Healing the World

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

AT THE SPECIAL LECTURE SERIES BY MAHSA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE

Bismillahir rahmanir rahim.

Assalamu’alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh, Salam Sejahtera dan Salam 1Malaysia.

YBhg. Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Haji Mohd. Ismail Merican
Pro-Canselor dan Pengerusi
MAHSA University College

YBhg. Prof. Datuk Dr. Haji Mohammad Haniffa Haji Abdullah
Pro-Canselor dan Pengerusi Eksekutif, MAHSA University College

YBhg. Prof. Datuk Dr. Hj. Megat Burhainuddin, Naib Canselor
MAHSA University College

Ahli Fakulti dan Staf MAHSA University College

YBhg Tan Sri, Dato’-Dato’, Datin-Datin, Tuan-Tuan dan Puan-Puan

Para hadirin yang dihormati sekalian.

Alhamdulillah, bersyukur kita ke hadrat Allah SWT atas limpah rahmat dan izin Nya kita dapat hadir bersama-sama pada petang ini sempena berlangsungnya Special Lecture Series anjuran MAHSA University College. Pada kesempatan ini saya ingin merakamkan penghargaan dan ucapan terima kasih kepada YBhg. Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. Ismail Merican atas kesudian beliau menjemput saya untuk berkongsi pandangan dan pengalaman dengan Fakulti dan Staf MAHSA University College serta tetamu jemputan sekalian, melalui syarahan yang bertajuk “Healing the World”.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

2. Let me at the outset congratulate MAHSA on your achievements since its establishment in 2005. Its contribution to higher education in healthcare has been recognised when its status was upgraded from that of a College to University College in 2009, ALL within a mere 4 years.  MAHSA University College is clearly contributing towards realising the Government’s vision of Malaysia as a hub of academic excellence.

MIRACULOUS SERVICE, EXTRAORDINARY CARE

3. Let me begin this conversation on public service by taking you to the world of English football. When Fabrice Muamba, the Bolton Wanderers midfielder, strode on to the pitch at White Hart Lane, on Saturday 17th March 2012, barely 17 days ago today, for the club’s FA Cup quarter-final tie with Tottenham, little did he know the turn of events that would change the course of his life and touch the hearts of millions across the globe. As Muamba collapsed in front of thousands of spectators 41 minutes into the game, Tottenham’s club doctor Shabaaz Mughal and his paramedics grabbed their resuscitation bags and rushed to begin life-saving treatment. Bolton Wanderers’ club doctor Jonathan Tobin joined the team. Tottenham fan, Dr Andrew Deaner, consultant cardiologist at London Chest Hospital, who was in the stands, ran on to the pitch to assist.

4. In the words of Dr. Mughal, when reliving the critical moments, and I quote: “We turned him over and he appeared to take a couple of gasps and became unresponsive. Immediately you are focused on the CPR and the training just kicks in. We do extensive training for this kind of worst-case scenario. You have no real awareness of the crowd because you’re so focused on the actual resuscitation.” End quote.

5. Muamba was then scooped up by the paramedics, rushed through the stadium tunnel, and on to the ambulance. While one paramedic maintained the airway, another was putting in IV access and giving drugs, while the ambulance swayed from side to side at high speed. Interestingly, the London Chest Hospital was ready for Muamba, as they had been listening to the match on the radio and had been wondering if he would be arriving at their hospital. The outcome for Muamba, who was “in effect dead” for 78 minutes, has been miraculous only because of the extraordinary care provided on the pitch, in the ambulance and at the hospital.

PUBLIC SERVICE AS A HEALER

6. The Muamba experience is a manifestation of medical and health practitioners adhering to the highest professional standards in delivering emergency medical services and providing critical patient care. It was truly public service in action in full view of the public!

7. Transplant this scenario onto the Public Service. Our constituents today expect that same kind of dedication, competence, responsiveness and empathy in the delivery of services as exhibited by the team of medics at White Hart Lane. In any area, in all sectors. Minus the emotional atmosphere — but with the same speed, expertise, confidence and care. A good dose of passion and exuberance in delivery will do us no harm; and our clients a lot of good.  So too for our country!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

8. The healing touch in delivery is not something that is exclusive to the healthcare fraternity.  Healing in its broader sense encompasses all nature of services delivered by the Public Service.  Whether it is controlling the SARS epidemic; negotiating a trade deal for our nation; collection of garbage by the local authority; processing a passport over the counter; or merely providing information to a tourist on the sights and sounds of a city. They are all part of the healing process. It is a process where we deliver a variety of solutions to meet the differing demands and needs of our segmented clients and citizens. The halal certification by JAKIM officials is as much a healer, as that by the medical or health practitioner. It is the service-oriented eco-system of the Public Service that will ensure the efficacy of the healing process.

