SPEECH BY

YAB DATO' SRI MOHD NAJIB BIN TUN HAJI ABDUL RAZAKDEPUTY PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA

AT THE 11THCIVIL SERVICE CONFERENCEAT THE INTAN AUDITORIUM, BUKIT KIARA, KUALA LUMPUR

ON 21 AUGUST 2006 (MONDAY)AT 9.00 AM

"DEVELOPING HUMAN CAPITAL:TOWARDS ACHIEVING SERVICE BEYOND THE ORDINARY"

YBhg Tan Sri Samsudin Osman,Ketua Setiausaha Negara;

r-- YBhg Tan Sri Ismail Adam,Ketua Pengarah Perkhidmatan Awam;

YBhg Tan Sri Aseh Haji Che Mat,Presiden Persatuan Perkhidmatan Tadbir dan Diplomatik;

Distinguished Delegates;

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh dan Salam Sejahtera.

1. Let me begin by thanking Tan Sri Aseh bin Haji Che Mat, President of theAdministrative and Diplomatic Service Association, for inviting me to deliver thekeynote address at this Civil Service Conference this morning. I also wish tocongratulate the Administrative and Diplomatic Officers Association for jointlyorganizing this conference. Such a conference is useful in helping us explore waysand means of improving the civil service.

2. In the Ninth Malaysia Plan that was tabled in Parliament by the HonorablePrime Minister in March this year, it was noted that human capital developmentwill be the key thrust in sustaining economic resilience and growth, driving aknowledge-based economy and fostering a community with an exemplary valuessystem.

3. Before I proceed to share my thoughts with you on the topic of my speech,namely "Developing Human Capital: Towards Achieving Service Beyond theOrdinary", let me review the contributions of the public service to the nation.

4. I am pleased to note that during the Eighth Malaysia Plan period, thegovernment has made much progress in strengthening the administrative

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machinery. A case in point is the task forces established in 2003 to reducebureaucratic red tape. Various other measures were undertaken to reduce the costof doing business by expediting the issuance of licenses, permits and the like. Theprovision of one-stop service counters, special counters for the elderly, disabledand expectant mothers was a great improvement.

5. In land administration for example, some 43 new measures wereimplemented to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the land office. At thelocal level, one-stop centres (OSCs) were established in 96 local authorities andstate administrations.

6. In its efforts to ensure the provision of quality services by all public sectoragencies, the government continues to push for the implementation of qualitymanagement initiatives. By the end of 2003, a total of 749 agencies obtained theMS ISO 9000:1994 standard.

7. I am also pleased to note that recently the government has implementedperformance measurement and KPls in six pilot agencies. A circular wassubsequently issued in May 2005 to provide guidelines on the implementation ofKPls.

8. We have also made significant progress, especially in terms of overallcompetitiveness. According to the Geneva-based Institute for ManagementDevelopment, out of the 61 economies surveyed, Malaysia has moved up five (5)points from its 28thposition in 2005 to number 23 in 2006.

9. Taking all these achievements into consideration, as well as the relativelyhigh quality of life that Malaysians enjoy today, I would like to congratulate allmembers of the Malaysian Civil Service, past and present, for their efforts andcontributions to the civil service.

10. Nevertheless, despite these successes, we cannot at anyone moment let outguards down and be complacent. Civil servants have to work even harder, giventhe growing complexity of global competition as well as its attendant social,political and economic challenges. The journey will not be easy.

11. In this context, the only competitive edge that could sustain us in the futurewill be the quality of our human capital that could help us move up the valuechain. In this regard, there should be no let-up in our efforts and commitment totransforming the public sector workforce into a world class civil service whereservice delivery beyond the ordinary is the norm and not the exceptional.

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

12. One of the criticisms levelled at the civil service today is that it is somewhatinsular and less attuned to the pressures of global competition. While in the past it

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is sufficient for the public service to be mere administrators and regulators, todayit must change and see itself more as a proactive facilitator and efficientsupporter of national development. The civil service must move into a new gearmode that requires new perspectives in doing things, and exerting a strongerleadership role in society. With globalization, and especially with the emergenceof new economic powers such as China, India, and the like, the public service muststrategise with the changing environment. The civil service must be creative,always questioning and seeking answers to new ways of doing things. The sameold methodology can no longer be relevant to a new and changing environment.According to Langseth and Plater (2004), institutions that ignore a changingenvironment, do so at their own peril. They risk becoming exhibits in a kind ofcultural Jurassic Park, increasingly irrelevant in a world that has passed them by.

13. The civil service cannot be 'captives' of what they have done in the past.They must seek new ways and methodologies in performing their services. Thepublic service needs to see Malaysia in its bigger role in relation to the largerglobal context. Equally important, they need to re-examine the technicalrequirements in terms of capabilities, skills and training. They must alwayschallenge the relevance of current policies in the context of a changingenvironment. I therefore wish to urge civil servants, particularly those in centralagencies and operating ministries, to seek new ways of doing things. Thechallenge is for you to put into effect new paradigm shifts in your thinking.

14. The other point I wish to make is that it is about time the public servicefocused on the 'outcome' rather than 'output' in the context of its service delivery.It is the outcome that will ultimately influence the intended beneficiary. The publicservice must not be too obsessed with' output'.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

15. Now, I would like to share with you my thoughts on the need to provideservice beyond the ordinary.

16. I first mooted this idea at the Prime Minister's Department monthlyassembly. I wish to emphasize here that extraordinary feats are usuallyaccomplished by the most ordinary people when the individual has a strongsense of duty. Although knowledge and skills are important, we must not forgetthat in the final analysis, it is the attitudinal and behavioral aspects that make adifference. This will determine whether the service given is "world class", "thirdclass" or fIno class" at all.

17. Providing services beyond the ordinary means dealing politely withclients. It also means "walking the extra mile" to help those in need. It implies thewillingness to 'stay back', to put in the extra hours. I understand that at MicrosoftResearch Asia, in Beijing, people voluntarily work between fifteen to eighteenhours, daily. They do it not because they have to, but because they want to.

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18. The concept of service beyond the ordinary also requires a radicaltransformation of mindset of civil servants. This means having to reexamine,rethink and reinvent the way services are rendered.

19. According to Joe Hadzima from the MIT Sloan School of Management,people who consistently deliver beyond the ordinary are usually characterized bythe following attributes: (a) the ability to deal with risk, (b) result oriented, (c)high energy, (d) high potential; and (e) a team player.

20. Delivering service beyond the call of duty can only be achieved when theservice is provided voluntarily, and if people are enthusiastic, committed andexcited about their work. Given the fact that different people are motivated bydifferent things in life, and that different people have different levels ofmotivations, there is no "one size fits all" in this approach. Essentially, there mustbe elements of trust, high self esteem and good communication skills.

21. In order to derive maximum effort from the people in your organisations,you also need to emphasize their strengths rather than their weaknesses. Focusingon their weaknesses would destroy their self-esteem and confidence.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

22. I have highlighted the achievements and contributions of the public sectorin nation building. I have also challenged the civil service to move away from thepast and change with the new environment and shared with you my thoughts ondelivering service beyond the ordinary. I hope you will use this opportunity todiscuss and develop concrete strategies to build and sustain a public sectorworkforce that is not only excellent but relevant in the context of a changingworld.

23. On this note, I hereby declare open the Eleventh Civil Service Conference.

Thank you.

~,.,

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