1. This year Malaysia celebrated her 53rd year of independence. As a nation and as a people we have much to be thankful for, from a fledgling under developed economy besieged by the threat of terrorism we managed to be transformed into a prosperous upper middle income economy. This is not a result of chance or mere fate rather it was the fruit of vision, strategic planning and steely fortitude of our forefathers in blazing a trail before us. Their wisdom, foresightedness and pioneering spirit geared us towards a path of national prosperity. Their work may have been done but ours is just beginning, the torch has been proverbially passed. Now it is incumbent upon our generation to pick up the gauntlet and continue to work hard and deliver the promise of a high income developed economy for all Malaysians. This commitment is the core thrust of my administration.
2. Our nation has always been at the forefront in the process of change and reform. We have been constantly ahead of the curve in successfully meeting our domestic and global challenges. This trait and our clear headed pragmatism have held us in good stead. Nevertheless, we have come to a juncture where gradual and incremental change is no longer adequate for our national interest. We need to be bolder in our planning; more decisive in our execution and more driven in our endeavour; in a nutshell we now need to quantum leap towards a better future.
3. In less than a decade, our hope is for Malaysia to join the fraternity of high income developed nations. Ladies and gentlemen that leaves us with not much time. The government on its part has put in place the necessary mechanism to ensure the nation is on the right track to achieve our national Vision. Both the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and The Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) under the overarching guiding philosophy of 1Malaysia People First Performance Now is the essential roadmap in transforming the country into a developed and high-income nation.
4. The Malaysian Public Service is a vital partner in nation building. It has over the years built a reputation as an effective institution. Malaysia would not have achieved what it has achieved today without the commitment and dedication of its public servants.
5. Nevertheless the Malaysia of today is different from the Malaysia of even a decade ago, it is a completely new era that compels a rethinking on the formula of success. Succeeding in a new and more challenging environment requires the Malaysian public service to take a critical stock of its’ new environment and realities. A paradigm shift is needed in meeting the expectations of a more open, complex, demanding and nuanced society. Nostalgia and doing business as usual should be a thing of the past. Innovation, facilitation, meritocracy and creativity should be the new buzzword. Change is no longer an option it is now an imperative.
CHALLENGES
6. Among our most daunting challenge is caused by the rapid rate of globalisation, individuals thousands of miles apart can now network and interact with each other with the click of a button. This compels us to change how we plan and conduct our core business; we need to be more mindful of public sensitivities and aspirations. Ultimately it requires the public service to be more accountable to their constituents, to better manage expectations.
7. The second challenge is developing and managing high quality human capital to ensure high-quality service. Countries no longer exist as “islands” on their own – trends towards regionalism means that the competition is getting tougher, not easier. Everyone is competing for finite resources and markets. I see this as a healthy environment because competition is not just about coming out on top ahead of the rest, but as a mechanism to ensure that we are pushed and driven to do our best, hence resulting in improved service for the public.
8. It is therefore important that we equip our public service system with a mechanism in measuring quality human capital and quality of service. There has to be a new standard that will shift the old paradigm of our public service to a new one that is reflective of the expectation and demands of our society. I believe that the measurement must be at par with the levels of development of a nation and its aspired place in the world, Four areas serve as benchmarks:
9. FIRST: Transparency and Accountability
The Rakyat today no longer limits its demands and expectations to only meet its basic needs and amenities. Those must be given without being asked. But the society wants to be part of the decision making process because the people are the ultimate stakeholders of government. Public participation is not the exception, ladies and gentlemen, it is the norm of all excellent public service delivery systems the world over. We need to move towards a more collaborative dialogic approach which includes voices and ideas from multiple angles. Their feedback and participation is needed for the seamless fleshing out of the best policies and implantation of services. This can only happen, when at the most basic level, we as a society are ready for a “cultural transformation” in the way we work and the way we deal with new challenges and problems. This is what some have referred to as the new public leadership in context.
