MOMENTS

SPEECH BY TAN SRI MOHD SIDEK HASSAN
CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA

AT THE DINNER FUNCTION ON THE OCCASION OF THE 33rd ANNUAL MEET OF SENIOR OFFICIALS PUBLIC SERVICES OF MALAYSIA – SINGAPORE

Bismillahir rahamaanir rahim

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh

And a very Good Evening.

Your Excellency Peter Ho,
Head of Civil Service of the Republic of Singapore,

Colleagues,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The comical satirical series, “Yes Prime Minister” and “Yes Minister”, as most would know was set in the Offices of British Government to show the workings of civil service almost anywhere in the world. This series ran in the 1980s and 90s. For many years I would watch this sitcom repeatedly. I confess to even owning a whole set of the collection; which my youngest son claims as his!!

2. As satirical as it may be, the acts in “Yes Prime Minister” rings some common realities of public officials in our own countries I am sure. In one of the episodes, the Permanent Secretary to Minister Hacker, Sir Humphrey Appleby, asks Principal Private Secretary Bernard Woolley, about “need to know” principle. The conversation goes like this:

Bernard says: You only need to know things on a need to know basis.

Humphrey retorts: I need to know everything. How else can I judge whether or not I need to know it?

Bernard answers: So you need to know things, even when you don’t need to know them. You need to know them not because you need to know them, but because you need to know whether or not you need to know. And if you don’t need to know you still need to know so that you know that there was no need to know. Very convoluted.

3. In another conversation during an Official Visit, Jim Hacker asked the difference in terminologies used by the civil servants. Bernard the Private Secretary would reply, “Well, “under consideration” means “we’ve lost the file”; “under active consideration” means “we’re trying to find it””.

4. Even as we smile at these lines, it is almost ironic how public officials all over the world are always credited or discredited for speaking THAT common lingo, yet a language allegedly not understood by the greater masses. These conversations could have occurred in any of our own offices.

5. In one of the episodes Hacker would ask Sir Humphrey, “So when this next comes up at Question Time, you want me to tell Parliament that it’s *their* fault that the Civil Service is too big?” Sir Humphrey Appleby snaps, “But it’s the truth, Minister”.

6. From the coasts of Britain to France, Spain to Greece and America, the public sector is being called to transform. The arguments for overhaul oscillate from big numbers to delivery of service, or rather the lack of it. But even as we have these prognoses, the panacea that works for all ills is not readily available. We live in times where one size doesn’t fit all. What might work in KL may not in Manila or Singapore. However, the principles to those transformations could be tailor-made to our own localities.

7. I believe, these meets and many more of such formal and informal exchanges greatly assist in addressing our own unique situations. Over the last 30 years, these visits have supported not only in forging better ties between our countries, but that it continues to fortify our common purpose towards the region, AFTA, WTO, Doha Rounds (if we can add to that!), Energy, Trade and Security Policies amongst others.

8. The reciprocal visits between our Honourable Prime Ministers, YAB Dato Sri Najib Tun Razak and the Honourable Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in May and June this year explicitly mark Malaysia and Singapore’s joint commitment to building on our strengths and diversity.

9. In the final analysis, Singaporeans and Malaysians share many commons, not differences. I know Singaporeans who would travel all the way to Ampang for their Yong Tau Foos, and Malaysians who still claim Singapore has the most authentic of Indian cuisine. And, at least one in this room driving up to Port Dickson for durian. From our gastronomic leanings to our cultures, we share a mutual bond in history; and our children will too in future. The future is no longer defined by boundaries of sovereignty, but of common purpose for the greater humanity.

10. Beyond the greater global policies, as laughable and comical public service is often made to seem, this job offers us all a temporary platform to making that small difference in the lives of the society we call home. It gives us a small window of opportunity to possibly bringing greater dignity and prosperity to people from all walks of lives. As it is only a job for most, for some of us we see it a calling.

11. These moments are transitory windows and opportunities in all our lives, even as we may have worked in it all our working lives. It still is transitory. But these moments, are moments we could each look back and say – I was able to make that difference, albeit a little, so that my children could live something better.

On behalf of my colleagues, thank you again Peter, and Singapore, for the wonderful weekend and my colleagues look forward to receiving you all in Malaysia for the 34th meet next year.