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11th National Human Resources Summit

Key Note Address

By

Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Sidek Haji Hassan

Chief Secretary to the Government

18th March 2010

Sunway Resort Hotel & Spa

2.30-4.30pm

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For whom the bell tolls

Building empowered organisations

A case for Malaysia

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Bismillahhirrahmanirahim Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, a very Good Afternoon and Salam 1Malaysia

Y.Bhg. Tan Sri Dr Ramon Navaratnam Director, Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI) Y.Bhg. Puan Sri Susan Cheah Director, Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute Y.Bhg. Dato’ Dr Michael Yeoh CEO/Director of Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute Your Excellencies and Members of the Diplomatic Corp

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Distinguished Speakers and Moderators Special Invited Guests Members of the Media Ladies and Gentlemen

Allow me to first apologise for the

change in schedule. I could not miss

a meeting chaired by the Prime

Minister, this morning. I thank you for

accommodating this change at such

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short notice, and thank you ASLI for

the facilitation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

PUBLIC SECTOR NEEDS TO PERFORM? WHY?

2. As I was preparing my thoughts

for this talk, I wondered – what could I,

from the public sector, say on human

capital management to an audience

made of predominantly private sector?

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After all you are known to have set

standards and defined new

benchmarks in this area. The public

sector has always been associated

with leading the brand of inefficiency

especially in its people management, I

thought. But, perhaps not. Maybe our

own predisposed expectations to

service levels in the different sectors

has led to these conclusions.

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3. Allow me this. A disciple was

planning her wedding banquet and

declared that out of love for the poor

she had gotten her family to go

against convention by seating the

poor guests at the head of the table

and the rich guests at the door. She

looked into the Master's eyes,

expecting his approval. The Master

said, "That would be most

unfortunate, my dear. No one would

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enjoy the wedding. Your family would

be embarrassed, your rich guests

insulted and your poor guests hungry,

for they would be too self-conscious

at the head of the table to eat their fill”.

4. The story underscores a simple

message. Every component of society

maketh its brand. No one is more, no

one is less, but all should be given

their dues, all giving their dues the

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same. It is not pockets of, or groups

of, or components of the society that

makes the whole. It is the sum that

will define the whole. So the notion -

does a performing public sector affect

my little world in a private sector. I’d

argue – YES. Does a public sector

need to perform when there is

purportedly no competition, as in

private sector. It will also be a YES.

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5. Whatever our roles have been in

the past, the public sector is thrust to

the front and centre of such crises the

world has never had to contend with,

today. The testaments of recent times

tell of how governments are having to

intervene, step in to rescue, restore,

and revive private institutions simply

to avoid the otherwise incumbent

national and international catastrophic

market failures and ripple effects. As

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governments intervene, the public

demand greater transparency and

return. It is to these expectations we

must both, public and private sectors,

transform towards.

6. It is now, more than ever, that a

well functioning, expedient and

efficient government is indispensable.

Now more than ever that we need a

public sector able to discharge its

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functions to greater efficiency and

standards to that already set by

private sector. It is now more than the

past, where brands of nations and

markets hinge on efficiency of

governments, which in the past was

defined by and large by efficiency of

private sector.

Ladies and gentlemen,

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THE GOLFING HONOUR

7. I like the game of golf, not that I

play well, but because of the

fundamentals of the game. It is a

game that does not generally rely on

referees; there is no outside

scorekeeper and supervisor. It is a

game that relies solely on the persons

playing and their honour system. The

game is anchored wholly on the

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integrity of the players to keep their

scores including penalising

themselves when they need to do so.

Golf is predicated on a set of rules of

engagement which needs to be

understood by those players playing

it. Why? Because the rules of

engagement, policing, supervision,

refereeing and scorekeeping are

observed by the players themselves,

not a third party as in most sports.

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8. These principles are very similar

when reminiscing how we used to play

“congkak”, challenge on marbles and

dare on chess games. These games,

at the simplest and barest levels, relay

the importance of honour, honesty

and integrity of the players based on

understanding the rules of

engagement. Winners are thus

winners, losers are therefore losers.

The takeaway - - we don’t need a third

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party to check, arbitrate and to

supervise our character. We are our

own supervisors, referees and

scorekeepers.

IT’S ONLY SERVICE WE ASK

9. I highlight this because “service

culture” embraces the same rules of

engagement. The rules are simple.

Serve with speed, accuracy and

integrity. Provide value for money

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service. Serve as you would like to be

served. But so often, service

providers, of which public officials

make a major component, do not fully

recognise the rules of service

engagement, thus not rendering the

service expected by our customers.

