Culture of deliberation allows civil servants to express views, says Anwar

PUTRAJAYA: The culture of ‘musyawarah’ (deliberation) is crucial to give civil servants the space and opportunity to express their views when formulating the country’s direction, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (pic).

Speaking at the Prime Minister's Department monthly assembly here on Monday (June 12), Anwar said the voice of civil servants is crucial to make any deliberation more meaningful and effective.

Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, said that listening to views helped him in making decisions.

"I attended many meetings and I said there must be the spirit (of deliberation). I want to expand it so that heads of departments and officers who specialise in the respective areas are ready to give their views,” he said.

He said that the Madani concept introduced in January did not prevent civil servants from discussing and speaking out and added that the culture of deliberation and speaking out was also contained in the Al-Quran.

On manners when making deliberation, Anwar said that every question or dispute on a matter which has been decided needs to be dealt with wisely and added that people should not be quick when it comes to passing judgement.

He said that whether a person’s view was right or not, the speed of passing judgement would only prevent the discussion from taking place.

Anwar also said that differences of opinion or views that arise in a deliberation should not be used as a space to criticise certain individuals, instead, these opinions should be properly discussed. - Bernama