NAJIB UMUM BANTUAN RM500 KEPADA PENJAWAT AWAM SEMPENA AIDILFITRI

KUALA LUMPUR, 2 Julai (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak pada Rabu mengumumkan Bayaran Bantuan Khas Kewangan sebanyak RM500 sebagai persiapan Aidilfitri kepada penjawat awam bagi Gred 1 hingga Gred 54.

Perdana Menteri turut mengumumkan Bayaran Bantuan Khas Kewangan RM250 kepada 684,000 pesara kerajaan bagi menghargai jasa, bakti dan perkhidmatan mereka.

"Pembayaran bagi bantuan khas itu akan dibuat pada 15 Julai ini," katanya dalam kenyataan di sini.

Bayaran Bantuan Khas Kewangan kepada penjawat awam dan pesara kerajaan ini membabitkan peruntukan kewangan sebanyak RM890 juta, katanya.

Kerajaan berharap bantuan khas kewangan itu dapat meringankan beban kewangan penjawat awam dan pesara bagi persiapan menyambut hari lebaran pada hujung bulan ini, katanya.

Bernama Online

Aktiviti INTURA Mei & Jun 2014

172 government agencies implement 5S practice

KOTA KINABALU: The implementation of 5S Practice among government agencies is satisfactory with 172 agencies nationwide have been awarded with the Public Sector 5S Practice certification as at May 31.

Sabah Federal secretary Datuk Abu Bakar Hassan said the introduction to the Public Sector Conducive Ecosystem (EKSA) to improve the 5S Practice at end of last year had also seen 22 public sector agencies nationwide, including seven in Sabah, received the certification.

"The number shows the commitment, acceptance and positive performance of public agencies since the introduction of EKSA over three years ago," he said when opening the EKSA Workshop organised by the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu) here today.

Abu Bakar said all federal and state agencies had also taken the initiatives to rebrand and give a new breath to the practice in line with the current demands to improve their levels of performance and competitiveness.

He said the rebranding process was vital to enable them to enhance their corporate image, encourage activities towards green environment by promoting 'Go Green' campaign and innovation in line with the demand of stakeholders.

The 5S Practice originated from a similar Japanese practice involving Sisih (Seiri), Susun (Seiton), Sapu (Seisu), Seragam (Shiketsu) and Sentiasa Amal (Shitsuke) at workplace.

NST Online

klik imej untuk paparan sebenar

Integrity tests for agencies

KANGAR: THE National Key Results Area (NKRA) anti-corruption division has proposed that the government implement integrity tests for all enforcement agency personnel, in particular those involved in border security.

Its director Datuk Hisham Nordin said the proposal, which included the use of a lie detector, was forwarded to the Prime Minister’s Department two months ago.

He said the mechanism and approaches for the tests were being discussed at the ministry level.

“The ministry is reviewing the best approach and mechanism for the integrity test to ensure the effectiveness in eliminating corruption among enforcement agencies.

“Among the methods suggested are lie detectors and voice stress tests which have been practised by enforcement agencies in other countries.

“Once the ministry decides on the best mechanism, the pilot project will be implemented on a random basis at government agencies,” he said after attending a seminar entitled “Combating Corruption in Malaysia” here yesterday.

Apart from the proposed integrity test, Hisham said other measures taken to address corruption among officers and personnel involved introducing job rotations at the borders, such as at Perlis , Kedah and Johor, which were considered corruption hotspots.

Hisham said the number of complaints received against enforcement agencies at the borders had been reduced since the job rotation system was put into practice several years ago under the first Government Transformation Programme (GTP).

Earlier, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azlan Man opened the seminar, jointly organised by Perlis Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and NKRA, aimed at strengthening the commitment of enforcement agencies in efforts to prevent graft especially at the country’s borders.

He later witnessed the signing of a “Corruption-Free Border” integrity pledge by senior officers from the state police headquarters, Road Transport Department, Customs Department, Immigration Department, Smuggling-Prevention Unit and Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry.

NST Online

Defending public values

DOES a public servant have a choice as to which elected government he owes loyalty to? Another question: does a public servant have a right to express his opinion against a public policy? A seasoned public servant would have a ready answer to these questions. That answer will be obvious also to one ingrained in the values of the public service.

Public service ethos, if not the law, dictates that public servants have a bounden duty to serve an elected government, irrespective of their political colouration. This allegiance to an elected government is an enduring strength of and integral to democracy. It aids in discharging the trust reposed by the ministers and the public on public servants.

This Westminster tradition of a politically-neutral public service dates a couple of centuries back. Strictly, it means that public servants serve at the pleasure of the monarch and the elected government that has obtained his royal assent to govern. That is why a senior public servant, other than being a member, cannot hold a position in any political party. Such a restriction further assures his impartiality.

