Transform mindset as well

I REFER to the letter “Dawn of a better civil service” ( The Star, Oct 16). Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam’s views and proposals would be invaluable input towards transforming the civil service into a clean, efficient and trustworthy institution.

The government’s decision to change the sign-off phrase on letters signed by its officers is a clear signal that the civil service is in the trajectory of transformation, “‘I, who uphold trust’ to replace ‘I, who follow orders’” ( The Star, Sept 21). This change is in line with the government’s efforts to remove the blind obedience and loyalty mentality among civil servants that is the root cause of corruption, leakages, cronyism and mismanagement.

The idea to change the sign-off phrase was proposed by a mid-level administrative and diplomatic officer during a town hall session with the Prime Minister on Aug 15. The proposal is an indication that the majority of civil servants espouse the principles of good governance, integrity and the rule of law promoted by the government.

Since the idea emanated from civil servants themselves, it portends an unequivocal support to work closely with the government to transform the civil service.

The new phrase, “I, who uphold trust”, is the catalyst for the trans- formation of the civil service, as embracing trust means upholding integrity, transparency and good governance.

This new sign-off phrase aims to incorporate integrity, transparency and good governance as the core ideology of our public institutions.

A core ideology is the inner drive that guides and inspires members of an organisation and remains fixed as a belief for a long time.

The core ideology of the organisation must be transmitted and internalised by all of its members, in this case the civil servants, and institutionalised as shared values.

A shared value that is embedded in the civil service will become the best offensive against corruption, mismanagement and abuse of power.

The underlying rationale is that civil servants who are imbued with a strong sense of trust, integrity, transparency and good governance can, of their own volition, draw their own sense of right or wrong from their thought process and conscience, guided by their faith and belief system.

But this envisaged change must be accompanied by a corresponding shift in the mindset of key players in the government machinery. The key players are members of the administration comprising ministers, deputy ministers and political secretaries; and the civil service must embrace this core ideology of trust, integrity and good governance in the management and operations of the government machinery.

Members of the administration make decisions that determine the policy direction while the civil service transforms the policy into a plan of action that will spawn public goods and services to achieve the desired goal and outcome.

In making these decisions, they must subscribe religiously to the principle of integrity, transparency and good governance as they are exercising both legislative and executive powers as well as spending taxpayers’ money.

The government expenditure on the delivery system of public goods and services is actually a collective consumption on behalf of the rakyat, and its contribution to the community is measured in terms of its delivery value.

Hence, in managing and expending the budget allocated, members of the administration and civil servants must comply with the circulars and financial procedures of the Finance Ministry as well as other procedures and regulations established by other central agencies.

This compliance is crucial to uphold integrity and transparency of the government machinery.

But the envisaged change may not be realised if the old mindset persists. There are reports of decisions made at various ministries that indicate the old mindset of demanding blind obedience and loyalty is still prevalent in the government machinery. This might undermine the chief secretary’s effort to transform and create a better civil service.

One such case is the demand by political appointees for higher grades, “Reasons 22 officers transferred to Intan” (The Star, Sept 24). For example, a minister wanted to appoint a Grade 48 as a senior private (Grade 54) but wanted a maximum JUSA C salary. The difference in emolument between the entry point at Grade 54 and the maximum JUSA C, including allowances and perks, is enormous.

This huge financial implication is antithesis to the current exercise in rationalising public expenditure and the call for everyone to sacrifice as Budget 2019 is not expected to offer any goodies due to financial constraints.

Winston Churchill once said that “the price of greatness is responsibility.” Hence, it is the responsibility of the key players in the government to play their role effectively to make the civil service great for a better tomorrow.