10. We read of inefficient government

departments, and of our skills in

“giving the run around” to our

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customers. These levels of service

can no longer be excused in a

Government that is focused on the

people. To this end, the Honourable

Prime Minister has called on service

sectors, public and private the same,

to focus on the principles of

innovation, speed, value for money

and integrity.

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11. On these doctrines of service, we

should no longer excuse an auto

company delaying delivery by 10

months, simply by offering a mere

“sorry” as a get by. Should market

excuse financial institutions for

pointless bureaucracies simply to

deliver a privilege card, which is

offered by invitation and not by

application? Must we tolerate

contractors not paying their sub-

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contractors on time when in fact they

have been paid on time by the

Government? Or can we turn a blind

eye, to TELCOS not ensuring basic

service as per the terms of

engagement? Or even private

hospitals charging patients

monumental amounts for low levels of

patient care?

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IT’S THE MINDSET, PEOPLE!

12. Sure, when we broach such

subjects, the age old argument

defending private sector’s ticket to

poor service surfaces - - the customer

can choose an alternative. But, I would

argue, that these levels of service

should not even be tolerated if

Malaysia is to progress to high income

economy. The vision towards high

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income transcends beyond a blue

print. When all is said and done, it

lands in the terminals of our own

mindsets.

13. That mindset must span across

sectors, industries and genres. It

must not, and simply cannot be the

burden of one sector, nor is it the sole

responsibility of the Government to

make this happen. In a democracy

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and governance-based society, all

must take part as they take stake.

14. We cannot liberalise a policy, if

the mindset is not liberalised. Nor can

we move up the value chain if the

mindset doesn’t correspond.

Governments, schools, constituents,

elected members, all but all can place

the best policies, incentives,

infrastructure - - it will not serve to

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benefit Malaysia, if we do not in our

own constituents rise to the

benchmarks of physical development.

15. Let’s take a day in Mc Donalds.

When we eat in, how many truly pick

up their trays and clean them into the

bin, and return those trays back to the

stack? How often have we seen the

customary - - tables strewn with empty

trays and packs, and splashed with

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drinks and ketchup? If we each

moved that one notch higher to

cleaning after ourselves, we wouldn’t

need as many staff in Mc Donald’s.

Or, even and more so, at the Mamak

cafes, where so many waiters fight

head over heels to take our order!

Overheads of Mc Donald’s maybe that

much lower, the price of our burgers,

cheaper. As would be the roti canai

and teh tarik!

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16. Similarly, on the roads, if we each

operated to the rules of engagement,

not beating traffic lights, no double

parking, or running pedestrian

crossings and busting speed limits,

would this not mitigate road

tragedies? Wouldn’t we need less

enforcement officers? In fact would

we even need enforcement officers?

This argument can be taken to crime

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eradication and many such social

dysfunctions.

EMPOWERMENT AND TRUST

17. And herein lies the stroke.

Governments have always been

accused of controlling and meddling

in private markets. Empowerment of

markets must begin with

empowerment of our own selves in

our own unique roles. In the case of

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public sector, we must create unique

potentials in our officials by

encouraging them to think of their

actions, decipher the solutions, deliver

new ideas, and not be afraid to make

mistakes. From our police force to

legal officers to enforcement officials,

when we each take full responsibility

of our actions, we will begin to take

full ownership of our jobs. The

mindset of it’s not my territory or “it

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ain’t my job”, not within my control,

it’s some else’s problem - -will never

play out in why they were not able to

achieve an outcome. The same must

apply to media, private sector and civil

society. It must apply to the public at

large too. We cannot each keep

apportioning blame onto others,

because the cake belongs to all of us -

- you, me, our children and

grandchildren.

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18. When from our janitors to our

Secretaries General, to our CEOs and

Editors function at this level of

intellectual empathy, Malaysia can

only move to one goal - - the point of

excellence. It has been said - - some

favourite expressions of small

children: “It’s not my fault. . . They

made me do it. . . I forgot.” Some

favourite expressions of adults: “It’s

not my job. . . No one told me. . . It

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couldn’t be helped.” Similarities rings

true, but true freedom begins and

ends with personal accountability. It

is simple to dodge our

responsibilities, evade our actions but

what we can never dodge are

consequences of our responsibilities

and inaction.

19. In my mind, the redistribution of

authority and mindset within our

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sectors and businesses must be done

with three outcomes in waiting - -

empowerment, transparency and

accountability. These attributes drive

strength into “MY LAST DAY”

moment: the Moment that has one

give his/her all, his/her best and

nothing less!