10. SECOND: Competitiveness
The best business knows that to remain competitive means to listen to the stakeholders. In the case of the public service sector, the stakeholders, as I have mentioned before, are none other than the people themselves. We promise to take complaints and consider questions and solutions from the public, and to respond in the best way that we can. But to even get to a point where this becomes second nature to us, we must find ourselves in an environment that is receptive to change. If the environment is lacking, then we must creative and innovative to create the condition that will allow us to be more competitive.
We can only achieve competitiveness if we allow competition to flourish in the public service. We need to be challenged and compete with others in order to prove and improve on our credibility and efficiency. Without a competitor, it is unlikely that we will be challenged, thus, will forever remain static. Competition is not just about winning and losing, but a venue to capitalise on one’s strength, improve weaknesses and embark upon what is called a positive continuous Restructuring and positioning to achieve our goals of transformation. I am optimistic that if we allow healthy competition to be a culture in the Public Service, keeping in mind our values and norms of respect and trust, behold, a new revamped Public Service will emerge in the nation, providing only the best for its people.
11. THIRD: Merit-based Advancement
Everyone has an equal chance to perform and to contribute, depending on each individual’s capacity and potential, and this should be our operational yardstick to assess a public servant. The merit should be outcome-based in the sense that satisfaction of performance and delivery is the benchmark of awarding the merit. The tradition of promotion based on seniority and clique without taking into cognizance performance, talent and true potential should cease, the nation cannot afford deadwoods or mere seat warmers.
12. FOURTH: Knowledge and High Awareness
Knowledge is borderless and always powerful, regardless of time and location. It distinguishes each human, organisation, society, nation and what more, a civilisation. In this regard, public service is not excluded. We need to implant knowledge into our thinking and reacting, ensuring that we are a highly distinctive segment of people in the society. With the advancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) we must ensure that our public service is not lagging behind even for a moment. Hence, life-long learning should be the way of life to our public servants, so our existence will stay relevant, even with a changing of time.
Knowledge leads to awareness. The current world order is experiencing substantial change. New dimensions are surfacing while the old features are redefined. Traditional hard power, for example, is now fused with emerging soft power. Our awareness can no longer stay stagnant and static, but must reflect present and future demands and changes constructively. We are aware that a new wave of generation is emerging in our country. The empowerment of youth and civil societies has resulted in the demand for alternative solutions. We should groom the young public servants at an early stage so they are well-equipped in serving the Rakyat.
13. In the end, what we want to achieve is a society centric government. A situation where the public voice will be heard by the public service and be the best assessor to the quality of public service. Globalisation has accelerated the development of a modern and progressive society in a way that renders government and society inseparable.
14. A question then arises, how could we strengthen trust in the Public Service? We need to repair the fractured trust between the public service and the public. The day where ‘government knows best’ is over. The government must be able to feel the pulse of the citizens. We are no longer the absolute arbiter of wisdom, but a respondent to the people’s needs and demands. The 21st century concept of governance requires a new reengagement between the government and the people.
REFORMS AND TRANSFORMATION
15. It is vital that our institutional and structural transformation is guided by a clear, comprehensive and commonly accepted vision of the fundamental principles that should shape the new public service. The idea of the New Public Leadership is what we have to keep in mind. Change is no longer feasible only through management, but must be accompanied by leadership. 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.
16. What makes Malaysia unique is the diversity of our peoples. 1Malaysia’s goal is not only to preserve but to enhance this unity in diversity, which has always been our strength and remains our best hope for the future. By encouraging inclusiveness, we are allowing more public participation from all Malaysians, to work together in serving the nation. 1Malaysia will not be successful without the involvement of people from all walks of life.
17. Therefore I want to point out that Institutional and structural change is a must! It is very difficult to change the mindset of our public service, without internal structural and institutional reform happening. Such reforms are necessary to support our transformational plan to take the next leap forward for the public service and the country.
