Adominant view, world over, is that the people are being categorized as those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what have happened.
But civil servants, as rightly said by the State Secretary, Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Muhammad Morshidi Abdul Ghani, who are members of the institution, which is responsible for formulating policies, designing programs and delivering on projects and services to the Rakyat, on behalf of the government, must belong to the category that makes things happen.
In this regards, the state civil service must be devoid of those who just watch things happen and be subjected to situation created by others. It must also be devoid of sleepers, who wake up and wonder what have happened.
They must be individuals, who can be masters of the situation in which they operate and can make a difference in the situation. In this regards, they must have the initiative and sense of responsibility to take control of the situation and do what is necessary to resolve the issue or problem.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi said today, Sarawak Civil Service could be considered to be among the best in the nation. The members have been able to implement all development projects that have been entrusted upon them and deliver quality services as required by the Rakyat.
Obviously, members of the civil service, despite the many challenges and tribulations, have been able to deliver on their commitment to better the future of Sarawakians or Malaysians as a whole.
However, the civil service is not all Shangri-La where everything is perfect. It does have small number of recalcitrant and black sheep among members and some of the systems and processes need to be improved and the black sheep replaced.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi said the working environment, which is increasingly globalised with new and complex global challenges and rapid changes in technology emerging, the rising expectations of the rakyat and increasing resource constraints, demanded a different approach in the way the civil service should work.
Besides, they should endeavor to respond and adapt appropriately to the unavoidable forces if they want Sarawak to progress further in the future. In this regard, they must have the courage and will power to embrace changes and constantly re-examine the way they work.
Obviously, they cannot adopt a “business as usual” attitude. It is for this reason that Sarawak Civil Service (SCS) has embarked on a transformation agenda to ensure that the members remain relevant and responsive to the changing demands of the environment and the Rakyat.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi said every officer at all levels of the Civil Service should be prepared to exercise leadership when the situation demands; leadership is not limited to those holding positions only.
He illustrated the concept of leadership taking charge with a recent unfortunate incident of a fire that destroyed a longhouse in Kabong. The fire department was notified about the fire at 6:31am. The department immediately sent a message through a whatsapp group set up by the Resident of Betong.
The result was a rapid mobilization of officers from nine (9) different agencies and community leaders. They were at the site, although it was Saturday and offices were closed, as quickly as they could.
They knew what to do and took ownership to execute their responsibilities without waiting for any further orders from higher authorities. By 8:40am the fire was under control. All the 292 victims were given proper meals and necessary assistance and brought to the relief centre that had been set up on the same day.
Although the longhouse could not be saved but the speedy and proactive action of the officers on the ground helped to reduce the anguish and suffering of the victims. Clearly, the officers involved in the incident had taken charge of what needed to be done and executed them efficiently.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi said the key point here was, even though responding to a crisis like this was a fairly normal event for civil servants, but all the officers involved took charge of their own area of responsibility and executed them competently.
The other example of leadership taking charge can be an enforcement officer of River Board, who supervises the boarding of passengers on to an express boat. He has to exercise his leadership professionally and with integrity to ensure that safety jackets and other safety requirements are provided for by the operator.
Similarly, an immigration officer, who keeps an eye on illegal immigrants in his area, must exercise the take charge leadership in taking action leading to the arrest and deportation of illegal immigrants in his area.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi said an employee of Water Board, who is willing to assemble a team of workers to repair a burst pipe in the middle of the night, to ensure water supply can be restored as soon as possible and minimize the inconvenience to the people, is a good example of kind and caring civil servant, who rightly practices leadership taking charge.
He could have waited until the next day or wait for directive from his superior to fix the pipe but he had the sense of urgency and he was concerned about the welfare of the affected people.
However, a Forest Ranger, who is not aware of illegal logging in the national park, is not exercising leadership and taking charge of the situation; he is not diligently enforcing the park rules and regulations. He does not only fail to do his duty but has no love for the forest and no passion for his job.
Essentially, civil servants must be observant as there can be thousands of real situations happening in the civil service throughout the State or country to necessitate them to assume the principle and practice of leadership taking charge.
In this regard, it is important for them not to let issues and problems go unattended. The least that they can do is to elevate the problem to their superiors, who are not expected to know every happening on the ground, if they cannot be resolved at their levels.
He believed members of the civil service, if they play the role of leadership taking charge, will be able to address many problems and nip them in the bud. By doing so, they will greatly enhance service delivery and contribute significantly to the well-being of the Rakyat.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi has issued a directive to all heads of department requesting them to respond immediately to any issues or complaints being raised by members of the public through the newspapers. They must send their replies/explanations to the editor of the newspaper concerned on the same day so that their responses can be published the following day.
Similarly heads of all agencies must also take charge of issues received from other sources as they must be serious in providing speedy response and resolving issues in a professional manner. Otherwise, the Rakyat may lose faith in the government if they are not being served in the manner that has been promised to them.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi said the leadership taking charge and making a difference, in summary, requires civil servants to have passion, knowledge, competencies, situational awareness, right values, common vision and a culture of fast execution in carrying out their jobs. The traits are prerequisite of a leader taking charge with responsibility and accountability in order to make a difference to the society.
He believed the implementation of Socio-Economic Transformation Plan (SETP), a 15-year development plan to transform Sarawak from middle to a high income economy, would put to test the capacity of members of the State Civil Service to the limits. Apart from implementing mega projects such as Pan Borneo Highway, they are also expected to bring more development to rural areas to bridge the economic gap between urban and rural areas.
However, he is confident with the leadership taking charge, dedication, commitment and capability of officers, coupled with the transformation initiatives that have been put in place to enhance the capacity of civil service they will be able to implement all the projects allocated to Sarawak and make a difference to the society.
Essentially, the State Civil Service must make continuous efforts to strengthen the capacity and capability of members and re- align resource allocation so that priority areas could be provided the necessary support.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi said the State civil service, now in the midway of the transformation journey, has achieved tremendous success through various initiatives including Innovative and Creation Circles (ICC), Key Focus Activities (KFA) and High Performance Team (HPT) Solutions.
For example, the Financial Transformation has brought about better management of assets and accounts. The State has been able to maintain clean bill of health, which reflects good accounting practice and sound financial management from the Auditor General Malaysia, since 2002.
The ICC has produced 272 teams, which have created many projects, while Key Focus Activities (KFA) initiative has improved 637 processes that help things to be done faster, better and cheaper in the overall efforts to enhance the efficiency of SCS service delivery.
He said the State Civil Service has also started a Reorganization agenda, which aims to optimize resources through right sizing within the Ministries, Chief Minister’s Department, Resident & District officers, State Financial Secretary’s Office and State Attorney General’s Office and major departments and councils.
Generally, the State Civil Service has made many contributions to the people, State and country. There are thousands of unsung heroes that work tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that children are being educated, the sick people are being treated, roads are being cleaned, drains being cleared, rivers are safe, businesses can thrive and hundreds of other services that have to be done to make the State operates smoothly.
Suffice for him to say members of the State Civil Service must adhere to the principle and practice of “Leadership Takes Charge and Makes a difference”. Given the responsibility, they must use their knowledge, ability and skills to execute their tasks based as required of them.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Morshidi urged all civil servants to reaffirm commitment to their service and do their utmost in the overall efforts to create a better future for the people, state and country nation towards the year 2020 and more importantly towards the year 2030 of the State agenda to become the most prosperous state in the country.
