MALAYSIA is one of the countries that have no Public Service Act. The Pakatan Harapan government promised to introduce the act, which will pave the way for a separation of powers between civil servants and the political administration.
The bill had been finalised and was supposed to be tabled in the parliamentary session in March last year, but it never happened. The separation of powers are among the challenges facing the newly appointed 15th chief secretary to the government, Datuk Seri Mohd Zuki Ali, who has served in the civil service for 28 years.
This is because attempts by external parties to exert influence on government servants and the politicisation of appointments are worrying.
The former chief secretary, Tan Sri Dr Ismail Bakar, had urged public sector personnel to show a courageous and fair attitude and the willingness to take risks to ensure that integrity and governance are not compromised.
The former Public Service Department director-general, Tan Sri Borhan Dolah, also stressed that civil servants must be apolitical. A former senior civil servant, Abdul Halim Shah Abdul Murad, said that politicking by previous administrations contributed to the drastic fall in the civil service’s reputation and efficiency.
Halim also lamented that the quality of civil service recruits has deteriorated to such an extent that there is a gradual dilution of services and efficiency, referring to the Administrative and Diplomatic Service.
We must select people with the right skills to do the job right. Candidates, therefore, must be screened thoroughly to ensure those making the cut are people with integrity.
The government may relook the interview process and the modules to include critical thinking and problem-solving, as well as new technology, to suit the current situation.
Most important is integrity. Bravery, or “Berani kerana benar”, is very important. As government servants they cannot prevent politicians from trying to interfere with the discharge of their responsibilities, but they can exercise their right to ignore them.
Corruption is still deeply entrenched that even the good ones will find it hard to be honest and do their work with integrity. According to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), from 2014 until the middle of last year, civil servants made up 46.3 per cent of the 4,860 persons arrested. Most offences were committed by support staff (non-graduates).
MACC statistics showed that only 14 people in the top management category and 97 management and professional officers out of a total of 525 were detained last year.
Now that these statistics have surfaced, they need to be addressed. This can improve public trust and confidence in the public service.
Therefore, besides the enforcement agencies, more support should be given to Zuki to crack down on corruption. The Public Complaints Bureau will be known and function as Ombudsman Malaysia soon to ensure a more effective management of public complaints.
To reduce and end corruption, bribes have to be dealt with. A few years ago, in a 20-month special operation — War Against Bribe Givers — the MACC arrested 414 people for attempting to offer bribes; this was more than twice the number arrested in the same period before the operation.
There’s a need for a better reward system to honour employees based on performance, honesty and integrity. There is also a need to promote officers based on service performance, especially those who are God-fearing, morally upright and of high integrity.
Experts believe that a high management level and technology are the driving force behind any new style of leadership.
According to Andrew Bennett, a policy analyst at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, “to meet the growing demand for radical change, this new approach must be purposeful, z
enabling and responsive to bring government up to the speed
and standards of the Internet era”.
Going forward, for civil servants to regain public confidence, every officer needs to continue to work professionally, without interference from any parties and more importantly, each must perform his duties without compromising on integrity. Keep politics out of the service and there should be no political interference in the police administration.
Zuki’s past experience and professionalism can be put to good use in terms of strengthening the civil service..
Halim added that civil servants must uphold “the principle of neutrality of service, regardless of the political circumstances existing and prevailing around them”.
Canada, New Zealand and Australia top a brand new index that ranks countries according to civil service effectiveness. It will be possible for Malaysia to achieve a world-class civil service again under Zuki’s leadership.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times