Civil service should embody six philosophies — PM

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has outlined six philosophies that the civil service should embody for the realisation of the National Transformation 2050 (TN50).

The six philosophies relate to the framework of ‘Manhaj Maqasid Syariah’; 2017 as year of delivery; principles of loyalty and allegiance; a work culture ‘beyond the norm’; the fourth industrial revolution and digital economy; and par excellence worldly life and afterlife.

Addressing more than 5,000 civil servants at the 15th Civil Service Premier Assembly here yesterday, he said in order for the civil service to move forward in the quest for a brighter and superior civilisation, it could not merely remain nostalgic and rely on past performance.

He said the first philosophy was instrumental in building the Malaysian nation; more so would it be in the next 30 years towards TN50.

“For six decades, the civil service has been moving on the same track with the government earning Malaysia recognition as a progressive and dynamic Islamic nation based on Maqasid Syariah and the principles of Wasatiyyah or moderation, the Federal Constitution, solid national ideology and visionary government leadership,” he said.

He added that the Maqasid Syariah was aimed at benefiting the people in tandem with the government’s capability subject to three levels of priority.

Najib said the three levels were dhatu-riyat or basic necessities; ha-jiy-yat, which is related to general needs and requirements, and thirdly, tah-si-niyat or comfort and ease in life.

He said all the policies, efforts and approaches had been fruitful as proven by the State of the Global Islamic Economy 2016/2017 report by Thomson Reuters which placed Malaysia first among 73 countries in the world.

According to him, Malaysia was also recognised as “the best developed ecosystem for Islamic Finance in the world”, with the country’s Employees Provident Fund (EPF) reported to have the largest Islamic Savings Plan in the world.

Under the philosophy of 2017 as the year of delivery, Najib said the civil service should be invaluable to the people and ensure that all planned projects, initiatives and aid reached the latter.

“Otherwise, every plan and policy that the government had formulated would be pointless, including the budgets that had been allocated; all because of misdelivery, the government’s goals will come to nought,” he said.

Najib said in strengthening and empowering the civil service, the focus must be on people and inclusivity with the participation of the communities, and par excellence work culture and services, as well as noble values to uphold organisational integrity.

“I urge civil servants in doing their job, not to stay silo or be involved in ‘turf management’ with an adamance that ‘it’s our right’, ‘others cannot interfere’, or ‘I don’t care’, which would only hamper bureaucracy and lead to hardship for the people,” he said.

On the principles of loyalty and allegiance, he said they were very crucial in leadership and organisation.

“With such principles in the civil service, the organisation which is the backbone of the government will be disciplined and smooth,” he said.

The prime minister cited the great Muslim scholar Ibn Khaldun, who he said was not only concerned with civilisation but also studied the importance of loyalty in professional governance.

Najib said Ibnu Khaldun also held that those who possessed a high sense of loyalty were even willing to sacrifice their lives in carrying out missions entrusted to them.

On the culture of working beyond the norm for extraordinary returns, he said it included celebrating new ideas and constantly making improvements to achieve results aside from setting a standard for oneself besides enhancing competency and value so as not to remain merely a village hero but rather a systematic and competitive global achiever.

“The government also wants civil servants to endeavour training themselves to multitask, acquire multiskills and be multi-talented, culturalise creativity and innovativity, able to contribute to a work culture of high productivity, high value, high thinking, high skills, as well as highly motivated to work hard to achieve success for the country,” he said.