KEEPING THINGS SIMPLE

Ladies and Gentlemen,

9. It was Confucius who said that “Life is actually really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” That may also be the bane of the Public Service. The world over.  Somehow we have acquired a reputation for being ingenious in padding what would surely have started as a simple procedure, to the point where the original intent of the procedure becomes unrecognisable. In many an instance the additional steps may have been included to address the transgressions of a few.

10. Our challenge is how to make the Public Service less complicated and more simple.  PEMUDAH Focus Group on Business Process Reengineering reviewed and identified archaic and irrelevant licenses, permits, rules and regulations to be abolished or simplified to enable a more competitive business environment for Malaysia. Employing the Guillotine approach, in 2011 alone, 395 of the 761 reviewed were eliminated and/or simplified.  If we cannot now justify the licenses’ continued existence, we eliminate them!  Guillotine them.

11. We also invite the public, anyone, to suggest rules or regulation which would do us good if eliminated.  The PEMUDAH Challenge would pay RM1,000 for any suggestion accepted. This is but one example of the effort to unclog the licensing bottlenecks in the Public Service in its “Keep It Simple” drive.

12. What next for this agenda? We need to pursue these efforts even more vigorously. We must not be satisfied by merely simplifying licensing procedures. Instead, we need to think out of the box to find acceptable alternatives to licensing as a conventional regulatory or revenue earning measure.

13. The abolishment of licenses under the initiative has enabled a reduction of an estimated RM790 million in licensing compliance costs since the start of the exercise in mid-2011.  Reduced compliance cost as a result of the abolishment of licensing can actually increase revenue for the Government by way of taxes as the business community posts higher profits due to the reduced cost of doing business.

14. Going forward, we should initiate a mechanism where before any new laws, rules or regulations are promulgated they must go through a comprehensive consultation and engagement.  This is in line with the Prime Minister’s mantra that the days where the Government knows best is over.

15. In addition, every new rules/regulations should have a sunset clause, whereby they are deemed to lapse after “x number” of years, unless renewed.  This way we will avoid a situation where archaic rules remain forever on our books.

16. In the area of Immigration, regulations have been revamped to attract and retain talent and expertise in the country. Removing the age limit for expatriates, improving the issuance of passes for international students, expediting visas for foreign medical patients, issuing Employment Passes to top foreign graduates of local universities, and granting automatic work permits for expatriates’ spouses are some of the key improvements impacting positively talent management in the country. These changes were not easy fare. It would not have been possible if officers in the Immigration Department and related agencies had just stuck to the knitting.  What made it possible is a change in mind set.  That is the key game changer!

17. The efforts across the Public Service to facilitate a competitive business environment have borne fruit. Malaysia moved up to 18th position in the 2012 World Bank Doing Business Report, as compared to its 23rd position the year before.  In acknowledging the improved rankings, Y.A.B. Prime Minister stated that “the meaning of competitiveness is not in the ranking but in the experience itself: the experience of reduced processing time for licences, reduced cost of doing business, clear and transparent processes and procedures”.

18. MAHSA and other higher education institutions, I am sure have gained from the initiatives to keep things simple. MAHSA’s upgraded status within a short period of 4 years is no mean feat. No doubt MAHSA would have fulfilled the requirements.  But the continued focus of the Public Service to reduce bureaucracy by eliminating unnecessary rules, regulations and procedures would have aided and facilitated MAHSA in its journey of growth and development.

MAKING IT A PUBLIC SERVICE-WIDE EXPERIENCE

19. Many people tell me that the service they received from the public service are excellent, top of class – 1-hour passport, tax refund, 1-day registration of property – to name just a few.  What is apparent, though is that while public service delivery has shown marked improvement in several key areas, consistency across the board has not been so widely evident, yet. We cannot expect to move forward as a Service if some dimensions of it excel while others do not keep pace. This will hold the Public Service back as a whole. If MAHSA and other similar institutions can be supported to achieve excellence, why not the same for other areas such as health tourism, land administration, or environmental protection.  If one or a few local authorities are known to provide good service, can we not have the same service level for all local authorities.  If one hospital is acknowledged for its excellence, can we have others to be equally great!