Sometimes, the long rule by one political party may cause public servants to waver in their allegiance to another that has assumed power, more so, if that party had been in the opposition for as many years. Such was the case in Malaysia some time ago. Then, some public servants were in internal conflict as to who their masters were when the hitherto opposition wrested power from Barisan Nasional (BN) in four states.

This initial trepidation in serving the newly-minted government is understandable. Public servants have known no government other than BN since the time of Independence, with the exception of the government in Kelantan that has alternated between these two dominant coalitions.

However, the values of being loyal to the government of the day triumphed. Public servants continue to serve honourably, and with distinction, the elected government of the day wherever they are posted without partisanship. Such non-partisanship is emblematic of the public service ethos and responsible government.

The second question on whether a public servant can have a private opinion different from that of the government he serves relates to the participation by public servants in a recent anti-GST rally.

The chief secretary to the government had threatened the sack against any public servant found guilty of participation. A constitutional expert had opined that such a sanction was unconstitutional. A political party had asserted that such a threat would take the government, and the public service, down on the slippery road to dictatorship. Who is right?

The loyalty to the government of the day requires a public servant to champion public policies. He, therefore, cannot have a private opinion different from that of the government he serves.

However, that does not mean that a public servant is a zombie. He makes choices every day that invariably have political ramifications. Indeed, it will be a great disservice to society if a public servant does not use his intellect in executing his duties.

As a thinking person, a public servant can well have a private opinion. However, he cannot choose private channels to express his dissent either by word or deed. And that includes actively participating in forums, whatever their merits, which are against an expressed public policy.

But is he deserving of the sack should he do so? The threat of dismissal must be viewed in the context of the broader concern of the government to stem the erosion of its cherished values. Any relaxation of a part of its ethos will eventually result in the unravelling of the whole edifice of the public service.

So, if he cannot publicly express a contrary opinion about a public policy what redress does he then have?

There are two ways to register his opinion. First, a public servant can exercise his constitutional right to choose the government at the ballot box. Second, he can express his dissent through proper channels within the public service.

Healthy dissent within the closed doors of the public service is not detrimental. Rather, it can be vital to innovation and change. Sometimes, it takes a committed dissenter to induce what will be the next great innovative public policy.

Sometimes, dissenters fail to see the big picture. They do not understand the totality of the issues confronting them. They fail to appreciate their role in that big picture. Hence, they champion causes that go against the larger fabric of the system.

Public servants should constantly be reminded of their bounden duty to the government of the day that has obtained the royal consent to govern. Senior members of the public service have a duty to engage with dissenters. Good managers will discuss public service values with them. Good managers will not just hand out a code of conduct for newcomers into the service to sign it; as though the mere act of signing will automatically produce the desired behaviour.

Public service leaders will debate ideas with their troops and learn from opposing voices within the establishment. In the process, public service leaders will not only educate the dissenters to see the bigger picture and the implications of their actions but, in the process, become educated on an alternative viewpoint to a particular government fiat.

When these kinds of discussions take place frequently and with increasing regularity, we may see an end to public expressions of dissent outside the confines of the public service. As Calvin Coolidge, the 30th United States president once said: “Without commonly shared and widely entrenched values and obligations, neither the law nor democratic government will function properly.”

NST Online

‘Auditor’s Report integral to graft fight’

KUALA LUMPUR: The initiative under the Government Transformation Programme 2.0 to table the Auditor-General’s Report thrice a year allows the public increased access to scrutinise and seek accountability on issues highlighted in the report.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala said the A-G’s Report was integral to fight corruption.

“Our report is detailed because of the need for transparency. It highlights not only the improvements required of the government, but also the best practices for ministries or agencies to learn from.

“Doing this review three times a year demonstrates the commitment to accountability by the government.

“I have yet to see an A-G’s Report from other countries as comprehensive as ours,” Idris said in a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Department’s Performance Management Delivery Unit (Pemandu).

On a media briefing on the report led by Datuk Paul Low at the Institute of Integrity Malaysia on Monday, Idris said the open dialogue session with the media was unprecedented but necessary, and ap-plauded civil servants for their commitment to transparency.

He said the government was serious about engaging the public and understood the importance of clarity on certain issues in efforts to move towards a more transparent and open form of governance.

Idris also commended Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa and the ministerial secretary generals for their involvement in Monday’s session.

The 90-minute question and answer session with the media was chaired by Ali Hamsa.

Pemandu’s National Key Results Area director of anti-corruption, Ravindran Devagunam, said high-level government officials were becoming increasingly open about issues highlighted in the report.

“Being audited is a tedious process and to answer for things that don’t add up is not easy but must be done,” Ravindran said.

Pemandu said reporting on the 
A-G’s Report at every parliamentary sitting was the first of three initiatives aimed at allowing for the scrutiny of the government’s expenditure.

The second initiative was an online dashboard to track the statuses of cases reported by the A-G.

The third initiative was the setting up of an action committee by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

NST Online