ACTUALISING CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC SECTOR LEADERS

OPENING REMARKS BY YBHG TAN SRI MOHD SIDEK HASSAN
CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT

AT THE LAUNCH OF THE RAZAK SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT
AND INAUGURAL RAZAK LECTURE BY YAB PRIME MINISTER

“ACTUALISING CONTEMPORARY PUBLIC SECTOR LEADERS”

Bismillahir rahmanir rahim

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakaatuh

Salam Sejahtera dan Salam 1 Malaysia

Yang Amat Berhormat Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak
Perdana Menteri Malaysia

Yang Berhormat Menteri-Menteri Kabinet

Yang Amat Berhormat Ketua Menteri

Yang Berhormat Timbalan-Timbalan Menteri

Excellencies, Ambassadors and High Commissioners

Ketua-Ketua Setiausaha Kementerian

Ketua-Ketua Perkhidmatan

Setiausaha-Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri

Naib-Naib Canselor Universiti

Ketua-Ketua Jabatan

Ketua-Ketua Eksekutif Badan Berkanun dan Syarikat Berkaitan Kerajaan (GLCs),

Pihak NGO dan Media,

Y.Bhg. Tan Sri-Tan Sri, Dato’ Sri- Dato’ Sri, Dato’-Dato’, Datin-Datin, Tuan-Tuan dan Puan-Puan,

Para hadirin yang dihormati sekalian.

Terlebih dahulu, marilah kita bersama-sama memanjatkan kesyukuran ke hadrat Allah SWT, atas limpah rahmat dan izin Nya jua kita dapat berhimpun pada petang ini sempena Majlis Perasmian Razak School of Government.

2. Our special thanks and appreciation to Y.A.B. Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, for accepting to launch the Razak School of Government. Your presence Sir, notwithstanding your very tight schedule, is testimony of your and the Government’s unrelenting effort in developing a world class public service in Malaysia.

Yang Amat Berhormat Dato Sri, Ladies and Gentlemen,

3. All the World over, from Europe to Africa, India to Australasia, there is a congruent deafening call for a new kind of public sector. A kind that will serve a world burdened by challenges such as energy security, climate change, economic vitality, food sufficiency, nuclear non-proliferation, fight against terror to name but a few.

4. If the 20th Century saw emergence and clash of ideologies, the 21st is experiencing human predicaments that cut a common purpose and end. The end game now is – we all share this place called Earth. And so, what we do with it today, draws the legacy for the generations that come after us. When all is said and done, this World is not inherited from our ancestors but that we borrow it from our children and grandchildren.

5. In such a scenario, we simply cannot do the same kind of business in a new kind of world order with distinctly different global demography. Today, we need to have thought of a problem and see to its solution before a customer even thinks of it, never mind experience it.

6. The challenge today is not only in identifying problems as it is in knowing the human response to a problem. Between 1786 and 1826 an Anglican Clergyman, Thomas Malthus wrote “An Essay on the Principle of Population” where he predicted England would run out of food and be hit by tragic famine and disease once population growth outstrip agricultural production. Known as the “Malthusian Catastrophe”, his prognosis though spot on, did not propose an appropriate response. History records that the Agricultural and later the Industrial Revolution enabled the world to get out of Malthus Trap. Poignant in this example is – – there are ample skills available in detecting problems, not enough perhaps in proposing the human response to problems that could change the way we live altogether.

7. Our comparative advantage lies NOT in great inventions. It lies in the unsexy act of customising a service for a customer. It lies in providing a service that MAKES SENSE, a service made SIMPLY SIMPLE. It is embedded in our comprehension of the human dimension to every problem we face.

8. The Razak School of Government, provides the opportunity to deliver that new kind of public sector for Malaysia. It is not only to stimulate our own “Essays on Population” but also to suggest the responses to the possible catastrophes that may occur. Its modules and curriculums will predicate the fundamentals of the Government Transformation Plan and the continuing Vision of making Malaysia a high income and developed nation in a fast changing world. The success of this School hinges on the quality of public officials we develop ultimately; quality as defined by the markets we serve. The School will involve all market constituents, not only in ideas, but also to participate in education, research and training. And, most importantly, in changing mindset. A mindset that is open to changes to better serve our stakeholders. One that is not necessarily wedded to the past, however glorious it may be!

9. Today will also see the launch of Razak School of Government’s Inaugural Lecture themed “Transforming the Malaysian Public Service”. The Razak Lecture Series, will convene prominent statesmen and renowned leaders to share their perspectives, insights and experience which we can utilise in setting new benchmarks for Malaysia.

10. In the final analysis, we stand apart in a crowded room of talents NOT by the strength of our education alone. We will shine as individuals, not least a public servant, when we are able to engage the strong as much as we are able to show compassion to the weakest amongst us. We will stand apart when the glare from the strength of our own character blinds all else. Indisputably the strength of any organisation will lie in the characteristics of the people who make it. Why? Because where there is strength in character, we will execute the same sound actions whether being watched by many, by one or by no one. We will act and deliver to form, with or without an eye over us.

11. On behalf of the Board of Trustees of Razak School of Government, I would like to extend our appreciation to all who have worked tirelessly in the establishment of this School and in making today possible. In particular, I would like to thank YAB Perdana Menteri for the foresight to its establishment and for accepting to officiate this School.

Thank you very much.