NEWLY-MINTED Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has affirmatively pointed out in his new year’s message that one of the key substances for the country to prosper, especially for the public sector, in general, is to embrace a paradigm shift in its machinery.
His prime contention was that it should not be merely a concept or slogan but to put good governance into practice and produce concrete results that benefit the people.
The performance of the civil service persistently draws considerable attention from the public as it is the fundamental pillar for the government in delivering the required services.
The rakyat distinctly places high expectations for the civil service to deliver its core business efficaciously at all times.
Taking cognizance of such demands, civil servants need to bear greater responsibility and be accountable in their day-to-day work.
Referencing the prime minister’s quote that “the paradigm must be shifted along with the welfare of the masses and uphold democratic accountability whereby one must be responsible for the way they act despite the freedom they have to do so” is a fundamental reminder that we should be people-centric than self-centred.
Essentially, the ingredient of the “paradigm shift” as highlighted by the prime minister requires a change of mindset among the civil servants and blends innovation and creativity in devising and delivering their services to the public.
The change of time dictates that we can no longer do business as usual.
A transformative and reformative public sector should be in place with robust measures that go along with the ideation espoused by the prime minister and reshape the estimated 1.6 million employees, including personnel from the public health and education sector as well as those attached to security and enforcement agencies.
Issues such as integrity and good governance always draw grave concern from people on the ground.
The scourge of corruption has been crippling the country’s image for quite some time.
Notwithstanding the number of civil servants involved, it reflects negatively overall.
Thus, this prompted the new government, especially the prime minister, to pull the string hard and ensure that the country progresses in the right direction.
Hence, the public sector should be at the forefront which carries the emblem of government to portray a clean outlook to the world.
It is worth noting that generally, good governance implies the presence of rule of law, the safeguarding of human rights and the existence of honest and efficient government, accountability, transparency, predictability, and openness.
Therefore, for any Public Sector to prosper and transcend any limitations, adopting such good governance is paramount.
Although for more than half a century, the Malaysian Public Sector has gone through incredible changes and reformation processes and stands among one of the best ones in this region, we still need a shift in paradigm and outlook in producing greater results.
The policies and strategies which will be shaped and refined along with the globalisation process need to be infused with more fresh ingredients so that services rendered are fulfilling, up to mark and able to face the forthcoming challenges.
The Chief Secretary to the Government who helms the civil service is well aware of those matters and ensures that our civil servants serve the best interests of the Malaysians.
Hence, the paradigm shift is the best way forward in re-energising and reshaping a formidable public sector in the future.
Dr G Periasamy
Senior Research Fellow
National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN)