There is a growing need for the State and country to be able to anticipate possible issues that may come up and respond to them accordingly. Such issues like logging and the opening up of vast tracts of land for palm oil estates, now being played out by foreign NGOs as issues of climate change, if they are left unrebutted, could impair the development of our state and country; needless to say the image of the country abroad.
The issue of climate change, now being actively discussed in the global forum, will be a new thing that will touch our country, our form of administration in particular, in the next 10 years. For example, the issue of reduction in carbon emission may insist that developing countries like ours must take care of our own environment. For example, the world environmenal standard considers land development, which has been turning our jungles to become estates, if continued, will reduce habitation and increase carbon emission into the air.
Actually, the country is being prohibited to carry out any activity that may lead it to become carbon deficit nation. Obviously, developed counties as proponents of climate change, have conveniently overlooked their own past activities in cutting down trees, clearing jungles, putting up factories that emit excessive gas into the air and other things that contribute to pollution in developing their economies.
The issue of climate change is expected to create more problems in international politics and become issues for NGOs, which are very enthusiastic in holding demonstrations in countries, which used to be peaceful and stable, in order to bring instability and chaos to them. The irony is we are supposed to run our country according to the dictate and doctrines of democracy. Such interferences will pose challenges to developing countries like ours.
As a consequence, the task of nation building will become more demanding with the growing complexities in the development administration in the era of globalization. It can be anticipated that the era of globalization will impose new challenges with world issues that could be ignored by us in the past.
For example, the State did not bother about the world declarations on environment, human rights and other things being raised at the global forum in the past. However, such declarations are affecting the country as part of the make - up of the civil society. Generally, what ever new development taking place in the world will affect the country in terms of politics and economy. For this reason, members of the civil service, being the biggest institution in the country, must be knowledgeable of the development taking place in and around them.
Understandably every member of the civil service has important roles to play in the administration and development of the State and country. For this reason, officers, on individual basis, must endeavor to upgrade his or her capability and capacity in the service to ensure the success of the overall efforts to raise the standard of the management and administration of the state and country. In the status quo administration, which the country inherited from the British Colonial administration, members of the civil service did not have to adjust themselves to changes as there were little or no changes in the system. Then the people did not have high expectation and generally they were contented with the little things that they had in life.
However, Merdeka inspired the people of all walks of life to raise their levels of expectations; the workers are inspired to have better salaries while the people yearn to enjoy better comfort in life. Therefore, continuous efforts have to be made to transform the status quo administration to the development administration to emphasize on development in nation building. It is an on-going process, taking into consideration the growing sophistation in the development of the economy. For example, there is an increasing need to infuse more and more new elements of management, in some cases more micro rather than macro methods of management, in the administration.
In this respect, the development plan must focus on the micro and macro elements of the management in order to bring about a transformation that can bring about greater progress and prosperity, as being desired by the people, for the society and nation. Otherwise, the government wil find itself being trapped with the desire to be complacent with the achievement if it is indifferent towards the needs and aspirations of the people.
Understandably, the generation, before Merdeka, considered the opportunity to govern and administer the State as a rare privilege. They considered their services as the struggle to fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the people and the task of governing the State as a huge responsibility and jobs to be done with utmost dedication and sacrifices. They had a huge sense of pride and satisfaction once they could fulfil the obligation to raise the standard of living of the people from one of poverty and hardship during the period before Merdeka to the one that provides the people with greater comfort and freedom in life. Merdeka gives us the power to change our own fate and those of the people and reorganize the structure of the society. The task must be carried out with greater efficiency, which requires improvements in the system from time to time.
There were no discussions among members of the civil service while still under the Colony as they did not have the set objectives. Now what ever administrative steps or measures being taken in the management administration, each has the target. Management by results represents a new way to overcome most of the problems being encountered in the development of the state and country. Admittedly, it is getting harder to equip every officer in the civil service with knowledge and skills with the continuous expansion of the administrative machinery in order to cope with the development of the country. Hence, there must be training programs, which include refresher courses to be held regularly, in order to update them with changes in the overall efforts to upgrade their capability in the service.
The State has reached a level of prosperity where the income can be increased through the process of value added of products that entails greater application of knowledge, skills and technologies. For this reason, the country must have the civil service that enjoys integrity, not just having integrity in the service. IN other words, the country must have the the civil service that is not impaired or having any defects. They must know their roles with the full understanding of ethics and disciplines that can enhance the novelty of their services. The new generations that emerge after independence, like those before them must have genuine feeling to pursue the noblest objective of nation-building. They must have the feeling of pride and satisfaction with what ever jobs being entrusted upon them.
Chief Minister, Pehin Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud in his speech during the 7th convention of committee of Transparency in Management of Suruhanjaya Pencegah Rasuah Malaysia says a good administrative procedure today may be out of date in the next five years. For example, in the next five years, the volume of work may increase not by 10% or 20% but sometimes double the volume. Therefore, continuous efforts must be made to upgrade the efficiency of the administrative machinery of the Government, which cannot be expected to overcome the problem of heavier workload by recruiting more and more officers all the times. Generally, the previous administration can be considered to be easy as compared to the management administration of the country now.
All the administrative doctrines can be considered to be out of date now with the introduction of more and more management theories by the private sector. However, not all theories of the private sector can be applicableto to all posts in the civil service. Therefore, members of the civil service must uphold the attitude of being fair and just in carrying out their duties. They must convince the people that they do not practice favouritism and they recognize that, in a democratic society like our, every citizen has his or her own right in it. In other words, the civil service must recognize individual rights and serve the people with the sense of fairness and justice.
He says what can be considered as good administrative procedures in a certain place may not be so in other areas. For this reason, members of the civil service must appreciate the need to adjust certain aspects of the management administration to suit local situation and environment. Presumably, members of the civil service both at the Federal and State levels, if they could move around especially to remote areas, they should be able to have an in-depth knowledge of ways how to ensure that their services will remain efficient in Sarawak.
He says the support of the people to steps being taken by the government to get rid of corrupt practices in the civil service, both at the Federal and Statel levels, is very good. Hopefully, such support will be enhanced in the future. To me, what is more important is for us to make a continuous adjustment to the administration and management in order to keep up to date with the development and avoid indulging in malpractices or practices that do not conform to the current situation. They must be updated so that the new generation that will emerge in the public service will have a positive views and healthy attitude from time to time with the full understanding of their overall roles and functions in the service.
He believes members of the civil service, who enjoy their work should be able enjoy happiness in life as what ever services that have rendered can be considered as a struggle that can give greater satisfaction to them. Udoubtedly, there will be problems coming up now and then but they are only temporary. Besides, they should be able get the satisfaction once they get the problems solved. That is his experience in the service. Arguably, this is the greatest satisfaction that anybody, who has interests to pursue the struggle in nation building, can get as rewards for his or her jobs.
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