Good Governance in Administrative Management: Transparency & Accountability

Bismillahirahhmanirrahim,

Now that the rainy season has started, many of us in Klang Valley are relieved that the haze is finally clearing off, and the dams are filling up. And hopefully, no more water rationing. But not everyone is overjoyed at the prospect of the dams finally going beyond the 55% safety mark.

2. In fact, some dams are filled beyond the mark. Take for example the one in Cameron Highlands. The Sultan Abu Bakar Dam. On 5th November, the dam was brimming with water up to the edge. Now, why wouldn’t anyone be happy with this? Because history tells them that it is not a good sign. Only last year, they were inundated with water which overflowed, flooded the populated areas downstream and unfortunately, killed 4 people. This year, once again, there were landslides and mud floods, killing 5 people.

3. If only we could cast this news aside as a natural disaster and the victims as being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately, that is not the truth. Illegal land clearing has been rampant at the highlands, so much so that illegally cleared land is about 6,000 hectares. That is equivalent of 7,500 football fields. For comparison, Putrajaya only covers 5,000 hectares!

4. A former staff at the Cameron Highlands District and Land Office claimed that the culture of ‘under table money’ has been the norm for over 30 years. He also claimed that this culture is also prevalent among other enforcement agencies there. And supposedly within some circles, this was common knowledge. Not a secret. COMMON KNOWLEDGE? FOR 30 YEARS?

5. What is wrong with this picture? Is this person a hero or a villain? I suppose it is good that he had the courage to come forward with this revelation. However, for almost 30 years, he had kept silent. He did not become a part of the solution. By choosing not to act, he had decided to condone the ‘under table money’ culture.

6. It is important for each and every one of us to take this message to heart. Every day, we may face the choice of revealing the wrong-doings that we encounter. By choosing not to reveal, speak up or act, we are choosing to condone the very activity. Deciding not to act is a decision to allow the problem to continue to fester.

So, what will we do differently today?

Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh,
A very good morning,
And Salam 1Malaysia,
YBhg Dato’ Sri Dr Zaleha Kamaruddin, Rector of IIUM,
Deputy Rectors, Executive Directors, Directors, Deans and members of IIUM community.

7. It is an honour and a pleasure to be with all of you today. I have always been very proud of IIUM for all its tremendous achievements. It was truly an honour to have served as IIUM’s President, and always a pleasure to come back and meet with all my former colleagues. So, thank you so much for inviting me today. Especially YBhg Dato’ Sri Rector. Thank you for providing me this platform to speak on a topic that I am deeply passionate about. It is something that I tried my best to promote wherever I went. Maybe more successfully in some places than others. And, at IIUM I ALWAYS FEEL WELCOME!

SELF-PRESERVATION
8. Let’s go back to Cameron Highlands. Why didn’t this former officer, and others, act earlier? We can only guess, but one reason most often cited is that there will be negative repercussions from the senior officers – losing the job is one possibility. Fear of losing one’s job overtakes the fear of God. It overtakes the values of amanah, trustworthiness and truthfulness. Essentially, that is putting oneself above the organisation. Self-preservation. When our own needs are addressed at the expense of the department, the Kuliyyah, the University.

9. The other reason cited is, “I can’t do anything because I am not given the autonomy or the trust to act like an owner”. Or, “I am just an ADO. My job is too small”. But then, the Land Department will turn around and say, “I will not trust someone unless he shows he is responsible and can be trusted”. So, where do we go from there? Is it a catch 22?

10. To me it is not a catch 22. The solution is quite obvious to me. If someone tells me he or she is waiting to be given ‘trust’ and ‘autonomy’ before acting as an owner, he will be the last person I trust. Because, here, trust becomes conditional. Trust and integrity CANNOT be conditional. Essentially, the person is saying I will not jeopardise my job to behave like an owner. To uphold good governance.

INTEGRITY
11. By putting self above the organisation, are we displaying integrity? What is integrity? One definition of integrity is giving one’s best thoughts and effort towards the role one is entrusted with. Beyond the minimum required. Beyond the remit of what is good for just that position. Regardless of whether it is seen by others or not. Actually, more so when no one is watching!

12. Integrity is about removing all the limiting walls and blocks in our mind, to see what is best for the bigger picture – the University, the Nation. But wait a minute, isn’t that the role of Dato’ Sri Rector to think about the University?

13. Actually, it is not. If we wait until we become an Executive Director, to think like Dato’ Wan Hilmi, we may never become an Executive Director. Our superiors will observe us and conclude we do not have the capacity and capability to be one because we have not demonstrated it. I am definite Sidek Hassan would not have become the Chief Secretary to the Government if he didn’t start thinking and behaving like a KSN since his time as the Trade Commissioner in Sydney, an M 48 officer.

TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY
14. If we choose to stay silent, if we think a breach of integrity and lack of governance is not our problem, that it is the problem of Dato’ Sri Zaleha, Prof Dato’ Tahir and Datuk Dr Mizan to solve, then we are condoning the breaches. This is the ‘tyranny of the majority’. When the majority chooses to behave in a way that is detrimental to the rest.
Here I would like to share two very powerful quotes that are most relevant to our topic. (1) There comes a time, when silence is betrayal [Martin Luther King Jr] and (2) All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent [Thomas Jefferson].