20. This brings us to the question of whether we have broken down the silo culture within the Public Service. For, it is only through a seamless, collaborative approach that we can achieve cohesive delivery in areas that cut across different jurisdictions. Such as the strategic collaboration between the Armed Forces (ATM) and Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM). This collaboration between two traditionally separate entities has been a major factor in the success of the national-level initiative to reduce crime. The results of the collaboration have been very encouraging. Military training facilities have been utilised to fast track training of Police personnel.  The Police and Army now undertake joint patrolling in urban areas; while the military patrols the border, thus relieving Police border patrols to be redeployed to combat crime at urban hotspots.

21. If traditionally adversarial entities such as ATM and PDRM can collaborate for effective national outcomes in safety and crime prevention, the prospect for strategic alliances between agencies on a broad range of areas is indeed a tantalising one.  Already there is sharing of resources by the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, Prisons Department and NGOs in implementing the Community Rehabilitation Programme to enable prisoners to be engaged in aquaculture and farming to prepare them for rejoining society as productive citizens.  Similarly, basic infrastructure in rural areas is being developed by combining the resources of the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Human Resources. Clearly, much more needs to be done in the area of collaboration if we are to reap its full rewards.

NOTHING BUT INTEGRITY

Ladies and Gentlemen

22. The Public Service and integrity are intertwined. The Public Service needs to display the highest standards of integrity in the way it operates and conducts itself. This encompasses the individual public sector organisation and its members collectively. The challenge is that integrity encompasses systems and mechanisms, as well as the people that run those systems. The necessary mechanisms must be in place to ensure transparency, predictability and consistency in the consideration of any matter, whether it involves the internal operations affecting local constituents or those that relate to external parties and the community at large.

23. While systems and mechanisms can be neutral, the people manning those systems and mechanisms are an altogether different matter. Tom Peters states that there is no such thing as a minor lapse of integrity. It is a case of either you have it or you don’t. In truth, as public servants, we have no option but to discharge our duties in a trustworthy and honest manner. Anything less is tantamount to dereliction of duty.

24. With integrity comes the issue of transparency and this relates to the availability and clarity of information provided to citizens about policies, services and activities of the Government. The Public Service must not only provide information, but also ensure that citizens have access to this information. Lack of transparency contributes towards the creation of opportunities for abuse and corruption, while reducing public sector efficiency.

ENGAGE, ENGAGE, ENGAGE

25. Transparency requires that the information flow is not impeded and that necessary provisions are in place to enable the public to provide feedback. Today, citizens not only want to provide feedback. They want to be involved. They want to co-create.  How do we do that, other than to ensure effective public engagement with citizens and relevant stakeholders. Putting it simply, citizens are “engaged” when they are allowed to participate in defining issues, identifying solutions, developing priorities and utilising resources. The rationale is to empower citizens to be part of the delivery process.  Such an action will help build trust and strengthen the legitimacy of public sector institutions, and consequently enable them to face up to public scrutiny.

26. In managing this new scenario of engagement, the Public Service needs to be ready to let go. To let go of conventional interaction by broadening its list of responsibilities as facilitator, mediator and collaborator. It could well mean that we must be ready for the erosion of our traditional reins of power and start the process of bringing the citizen on board the whole spectrum of the delivery process – from policy to outcomes.

TECHNOLOGY AND THE NEW GENERATION

27. The reality today is that the Public Service in Malaysia is confronting the challenge of a new landscape characterised by technological advancement, a highly informed society and ever rising citizen expectations. Electronic social networks are the order of the day. Information sharing has become second nature in our personal and professional lives. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn – you name it, they are using it.

28. Computer World Malaysia, in its January 2012 issue, quotes Gartner in reporting that 30 billion pieces of content were added to Facebook in the month of December 2011 alone. More than 2 billion videos were watched on YouTube — just yesterday! The average teenager, it is said, sends 4,762 text messages per month while 32 billion searches were performed on the Internet in December 2011. Worldwide Internet Protocol traffic is expected to quadruple by 2015. The world is truly out there for the Public Service, and we need to conquer it before it engulfs us.

29. The Public Service cannot afford to miss the opportunity to leverage on technology and new innovative business processes. There is much valuable information scattered across agencies. We need to now concertedly utilise technology to build data virtualisation that will help us anticipate the needs of citizens and thus delight them with service beyond their expectations. Technology has now permeated all facets of service delivery and internal government operations.  Thirty five percent of Government services are currently available online, while 43 percent of services with Government agencies were transacted electronically in 2011. The target is to offer 90 percent of all Government services online by 2015.

30. From the human capital perspective, nearly 60 percent of public sector personnel today comprise those in the 21 to 40 age bracket. It represents a generational shift, a changing of the guard in the Public Service, so to speak. The pace of change in the implementation of policies and programmes has accelerated tangibly since 2009. The Government Transformation Programme (GTP) and its 7 National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) and the 8 Strategic Reform Initiatives (SRIs) of the New Economic Model now provide the framework for action.

