Top appointments need new approach

I AGREE with those who say that it is unfair to jump to conclusions about the appointment of Tan Sri Dr Madinah Mohamad as the new Auditor-General because of her husband’s political links.

She should be given the chance to prove her integrity as a person whom the public can trust to carry out this heavy responsibility.

This responsibility includes auditing the management of public funds by government ministries and agencies and reporting to Parliament faithfully and professionally, without fear or favour, as her predecessor Tan Sri Ambrin had done in the Auditor-General’s Annual Report.

His exposure of the weaknesses in financial management and the abuse of power at the administrative and political levels made him one of the most respected civil servants.

The post of Auditor-General is one of those high level appointments in the government service which is critical in maintaining the country’s reputation for clean and trustworthy public administration.

The others are the Chief Secretary to the Government, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance, the Attorney-General and the Director-General of the Public Services Department.

All these appointments are important as they are headed by the most senior civil servants in the country.

In keeping with modern trends for openness, transparency and accountability, it is timely to intro- duce a change in the way appointments are made to the top management positions in the civil service.

One suggestion is to have confirmation hearings before a panel under the Public Services Commission that will sit to hear testimonies from interested parties about the suitability of the candidate for the job.

The candidate will be asked questions to determine that he or she is fit and proper and can be trusted to hold such an important post.

If there are doubts about the person’s credentials and integrity, it is better to drop him at the early stage, than to appoint the wrong person and expose the government to embarrassing gossip and speculation over the appointment.

The underlying principle in selecting candidates to fill the top positions in the civil service should be meritocracy.

To facilitate choosing the best candidate, opportunity should be given to anyone from any of the branches of the civil service - the PTD, professional and technical services or from outside the public sector - to compete for the top management posts if there are applicants who feel they have the competence to become secretaries-generals and directors-general of ministries and departments.

The applicants should then be assessed and shortlisted to select the best candidate.

He should then be required to appear before an independent high level panel, as suggested earlier, to defend his credentials and reply to testimonies from interested individuals and groups, including relevant agencies like the MACC and Inland Revenue Department.

This is to confirm that there are no issues about credibility and integrity in his past service or in his personal life serious enough to disqualify him for the appointment.

Times have changed and the entire public service should change too in the way it promotes and rewards its officers so that they can stand tall and say they have reached the top on merit.

This will go a long way to make our public service among the most respected in the world.

Times have changed and the entire public service should change too in the way it promotes and rewards its officers.

TAN SRI MOHD SHERIFF MOHD KASSIM KUALA LUMPUR