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EMPOWERING INNOVATION

20. Empowerment should be

based on a simple human insight: if

we give people more responsibility,

they behave more responsibly. When

we give people respect and their jobs

regard, they will in turn take pride in

their own jobs. This can apply to all

aspects of service delivery. Making

an unappreciated teacher know that

his/her daily modules will create the

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next generation’s leaders will have

him/her focus on the quality of their

delivery. An empowered policeman

who knows that Malaysia’s

attractiveness for business, tourism

and investment, lies in our streets

being safe, our cities and towns free of

crime. A lawyer recognising the

manner of his/her conduct in his cases

portrays the strength of judiciary of

Malaysia, globally. And a front desk

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officer who clocks in each day

knowing that he/she can make a

difference in the lives of each of the

customers they face today by simply

serving. Empowerment decentralises

control. It allows for greater

responsibility. It leads to innovation

as people will embrace the freedom to

try new approaches.

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WHERE DOES THE BUCK STOP?

21. Against the backdrop of

empowerment and transparency, there

is often the proverbial “So where does

the buck stop, when things go

wrong?” Who is accountable?

Accountability must be founded on the

mindset that service delivery is blind

to race, religious and gender lines. In

short, there cannot be classes of

service, i.e. the poor treated at varying

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levels to the rich, or when the less

able are treated better they should be

grateful.

22. When we each function at this

height of empathy, we would truly

place Malaysia above all else. All our

vectors will sight towards making

Malaysia the best it deserves to be for

Malaysians. We no longer allow

individual agendas and biases cloud

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our judgements and actions. No

longer give room to predisposed

views that only public sector must

deliver to lofty standards, and private

sector doesn’t.

THE CUSTOMER IN US

23. But mostly our predispositions

are accustomed. Almost every time

we do what we do succumbing to

outside expectations and pressures.

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Imagine a life when we live each day

as if it is our last. When a day is our

last, we will perform based on our

terms, giving it our all, no less our

best so that we leave an impression.

WHY? Because in these moments,

one sets aside all pride and inhibitions

that stifles. We dismiss the fear of

failure to simply focus on the best that

time can deliver. We become the

referee, scorekeeper and supervisor of

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our own impactful delivery. It would

be a day governed by empowerment,

transparency and accountability.

24. Good governance feeds on

empowerment, transparency and

accountability. Good governance

necessitates that you and I, regardless

of our race, colour, creed or gender

are treated fairly, impartially and

humanely. When in every one of us

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lives a customer, we will serve as if we

are serving ourselves - - which is

nothing short of premium service.

This, I would argue, anchors the

fundamentals of a fair and humane

society. It strengthens the democratic

process in the long term.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

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COMPETITIVE MALAYSIA

25. Malaysia has over 10.6 million

working population today - - of which

almost 8 million are under 45 years

old, and 2 million under 25. But of

these 10.6 million workforce, we only

have 2.8 million i.e. 26% in the

professional and managerial capacity.

The rest still fall under the brackets of

semi to low-skilled workers.

Developed countries have between 35

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to 50% of their workforce in the

professional category. We need to

work harder in Malaysia. Our peers in

Taiwan, Korea and Singapore have

over 30% of their workforce in the

professional category.

26. Our workforce is relatively

unskilled. Only 80% of our workforce

are educated up to upper secondary

(SPM or equivalent) with only 25% of

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jobs in Malaysia making the

professional streams. As private

sector, you hold the keys to making a

difference; to defacing our current

market topography towards high

income model. It lies in your own

choices of business, service quality

and human resource management.

27. Malaysia’s propensity for growth

is monumental given our resources

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and the rise of the young population.

Today, both public and private sectors

continue to invest in schools,

hospitals, businesses, highways and

other infrastructure in the

development of urban and rural

facilities. But our greater focus for the

years ahead must veer towards

software infrastructure and

investment.

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28. A new hospital will not bring good

patient care; good doctors and

medical practitioners will. Investment

in computers will not guarantee tech

savvies; education does that. Modern

highways do not guarantee good

drivers; enforcement and driver

discipline ensures that. High tech

surveillance alone will not assure safe

streets and a town free of crime.

Stability of family structure, education,

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community development and strength

of enforcement officers supports this.

More lawyers do not guarantee law

and order that understanding and

abiding by the law of order does.

Greater immigration controls will not

make the country safer; a balanced

growth model for trade and security

would enable this.