31. These transformative trends have resulted in a new paradigm within the Public Service that warrants a revisit of the notion of the Public Service Ethos – the basic value system among public servants. A traditional public service ethos has often been linked to bureaucratic characteristics of hierarchy, permanence and anonymity. Our new basic in its simplest, must be that public officials will put the public good before their private interest.

EIGHT CORE VALUES OF PUBLIC SERVICE ETHOS

32. I would list  eight core values as being central to the ethos of the Public Service if we are to successfully navigate the new landscape: Integrity, Sense of Urgency, Citizen-focus, Collaboration, Consultation/ Engagement,  Innovation and Creativity, Value of Complaints and Knowledge and Skills.

33. Integrity is THE core value that we must not compromise.  A Sense of Urgency inculcates an adherence to timelines, deadlines and service standards highlighting immediacy in whatever we do.

34. Collaboration is a key value for the modern inter-dependent world. Public sector agencies can no longer design compartmentalised service offerings.  As a result of public consultation, a total of 7 key result areas or NKRAs have been identified for implementation by the government. To ensure the KPIs that are established for the NKRAs are accomplished according to schedule or faster, the government decided to use the “Blue Ocean Strategy” approach in the implementation of some of the NKRAs, and the results have been very encouraging.

35. The public service as a matter of habit must consult and engage comprehensively.  Not only among various government agencies but more importantly, all stakeholders; particularly our customers.  The days where the government knows all or knows best is over. The robust consultative framework provided by PEMUDAH / PEMANDU (the Labs!) has led the way for effective consultation and collaboration. We need to grow this actionable collaborative framework to encompass the ever-increasing demands for public engagement.

36. Citizen-focused service is the end-all in the present era of service delivery. We must place the citizen and the customer at the heart of any service delivery.  Service levels which a decade ago would have been considered exceptional are now rated acceptable at best. The Customer-focus value among public servants is essential if we are to give real meaning to the Government’s “People First” mantra.

37. Injecting Innovation and Creativity will create new life into the routine tasks and age-old processes of the Public Service. Out-of-the-box ideas that challenge the status quo can help break new ground in delivering on the promise of exceptional world class services through the application of innovative methods to simplify work processes, update regulations and eliminate red tape. These can produce results that customers feel on their skins. We need to ensure a critical mass of such initiatives through an ethos that places a premium on Innovation and Creativity.

38. A culture of receptivity to complaints and feedback is necessary for service excellence. Every complaint must be viewed as a gift that will spur not just corrective action but more importantly lead to even higher levels of service. Finally, public servants must continuously upgrade their Knowledge and Skills to help them perform their tasks better if we are to offer solutions that heal the wants and needs of our citizens. The passion for learning and seeking knowledge must be imbued as a key attribute of the Public Service ethos.

39. But are all of these expected, nay, demanded only of the “public service” that we know?  The 1.43 million of us employed in the government.  By only the 20 IPTAs?  How about the IPTS? How about the private hospitals? The banks? The lawyers? The contractors and the companies doing government contracts?  Are they not serving the public as well?  For our country to be great, all of us who calls Malaysia home need to be healers! All of us!

CONCLUSION

Ladies and Gentlemen,

40. When Fabrice Muamba came to after the artificially induced coma at the London Chest Hospital, the bewildered footballer’s first question was: “Did we lose?” When he was told that the match had been abandoned with the score at 1-1, the footballer demanded to know why. His father, Marcel, replied: ‘Because of you’.

41. Healthcare professionals and match officials at White Hart Lane put Muamba first. He was their Number One customer and they delivered by giving him back his life. The Hippocratic tradition of healing won the day and proves that knowledge bolstered by bedrock values make the case for exemplary service.

42. The Public Service should also rise to the occasion by rigorously applying the core values of its ethos, what is termed as the “Commandments” of the Public Service, to deliver service par excellence. Difficult as it may seem, the Public Service needs to seize every healing opportunity, to create a “Muamba Moment” to deliver the best, and enhance the lives of all Malaysians. Michael Jackson’s award winning 1991 album “Dangerous” says it all.

Heal the World,
Make It A Better Place,
For You and For Me
And The Entire Human Race,
There Are People Dying,
If You Care Enough for the Living,
Make A Better Place,
For You and For Me.

43. And, THAT IS WHAT PUBLIC SERVICE IS all about.  A CALLING TO SERVE THE PUBLIC!

Thank you.
Wabillahittaufik walhidayah
Wassalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuh.