Nothing civil about the service

Budget 2012 contains a host of goodies for civil servants, but will this help boost their lacklustre performance?

COMMENT

The Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC) is beaming from ear to ear, overjoyed that the wishes of the 1.3 million civil servants have been taken care of in Budget 2012.

If MTUC president Osman Omar is happy, the rakyat too is looking forward to an efficient service from the public sector, no longer having to put up with the antics of public servants least interested in their jobs.

But the rise in productivity remains to be seen, as is the decrease in corruption.

In detailing Budget 2012 on Oct 7, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak announced the extension of retirement age for civil servants from 58 to 60. He also announced an annual increment of 7 percent to 13 percent for all civil servants.

Najib also announced a bonus of minimum RM500 for civil servants and government pensioners that would be paid in December. This excluded the RM500 that had already been paid in August.

“It is comprehensive and meets the wishes of the civil servants. I would like to thank the prime minister and the government for heeding the civil servants’ wish list,” Omar said.

He added that the bonuses, salary increments and salary adjustments would also increase productivity of the civil sector.

Previously, he said, there were dissenting voices but the civil service-focused budget is able to resolve dissenting voices as all the demands are met.

Sad, because it were those very dissenting voices that so often shortchanged the public through their “couldn’t-care-less” approach to work when the latter approached them for assistance.

Where’s the pride in civil service?

While the “goodies” assured by Najib have pleased the civil service, more has to be done to make sure the rakyat is given the best service at all times. Gone should be the days when a member of the public is given the run-around by those in the civil sector.

Stories of people being pushed from one counter to the next or from one department to another have further blemished the image of the public service in this country.

So, while the monetary lure and an extension of retirement age might or might not do the trick to shape up the civil service, it is the attitude of the public servants that has to change. And change can only come through “leadership by example”.

The onus lies with the government of the day to set a benchmark in so far as quality service is concerned. There should be no more of such sights where instead of all five public counters, only one is in service as the rest are either off for their long tea breaks or are simply “missing in action”.

Will the enticement offered by Najib to the civil service act as the desperately needed paradigm shift in the civil service? Only time will tell.

Rakyat can only be hopeful

With the 13th general election not too far away, the rakyat has every reason to doubt the Najib government’s generosity vis-à-vis Budget 2012. To try and fill the pockets of the civil servants under the pretext of “Barisan Nasional cares” might be Najib’s way of securing support from these public servants.

But then having faced years of unsatisfactory service dished out by the public service, the rakyat has wisened up to the “tricks and treats” of the BN government.

In 2007, a survey carried out by the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Rick Consultancy said foreign businessmen perceived Malaysia’s economy to be more corrupt in 2007 compared to 2006. The survey polled 1,476 expatriate business executives in 13 countries and territories across the region.

A few years back, Transparency International cautioned that corruption had reached a critical level in Malaysia, with the country falling in international rankings.

The UN’s Asia-Pacific Human Development Report highlighted an International Country Risk Guide finding which saw Malaysia decline from a score of 4.00 in 1996 to 2.38 in 2006, with a lower score representing greater corruption.

“It is worrying because it is a business index which reflects on our domestic investment, foreign direct investment and confidence in the economy,” said Ramon Navaratnam, then head of graft watchdog Transparency International Malaysia.

“Corruption is at a critical level here,” he had warned.

Ramon said corruption in Malaysia was deeply entrenched in the negotiation of contracts, with bribes being paid to government officials to speed up trade licences, for police protection and for loan transactions.

“Our economic structure, the way we do business here, needs to be reviewed, renewed and redesigned,” Navaratnam had said.

He warned that Malaysia could lose its competitive edge if it remained “complacent and inefficient”.

“Malaysia can do much better if there is stronger political will to fight corruption. Given the rapid pace of globalisation and increasing economic competition among Asian countries, it’s time to pull our socks up,” Navaratnam was then quoted by Thomson Financial News as saying.

Speaking of political will, is Budget 2012 “feel-good” handouts to the civil service the BN-government’s way of overhauling the performance of government servants, which at present leaves much to be desired? Only time will tell.

Jeswan Kaur is a freelance writer and a FMT columnist.