Malaysia 180 is of the opinion that the Public Sector should be the generator of progress for the future growth and development of Malaysia. The Public Sector should have the time, the skills, the professional expertise, the facilities and the long term outlook necessary to fulfill this role.
Parliamentarians do not have those attributes even tho they like to think they have. For this reason they have suppressed the talents of the Public Sector so that they become nothing more than lackeys for the politicians often ill-conceived projects. Its no wonder that the Public Sector hasn’t been more diligent in the execution of their duties.
But to adapt to their new role there needs to be a major rebirth of the Public Sector where honesty, integrity, competence, innovation and professionality is rewarded.
180 understands that the only way this can happen is through internal review because external reviews have been shown to be ineffective. Public Servants should be allowed to dictate how their departments are structured and who becomes the leaders of those departments.
We envisage that by secret ballot all public servants should be given the opportunity to rate their fellow workers and to comment on departmental organisation. From that survey it is believed that a new regime will evolve more suited to the needs and demands of the 21st Century
180 thinks that no longer should officers be appointed to positions and that all Public Sector vacancies should be advertised widely throughout Malaysia and even overseas. All applicants would remain anonymous until the point of having an interview. All interviews and appointments would be conducted by a multi racial tribunal with the appropriate professional skills
Inevitably, this re-organisation will lead to the loss of positions in some departments and the creation of positions in other departments. Redundant workers should not simply be shifted sideways, but should be expected to apply for positions like any other applicant.
If workers lose their positions as the result of government re-organisation they should be compensated by up to 12 months support at the level of the minimum wage while they seek alternative work
The philosophy within departments should change as they are given greater responsibility for planning and control. Although the oversight of a department’s functions would rest with the Ministerial Group, it is the responsibility of the officers to keep the Group fully informed and their own subordinates well supervised
As each department is restructured to the satisfaction of Parliament then the wage structure for that department should be reviewed
Employment in the Public Service should no longer be seen as a lifelong career. Workers should be employed for a contract period sufficient to accomplish a specific task
There should be no such thing as an Official Secrets Act. With the exception of some sensitive defense matters and matters sub judice, all information generated by the Public Sector should be freely and promptly available to any member of the public
All government purchases and allocation of contracts will in future be done by open tendering, where the tenderers remain anonymous until the tender is awarded. 180 suggests that all tenders should be managed by an authority specifically set up for that role
An office of The Ombudsman should be set up to deal with public complaints about their dealings with public servants.
SPECIFIC EXAMPLES
The Judiciary: There is a widespread perception that the judiciary is tainted. Its 180’s opinion that to rectify this problem the Bar Council should be commissioned to propose a new Judiciary. Henceforth, changes to the Judiciary would be made on the recommendation of the Bar Council. There would be no political appointees.
Police and the MACC: There needs to be a major shake-up of both these organisations to bring them in line with the public’s expectations on how they should perform. There is no question that the upper echelons of management would need to be completely replaced.
There are many changes which need to be accomplished. One of the most important is the treatment of Malaysians under investigation. The techniques for entrapment, the protection of people under investigation and the protection of people while in custody all need to be reviewed.
The MACC should have the brief of addressing current or near current cases of corruption. A special and separate Commission of Enquiry should be set up to deal with past cases of corruption and negligence
Electoral Commission: 180 agrees fully with the demands that Bersih has placed on the EC. But we also think that the EC is beyond redemption and that the best thing would be to scrap the Commission completely.
Any new Commission would report directly to Parliament. It would be made up of nominees from the watchdogs of Malaysian society: Bersih, Transparency International, Suaram, and the Bar Council etc
Initially the EC’s role would be to supervise elections. The work of collating the electoral roll and defining electoral boundaries should be carried out by a completely independent offshore organisation. The EC would cooperate with that organisation in the development of the software to manage the electoral roll and boundaries. Eventually, the EC would take over the role of managing the roll.
180 is of the opinion that the voting age should be reduced to 18, and that on reaching that age all citizens would automatically be registered. This does not infer there would be any change in the voluntary nature of voting
The electoral roll is public document and should me made available to anyone who wishes to view it.
Liaison between the EC, the NRDept and the Dept of Immigration should be improved to facilitate efficiency
Foreigners granted Permanent Residence Status should not gain the right to vote until they have achieved Citizenship after a period of five years
Agriculture: Like so many other Government Departments, Agriculture seems to have lost direction. It appears to have been hypnotised by grandiose schemes and modern technology to the extent that it has lost sight of the real plight of Malaysian agriculture. Its 180’s opinion that Agriculture should concentrate on achieve Malaysian self sufficiency of food production within the next ten years.
Investigations should be made into growing plantation timber so that what little that remains of pristine rainforest should be protected
Public Works: Has been the darling of generations of BN governments for the obvious reasons. But its has failed completely to maintain the professional standards required by such an organisation as can be seen by the cost over-runs by so many major projects. Public Works needs a major overhaul
In summary: Malaysians of all walks of life should be invited to have their input into the reorganisation of government departments in parallel with the internal reviews as previously suggested
Next Day: Religion
No comments:
Post a Comment