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29. Our own attitude to service

delivery and maintenance must ensure

that no other sector in the public and

private domains can match us. We

must all operate beyond our silos

across sectors and industries. The

public and private sectors, media and

civil societies must place their own

destinies onto the larger picture of

Malaysia locally and globally. Without

a sense of “becoming” and having a

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sensible strength and self

transformation to prepare for the

future, we risk being swept away by

the unprecedented rate of change

around us. We cannot keep getting

drawn into silo agendas, thus

forsaking our own destinies in the

global agenda.

30. The vectors of our

communications, investment and

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initiatives must synchronise towards

fulfilling Malaysia’s potential. We

must enable this through bold

changes. To be able to set new

standards, break new precincts and

roll in a continuum of vogues, we need

trend setters. Our actions must shape

our future, or the future will shape us.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

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TOMORROW’S WORLD TODAY

31. A recent Research showed that in

2006, 100% of college graduates in

India speak English. In 10 years it is

predicted that the number one English

speaking country in the world will be,

China. Could we have imagined this

40 years ago? Many of today's college

majors didn't exist 10 years ago. New

media, organic agriculture, e-

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business, nanotechnology are all

recent terms. Imagine what will our

grandchildren study 5 years from

now?

32. To reach a market audience of 50

million it took Radio 38 years, and TV

13 years; but today Computers have

done it in 4. Today, there are more

than 540,000 words in the English

language, about five times as many as

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during Shakespeare's time. The Prime

Minister added a new Malay word

when addressing MAPPA XI on 9

March 2010 - - “budaya kecincaian”.

Given the monumental growth of

internet, information and computers,

we need to prepare students for jobs

and technologies that don't yet exist,

to solve problems we don't even know

are problems yet. Simply put –

today’s solutions will no longer be the

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resolution to tomorrow’s problems.

We need to think 27th Century TODAY!

33. Therein lies our opportunities and

challenges. We each must challenge

the workplace with questions like - -

are we providing the resources

necessary to prepare for 27th Century

society? Are we training our children

with the knowledge of 27th Century

today? Are we, collectively, as a

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society equipped to move to that

Century?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

HUMANE SOCIETY

34. The fundamentals of Malaysia are

built on all individuals having the

opportunity to succeed on the bases

of merit, effort and skill. There must

be equality and equitability for it

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predicates a humane and fair society.

This is fundamental to an empowered

society, an empowered organisation

and empowered individuals.

35. The Government subscribes

to the economics of ethics and the

globalisation of fairness. Everyone

can, given the encouragements, make

up the ladders of economic benefits.

We cannot in our quest of building our

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own worlds, extricate ethics and good

values from our businesses. It is vital

to Malaysia’s economic well being.

Fundamental to this is the principle

that - - no one is left out, no one is

better than the other, no one deserves

to be sidelined due to exterior merits.

This is the founding stones of

1Malaysia. This will always be the

legacy of our nation’s greatness.

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Ladies and Gentlemen,

INTERTWINED SERVICE DESTINIES

36. The ancient Greeks had a word for

the times we live in today. They called

it “kairos” - “the one who seizes the

helm of fate, forces fortune”. We

cannot wait for others to define us; we

must seize the opportunities given to

us to define our own destinies as

Malaysians, the destiny of our sectors

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and industries. If as public officials,

we do not set the standards to its

highest echelon, how can we serve

towards excellence? If private sector

does not define and fulfil brilliance,

how can Malaysia excel locally and

globally?

37. How we each operate in our

cubicles and silos defines the face

and fabric of Malaysia. We can no

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longer walk alone and continue to

deny, to yours is yours and to mine

shall be mine. The walls must be

broken, if there are any still standing

in the way of public and private

sectors, media, civil society and the

public at large working towards

building an empowered nation in

Malaysia. Our destinies are so

intertwined, that the once held myth

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that we can go it alone, no longer

works today.

38. Allow me to end by sharing a

phrase from a book written by Ernest

Hemingway titled “For Whom the Bell

Tolls”. It tells the story of a soldier

who traverses life through its many

shades. It tells of the story of

character, strength and honesty - - -

principles that ultimately define our

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own legacies. It tells of how we

cannot isolate our actions from a

universal reaction given the

intertwined destinies of mankind. It

reads as follows:

“No man is an island, entire of itself;

every man is a piece of the continent,

a part of the main..............; any man’s

death diminishes me, because I am

involved in mankind; and therefore

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never send to know for whom the bell

tolls, it tolls for thee.

39. So my friends and colleagues --

Ask not for whom that bell tolls, it tolls

for thee, Malaysia.

On that note, I thank you.

Wabillah hi tawfik, walhidayah

wassalammualaikum warah matullahi

wabrakatuh.