All too often, the debate about modernising the civil service is framed within negative headlines.
Public want civil services that work. They want them to be easy to find out about, simple to use and responsive to their needs. They want them to deal with their requirements, preferably in one go.
In the real world, the civil service is made up of dedicated and highly skilled civil servants committed to delivering for the nation.
Civil servants are not faceless bureaucrats, but real people striving every day to serve the government and the public.
Civil servants are operating in an exceptionally challenging environment of diminishing resources, radical change, and pay levels that have fallen dramatically behind the market.
The world is changing. And it’s changing in ways that, as a Civil Service, we can’t afford to ignore.
Pretending change isn’t happening is not an option. Keeping pace with it is a necessity.
A professional and skilled civil service is a basic building block for governmental efficiency.
A professional and efficient public administration implies competent, motivated and neutral civil servants working in a system dedicated to serving the public interest.
The concept of a neutral civil service based on merit needs to be clarified. It implies the existence of a corps of officials recruited and promoted on the basis of their professional qualifications and serving the public interest, as it is defined by law.
Our civil service needs to be changing where they must, adding strength where they are already strong and getting on with the job of making Malaysia a truly great nation.
A world-class civil service is critical for delivering world-class public services and efficient, effective government. It forms the foundation of making government work, turning policy into reality and changing people’s lives.
