be at the door way to wish you welcome. But as I get to my seat (in the business class section) I asked for a newspaper, either Star or NST, the stewardess tell me, "Sorry, run out of papers as the flight is full. But I'm in business class, isn't it why we pay more so that we get these little extras? So do you think her smile is what you call, being courteous to me? Do you think when she said sorry, no more newspapers, being courteous to me?

Can it all be explained? Last week, there was a blackout in many cities. TNB later promise rebates. Today, the news said they will not be giving rebates as they believe they are not negligent. Many had suffered financial losses and damages. But TNB is Government-link company and well protected by the system. So, do you mean those who suffered will do so in silence?

Isn't these frustrated and costly scenarios (and many others not mentioned) part of the entrenched system of management? What do we want to achieve, Pak Lah?

I believe the Prime Minister needs to be object-oriented and specific in what he preach to the civil servants. Those words must be translated to tangible, manageable components, so that the managers will have clarity and fully understand. Those who had perform and proven, and had been punished must be vindicated.

From then on, a system must be set in by the technocrats and philosophers within the civil service; not by politicians as they will marred the system with their personal profiteering ideology. The new system must have a sensor mechanism and actuator system, capable to track in a continuous pattern, able to monitor correctly the results and actions, control system derived from the planning system which incorporate a change control system and configuration system, and able to measure those results and the process capability to initiate corrective and preventive actions. There must be in place, a well developed processes, encompassing the intiation phase to close-out phase to ensure effectiveness of implementation and successful delivery of projects and programs. There must also be a performance measurement system that reads and measure tangibly the elements, results and deliverables, so as to reward and punish.

Can we Cakap Serupa Bikin or do we Cakap Sama Rupa Bikin?????