15. The message is, good governance and accountability are the responsibility of each and every one of us, individually and collectively. That means having ownership of our position and our organisation. If this was my own university, what would I do? Would I ignore the ‘wrong’ 2 hour overtime Mr A claims in Department B? After all, it is not my department. It is not coming from my budget. But wait, it is not your budget or my budget. It is the University’s budget. It is the Rakyat’s money. The message is, Good Governance requires ownership.

WHISTLEBLOWER POLICY
16. It is all well and good to say that every individual is responsible to promote and uphold integrity and good governance. But what about the fears of losing the job and being sidelined. Aren’t these fears real? Of course they are. So the University also needs to assume an important role to promote good governance. And here is where the Rector, the Senate and the Majlis will be held to task. It is not only about thinking for the greater good, but also enforcing the greater good. This is where things like the Whistleblower Policy are so important.

17. I am very proud to share the example of the Whistleblower Policy in PETRONAS. This policy is made public on our website. It is designed to address the misconducts and offences among the employees. It allows both employees as well as the public to make a complaint. Most importantly, it provides protection of confidentiality of identity. It also undertakes to protect employees against any adverse and detrimental action within the scope of the employment. This protection is also enshrined in the MACC Act 2009.

18. So MACC has provided the platform through the Act. What is required is for us to act. For good governance to define our organisation, and for accountability and transparency to define our actions, we need to act. To implement. To enforce. Those who see breaches must summon the courage to come forward and be counted. And those entrusted to receive complaints and investigate, must summon the courage to act with integrity, without fear or favor. And do it expeditiously. Justice delayed, is justice denied. Others say, justice hurried is also justice buried. So find the balance. But ACT WE MUST.

19. At the end of the day, policies are only as good as its enforcement. Receive the complaint, respond with appreciation to the complainant, and start the investigation. Protect the whistleblower and complete the investigation, fast. It is in the best interest of all that the process is expedited. If innocent, we owe it to the accused to clear his name quickly. If guilty, deal with it fast and remove the cancer before it spreads.

20. When the organisation, the University, is seen to be serious in upholding governance by responding fast, and acting courageously, the signal it sends is clear. We mean business. When governance is seen to be enforced, consistently – not sporadically – then others will be encouraged to report breaches. And breaches will also reduce because, people know, the chances of them being discovered and punished is very high. It becomes a Culture.

“KESIAN” FACTOR
21. Let me acknowledge one key problem in operationalising this – we are overly compassionate when it comes to enforcing punishment for wrongdoings. The ‘Kesian Factor’. Compassion has its place, it is fine so long as it doesn’t mean condoning non-compliance of governance matters.

22. Why should we feel ‘kesian’ for someone who clearly commits a breach. We may worry about what will happen
to his family, his wife and children, if he is found guilty. But shouldn’t he have worried about that?

23. The other reason we feel ‘kesian’, the more probable reason perhaps, is because we feel guilty. Guilty for not having spent enough time to nurture him, monitor him and advise him the way we should have. We may not have performed our duties as the supervisor sufficiently, that we feel partially guilty for the act. Which brings me to the next topic – performance management.

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
24. Good governance cannot stand alone – it must be supported by an effective performance culture. A culture where performance targets and expected standards are agreed upfront. Where periodic review and feedback is given. Where high performance is praised. And under performance is detected early for timely intervention. Performance conversations should happen throughout the year. Not just one 30 minute conversation at the end of December or early January. We should not leave the performance appraisal as a guessing game. Or as an opportunity to ‘get back at someone’. Just as our positions are an amanah entrusted to us, so are our people. We are entrusted to get the most out of our people. We are entrusted to nurture and develop them. To bring them to a level of performance even they may not have imagined they are capable of. We have a responsibility towards the organisation and the people, to deliver on this amanah.

25. To uphold good governance, and a culture of accountability and transparency, we can’t do it alone. We need the support of everyone around us. It makes a lot of sense that we create more supporters for this cause. It makes even more sense, we start within our sphere of influence – the people under our supervision.

26. If we practice a transparent performance culture, then there is no room for regrets and ‘kesian factor’. Only then, can we truly promote good governance, with clear conscience. Where everyone have been given equal opportunity to develop and prosper. And where under performers and those who breach good governance are dealt with effectively and swiftly.

27. The core of good governance are amanah (trust) and ada’lah (justice), guidance of which can be found in the Quran. Good governance is not an alien concept to Islam – quite the contrary. Our beloved Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was known for his virtue of trustworthiness. And Islam spread because it espoused the value of justice to all, regardless of gender, creed and class. Therefore, good governance should be second nature to us. Let me correct myself. We are an INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC University. Islamic. And International. Good governance should be first nature to us!

28. An International Islamic University cannot afford a “landslide”. We cannot, and should not, allow any “illegal farming” to take root and flourish in this beloved University of ours. It will not only be a failing on our amanah, more critically, it will be a failing on our faith, on Islam.
People of good conscience cannot remain silent. That will be a betrayal.

29. I urge you, and remind myself, to speak up. Put our organisation above ourselves. Embrace integrity and think beyond our immediate remit. Own our University. Encourage whistleblowing and respond fast. Compassion has its place – it cannot be used to condone bad governance.

30. It shouldn’t be that difficult. After all, we are in an Islamic university. International Islamic University of Malaysia.

31. But why should we limit ourselves to IIUM? Should it not be applicable to all universities? To Cameron Highlands District Office. To all District Offices. To ALL: Public and Private!

Wabillahitaufiq wal hidayah, wassalamu’alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.