Time to break the shackles

I WAS drawn to a recent Deloitte report on the future of public service. It argues for radical technological changes and new generational expectations about public service work. More importantly public service as we understand it today will no more be a lifelong agency employment but a more flexible federal career model.

The backdrop is the government of the future.

But will governments change as fast as technological advancement or the demands of the populace? It takes leaders with the audacity to make the difference. There are many leaders among us but few visionaries among them. Some leaders are merely seat warmers in transition.

I was fortunate to join a panel of distinguished speakers in a forum entitled “100 Years of the PTD: Looking Back and Going Forward” jointly organised by the PTD Alumni and the Association of Former Malaysian Ambassadors last Tuesday.

I was in the company of Tan Sri Samsuddin Osman, the former chief secretary to the government and Datuk Seri Mohd Shafiq Abdullah, the director-general of Public Services as panelist, and the session was moderated by Tan Sri Rastam Mohd Isa.

We all agreed that “tomorrow” is now and there is a need to raise the bar for excellence, commitment and integrity. We concur that much has been said about the quality of public service and we are also aware of the new challenges facing the service with the backdrop of the changing dynamics of society.

The Administrative and Diplomatic Service (or better known by its Malay acronym PTD) celebrated its 100 years in 2021. The PTD originated from the Malayan Civil Service (MCS) established by the colonial government in December 1920. Undeniably the MCS and later the PTD has been at the forefront of nation-building since then.

They have been involved in policy, planning and implementation involving national development and diplomacy.

It is common knowledge that PTD officers have extensive powers and prestige by holding key positions in the administration.

Those at the top are the administrative elite enjoying the best positions and grade structures. The PTD is the envy of many, the path to retirement littered with perks and entitlement. And as in a recent case, one of the them was enjoying a RM30,000-a-month salary for not doing anything as adviser of the scandal-ridden 1MDB.

To be fair, we should not judge the service by the few transgressions of its members.

We are where we are today thanks to their work and dedication. They have adapted and made adjustments over the years. They learned new skills and adopted new technologies. They accepted the fact that they have to be more agile, flexible and responsive in dealing with the public.

In an overtly politicised atmosphere that we are in, they are there to make their political masters look good. In most cases politicians take the credit for a job well done and the public servants take the beatings when things go wrong.

I have always argued that a health crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic is a litmus test for both politicians and civil servants.

The crisis has positioned civil servants at the centre of the greatest global disaster response effort in modern times.

The pandemic has been merciless, creating havoc and decimating economies. It has introduced a phrase that encapsulate humanity in crisis: “the new normal”.

The pandemic has brought to fore the need for a more robust, cohesive and trusted public service.

What we learned from the crisis will help us to redesign the future of public service.

We are also learning about new forces that are shaping the work of civil service. The service has to come out with both quick-fix solutions and long-term planning to alleviate the pains of the people in such trying times.

I pointed out in my presentation on the need to relook at archaic General Orders and rules that have been shackling the service. They must take ownership of their toils.

They can’t forever be the shadow warriors or kagemusha behind their political masters. It cannot be a case of “lembu punya susu, sapi punya nama” (someone else taking credit of someone else’s work) always. It is foolish to hold on to the old wisdom that civil servants should neither be seen nor heard.

To benchmark against the best, we need more assertive and vocal members of the service. They must maintain the tradition of being politically neutral, which is not easy.

Impartiality is a gargantuan notion to uphold today. To bring about a clean, transparent and trusted government, we need a service that is not beholden to anyone, except to serve the country without fear or favour, and with distinction.

That should be the new marker of excellence for “penjawat awam”.

Johan Jaaffar was a journalist, editor and for some years chairman of a media company, and is passionate about all things literature and the arts. And a diehard rugby fan.

The views expressed here are entirely his own.