STRATEGIES AND APPROACHES FOR MOVING FORWARD
18. One of our strategies of moving forward is retaining talent. Ladies and gentlemen, to be a developed nation, a country must utilise the talent of its human capital, including Malaysia. We are never short on talent, but where do these talents go? Thousands of bright students have been sent abroad as a means of investment for our future, but do we get the proportionate return on what we have invested? In shaping the country to be a great nation, Malaysia needs to utilise the top talents, providing them sufficient platforms to share the inner qualities they possess in the public service context. How can the Public Service attract the best brains and retain them to serve our country? First and foremost, we need to appreciate the talent that they have.
19. The Public Service needs to create incentives for them to want to join. It may not offer a life of luxury but it certainly offers satisfaction of serving a higher purpose, of making a difference. It is my fervent believe that there is no higher calling than a calling to serve the nation. The government will continuously seek to improve the conditions and terms of service for civil servant. Our immediate challenge is to design a quality workforce and environment for our talents, legally, structurally, and institutionally.We need to generate an intellectual ecosystem in the Public Service that cultivates ideas and celebrates criticism.
20. Creating Inclusiveness: The idea of inclusiveness has been something that I want to touch upon. Most of the time, our attitude is such that we tend to think that we earn the right to everything. This is not true. Ladies and Gentlemen let me stress to you that this ‘club mentality’, where a certain group remains exclusive, must be abolished. We need to work collectively as a team, so that we deliver what we set out to do. The public service has to keep pace with the rising expectations, sophistication and demands of the people.
Next is Public Leadership; this entails the need to have an integration of public organisations and agencies in sharing the same vision based on agreed aims and values, and to together execute the vision through partnership with other bodies. The integration and collaboration are intended to promote, to influence and to deliver public services sensitive to the socioeconomic and socio-political aspects within the society.
21. Communication: We are faced with the rapid rise of technology in today’s globalised world. While we all have equally benefited from this phenomenon, its mismanagement can render meritless even the finest tuned plan. That is why we need to create a solid partnership with the media. At the end of the day, the Public Service will need to talk and engage with the people. Leaders must be prepared to face this new reality. It is only through transformation in the realm of ideas that institutional change can happen.
22. Feedback Mechanism: We plan to increase consultation among stakeholders, as I believe working hand-in-hand will not only make our goals of achieving Vision 2020 easier, but will also develop us into a society that is governed through dialogues and persuasion rather than fiat and decrees. There are various methods by which we will seek the Rakyat’s input, ideas, and feedback so that our system of government will become more efficient.
23. Ladies and Gentlemen a world class public leadership is 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.
24. The establishment of institutions like RSOG, I believe, is to pre-empt, react and to respond to these questions. The School is founded on two main thrusts: 1. Leadership and 2. Knowledge. Transformational leadership coupled with knowledge, capacity, and capability is the golden formula for creating an environment that is conducive to effective problem-solving and innovation.
25. With the sealing of our commitment to transform, the government and society will be able to establish a platform for debate on matters that are pressing. This is perhaps one of RSOG’s most important roles – to become the platform for dialogue and discussion. By consulting with our various stakeholders, we give them the opportunity to let them review and provide us with feedback as to what is best for them. Reaching out to our people on the ground is the only way to create a sense of trust, and with this trust we can provide a public service that will make us proud.
CONCLUSION
26. Ladies and Gentlemen, esteemed guests of this event. It is time that we truly recognize that this is not a matter of choice. Not only are we presented with the ripe opportunity to transform the nation, we must transform. We must transform or risk becoming a failed state. Transformation can only happen when three things are in place: 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 for above and beyond. It is no longer affordable or intelligent for us to be satisfied with the way things are. An institutional and structural change can only happen when our public leaders not only understand what must be done, but also has the integrity, humility, and determination to bring this great nation into the next horizon.
I thank the Razak School of Government, for giving me an opportunity to share my thoughts on transforming the Malaysian public service, let us begin this momentous journey in transforming the Public Service in our country. With God’s grace and our strong determination, we will turn this transformation into a reality.
Thank You.
