Take stock of what the citizens want

ALL large or important organisations display lofty vision and mission statements but they appear hollow when their personnel cannot manage the simplest of tasks such as offering a smile.

Being courteous might be enshrined in the Rukunegara but it is lacking in all levels of our society. Courtesy cannot be taught as it has to be led by example.

The late Adibah Amin was a truly great Malaysian. In her book This End of the Rainbow, she wrote: “Gentleness and kindness are power because it takes a really strong person to be gentle and kind.”

Today, we have many rude and loud leaders hogging the limelight, fiercely proud of what they have said and done when sane people would have been utterly ashamed.

While the Key Performance Indicators (KPI) of private sector organisations are largely profit driven, KPI for government agencies are largely determined by those who run them. But who is to know how high or low the bar should be set?

I would say it should start with transparency, which is often used as a general term.

I like to be specific and will give top marks to any government agency which takes the trouble to find out exactly what the citizens want.

It can collate all requests and group them under a few main categories, such as approved, rejected with reasons given, and those under consideration.

All these should be posted in the agency’s website and accessible to the public so that people do not have to waste time making the same requests without knowing that decisions have already been made.

In this way, the Government will know exactly what the citizens want, and the rakyat are well informed on what is possible and what is not.

When government officials act as civil servants to serve the people, they will earn the true respect of the rakyat.

I am fortunate to have met and dealt with many good and dedicated government officials, and would like to see their numbers increase as they can help our country grow to what it can be.