YOURSAY | Time for govt servants to clean house

 

YOURSAY | ‘The civil service can make or break a government.’

Wan Saiful: PM failed to guarantee no 'witch hunt' in civil service

‘Embrace change’ - PM tells civil servants in maiden PMO speech

MS: A tie-less Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is obviously putting a premium on optics. The message could be "it is no longer business as usual" or "everyone needs to roll up their shirt sleeves".

But let's see how this unity government pans out in an environment which has always nurtured partisanship. Let's watch this trapeze act where one false move can be fatal.

I heard Anwar’s speech earlier this morning and must say that it was brief, measured and persuasive with occasional touches of humour.

It was good to see a dour MACC chief Azam Baki standing facing him along with other unit heads in the Prime Minister’s Office.

The simple message - zero tolerance for corrupt acts and abuse of power - was communicated to them.

Mano: Loyalty of the civil service must be to the people whom they serve. Is that a very difficult tenet to understand for the civil service?

If so, then a major overhaul is necessary but as Malaysiakini commentator MS said, it will be a trapeze act with many potential risks.

Risks have come about from selfish politicians from the 1980s who indulge in corruption, racism and extremism so that they continue to be rich and powerful while keeping the poor, poorer and poorer.

Cogito Ergo Sum: The civil service can make or break a government.

Good policy initiatives can be ruined by a poor and half-hearted effort by officers in the country’s administration. Bad policies can be made good by corrective measures and feedback to the government.

Indeed, the loyalty of the civil service must be to the people whom they serve. Not to any individual politician or party.

Change, unfortunately, is not something easily embraced by those used to being stuck in a rut.

Quigonbond: Bersatu information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan, there are a lot of things to unpack in Anwar’s speech that it's irrelevant to be even talking about witch hunts.

The key takeaways are rule of law and ministers should respect the process by listening to experienced senior servants before changing policies, anti-cronyism, nepotism, independence and professionalism of the civil service, the need for leadership attitude change, to look forward and work as a team. All the right sound bites.

Wan Saiful, go watch the whole video of Anwar's speech before making comments.

Kilimanjaro: There will be a lot of mud coming from Perikatan Nasional (PN).

The unity government should form a team to not only counter their "lies" but also possibly take them to court. The "pests" will try to destabilise the government.

This is how the late former Singapore president Lee Kuan Yew made sure that those who make up "lies" are taken to court and in almost all the cases he won. He made them pay, which spared his government the instability and headache.

Please take this seriously because there may be people who may sharpen their knives to stab you.

Justice: Like a private company, if it is successful in making profits it is because it employs good, honest, and competent executives, managers and employees.

Any executives, managers and employees found incompetent or unproductive and therefore not contributing to the company, will be replaced.

So surely, if the unity government is to make Malaysia succeed especially economically, it has the right to also shift or replace any of the civil servants. Corrupt, incompetent or deadwood in the civil service will only destroy Malaysia.

Likewise, those who will potentially sabotage and destroy the unity government from inside the civil service must be weeded out as no government in the world will tolerate such enemy sleeper cells within its administration.

Apanama is Back: Anwar, you are the agent of change. Instead of asking them to embrace the change, you need to push the change on them.

The deep state and little Napoleons will not be bothered to embrace change just because you told them to.

BobbyO: Accepting change is not going to be easy as there have been years of indoctrination of corrupt activities.

As for the calling of tenders, they have found ways to work around them - by submitting tenders of five or more companies, all of which lead to one ownership.

It is very important to first get the government agencies, especially the investigative ones, to be more efficient and run by leaders of integrity. MACC and the National Audit Department should be updated and given more bite to investigate each tender.

This will greatly help the civil servants toe the line and save on waste. It will keep corruption in check. Both the leaders of these two agencies should be of calibre, with no political inclination, people of integrity and with no baggage.

AnotherKomentar: Anwar’s “human dignity and service” motto is what Malaysia's civil service should be built on.

Malaysians want an efficient and respectful civil service that is uplifting and contributes to nation-building - a civil service that serves all Malaysians regardless of race, religion, and creed. May Anwar usher in the true spirit of “Berkhidmat untuk Negara”!

BluePanther4725: A good, clean and competent civil service and government are what we need to mend our economy and heal our country.

Change and reform take time and will happen incrementally. Our expectations should be realistic. Pakatan Harapan cannot perform miracles.

We must be patient and allow some mistakes, so long as we are moving forward. - Mkini