Change the tune to attract the brightest

(NST) One of Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s first proposals as premier was to open the civil service to the ’best and brightest’ from the private sector. SHERIDAN MAHAVERA looks at whether this is the cure the bureaucracy needs

IN a series of New Straits Times articles two weeks ago on key performance indicators for ministers and deputy ministers, it was suggested that politicians were the solution to what ails the civil service.

Datuk M. Kayveas argued that the deficiencies of government staff were due to their not having to answer to the people, as politicians like him had to.

If elected representatives were in charge, he said, government departments would be more accountable, responsive and effective, as "wakil rakyat" were more attuned to peoples' needs.

Civil servants are seen as virtually "un-fireable". If they choose to, they can cruise through their careers as "seat-warmers", as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said, without reprimand.

Though Najib's proposal is not as radical as Kayveas', the opening up of key positions in the administrative and diplomatic corps — the creme de la creme of the bureaucracy — sounds promising but is not a panacea either.

Former and active civil servants point out that, as with all good ideas, its success will lie in how it is implemented.

What's more important are the guiding principles behind the idea — that the service be impartial to its political masters of the day and to the public it works for; that it rewards those who excel and punishes laggards.

Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam is proud of the civil service and his time in it, but he believes that the rot started in the 1980's when the meritocracy and polish that had made it into such a vaunted institution started to erode.

"We had a 4:1 ratio when it came to recruitment," recalls Navaratnam, a former secretary-general of the Transport Ministry. "For every four Malays, we took in one non-Malay. This multi-ethnic balance was crucial because if you have an administration made up of only one race it becomes insular and they start scratching each other's backs."

A study by the Centre of Public Policy Studies last year, of which Navaratnam is chairman, showed that the composition of the service stood at 77.03 per cent Malays, 14.49 per cent non-Malays, 7.77 per cent other Bumiputera and 0.70 per cent from other groups.

A source in the Prime Minister's Department reveals that a plan is in the works to address the racial imbalance, though it will take at least a decade to see the results.

But another former officer, Jayanath Appudurai, does not think the all-Malay civil service is a problem as long as managers are impartial to everyone — their subordinates, their bosses and the public.

"I never had problems because I do not look at people through an ethnic lens," says Jayanath, whose last post was as National Science Centre director.

"Race was irrelevant and I treated all my staff fairly."

For the service to attract the best and brightest and keep them, it must ensure that at every stage of their careers, they will be judged on their qualifications and performance, not their ethnicity.

Navaratnam says that partisan considerations arose in giving out contracts and promoting officers when the "Malaysia Incorporated" concept was introduced.

"At first, open tenders were the norm and negotiated tenders were the exception. Gradually, this was flipped so that negotiated tenders started to become the rule.

"When an honest officer questions why an unqualified company is given a lucrative contract, he is sidelined by the political leadership.

"When officers see their honest and hardworking colleagues discriminated against in favour of those who play ball with the politicians, they get dispirited. Why bother, they say, because in the end it is who you are chummy with that matters."

Jayanath claims that political considerations became para-mount when it came to choosing secretaries-general for ministries, as suitability was based on whether a particular candidate could "ikut rentak" (dance to the tune) of the politicians.

"Political acceptability was the unsaid criterion behind promotions for heads of department and secretaries-general especially because budgetary allocations to a ministry are given to these sec-gens."

Former Public Services Department director-general Tan Sri Alwi Jantan Alwi, who retired in 1990, denies this.

He says candidates for the sec-gen posts are chosen on merit by the Promotions Board chaired by the chief secretary, who then runs the names by the prime minister.

"It was very rare indeed that a minister would reject a candidate."

Alwi feels that it's not political interference that causes problems but political expediency.

"I once travelled around the country trying to persuade all menteris besar to accept non-Malay district officers in substantially non-Malay districts but they all refused. They worried about grassroots repercussions.

"To this day, I do not think there is a single non-Malay district officer in the peninsula. The situation in Sabah and Sarawak is quite different."

When Najib announced his proposal, he called on the talented to sign up as a form of national service, as the government could not match private sector remuneration.

According to a non-Malay state government officer who joined the service from the private sector, the perks and job security are good for anyone not planning to make millions but looking for a stable career.

Though the public sector cannot offer the big bucks of the private sector, it offers a certain job satisfaction that the corporate world cannot provide — that of being part of something bigger and altruistic.

"But it's only possible if you are fairly rewarded for your contributions and efforts.

"Right now, there is a perception that career advancement is not based on these things but on who you know."

It would be pointless to recruit the most talented for government service if they cannot be satisfied and retained.

Ironically, though the restructuring of the civil service will be spearheaded by the nation's top politician, he will need to purge it of politics for it to be re-infused with the professionalism and efficiency it was known for.