New Straits Times, 30 January, 2008.

NOT all 1.2 million civil servants are bad. Instead, the case is more of the service's good name being spoilt by a few rotten apples.

PEMUDAH private sector panel member Tan Sri G. Gnanalingam said this was akin to the Malay proverb that loosely translated would mean a whole pot of milk being spoilt by a drop of dye.

It's estimated that about 10 per cent of the civil service is not up to par. Percentage-wise this may be small but in absolute terms there are about 120,000 civil servants going about and spoiling the good name of the civil service.

"And that's a number not to be scoffed at," Gnanalingam said.

The members of PEMUDAH have come to the conclusion that while Malaysia had clear policies it was the implementation that got in the way.

This was because of the different agendas of irresponsible government staff, which included corruption, inefficiency and the famous 'tidak-apathy'.

Gnanalingam said it is easy to say that reducing the civil service will be the best way to deal with the decay.

"If one were to really examine the civil service structure, that is certainly not the best option," he said.

Out of the 1.2 million civil servants in the country, teachers account for about 350,000.

"And we are always saying that there are not enough teachers in schools to teach our children! With our growing population, surely we don't want to jeopardise our future by trimming the work force in schools, do we?" he said.

"Then, we have some 300,000 policemen and soldiers in the country. And we say that we don't have enough policemen to keep the crime rate down! Factor in another 270,000 employees in the health sector - nurses, attendants and doctors. Can we only reduce this?" Gnanalingam asked.

In other words, we have close to a million civil servants in the essential services, leaving about 300,000 administrative staff at the federal, state and district levels.

Gnanalingam said most of these government employees are honest workers. The thing to do would be to root out the rotten apples from the system.

"I do believe that this is being done now beginning with changes at the top. Those who don't deliver have been demoted or transferred to less critical positions and some had even taken early retirement. The government means business these days," he said.

Gnanalingam said it was heartening when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi decided to stop the rot.

"He has assembled a good team among the top civil service officers to fulfil his "walk the talk" statement. It took a couple of years to find these people but I think he can rest assured that this team can deliver," Gnanalingam said.

"By this team, I mean the chief secretary to the government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan along with the director-general of the Public Services Department, Tan Sri Ismail Adam; the secretary-general of the Ministry of Finance, Datuk Wan Abdul Aziz bin Wan Abdullah; the director-general of the Implementation Coordination Unit in the Prime Minister's Department, Tan Sri Khalid Ramli; and the secretary-general of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Abdul Rahman Mamat," he added.

Gnanalingam said there are also capable female members in the top rungs of the civil service, including the chief executive officer of the Inland Revenue Board, Datuk Hasmah Abdullah; the director-general of the Malaysian Administration Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu), Datuk Normah Md Yusof; the director-general of the Local Government Department, Datin Arpah Abdul Razak; and the secretary-general of the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Faizah Mohd Tahir.

"I must say that while the private sector may gripe about women leaders in the business world, the public sector has nurtured a group of women at various government ministries and departments into exemplary leaders. Some of their educational backgrounds and training, including stints at the prestigious Harvard Business School , is truly impressive," he said.

He described that in PEMUDAH meetings, the entire team assembled by Mohd Sidek revealed that they are men and women of substance, quality, openness and sincere in their efforts to ensure that the Malaysian civil service can deliver.

"We always have the perception that the private sector has more capable people. In my opinion, the civil servants are sometimes better than those in the private sector. The clarity of their articulation, politeness of their explanations and willingness to accept changes and ideas are truly astounding," Gnanalingam said.