Call To Weed Out Idlers From Civil Service
By Asri Razak

Bandar Seri Begawan - In Light of an evolving global arena, the sultanate is paving the way towards enhancing its civil service, changing mindsets, so it becomes an efficient, quality catalyst for change.

His Majesty in a number of titah has identified public service as the driving force behind the Government's machinery, and if it is weak and non dynamic, the nation will not be able to progress.

His Majesty has also highlighted that the civil service and civil servants must be transparent, hardworking, honest and progressive. Any mechanism that does not possess such characteristics is deemed out of-date and redundant.

Hj Abdul Ghani Hj Metussin, from the Management Services Department (MSD), noted that in order to bring a major shift in the civil service and make it more resilient and dynamic, the civil service must undertake continuous improvement in its concept and practices.

In the 90s, administrative and management programmes have been introduced to the civil service, aligned with the commitment of His Majesty's Government to change mindsets and work culture leading to a transparent, accountable, responsive, effective and efficient civil service, said Hj Abdul Ghani. He noted further that through these programmes it is hoped that Brunei will be able to achieve various goals including excellent work ethics and competency of officers, as well as the quality of the delivery of service.

Among the available guidelines is a blueprint of values and work ethics in the form of a book titled Moral Pillars and Work Ethics of, the Public Service of Brunei Darussalam. Launched in 1996, the book identified 11 core values to be upheld by civil servants in performing their duties and responsibilities.

Among the values are that civil servants must be committed, accountable, honest and trustworthy, efficient and accurate, meticulous, creative, innovative and knowledgeable. This is a tall order.

In 2006, at the International Eastern Regional Organisation for Public Administration (Eropa) seminar, His Royal Highness Prince Hj AlMuhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office delivered a sabda which stated that, as demands increase and society becomes more sophisticated, equally high standards of public services are expected by the society, and the civil servants' performance is benchmarked against public services in both regional and on international arenas.

Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, Dato Seri Paduka Eussoff Agaki Hj Ismail, said in the same seminar how civil services worldwide have evolved into the primary driver of change through the promotion of good governance practices, in facilitating the direction and pace of socioeconomic development.

"But still, many nations’ face negative perceptions of the civil service among citizens," said the deputy minister, adding that "the civil service is commonly seen as a massive bureaucracy, operating at high cost, delivering inefficient and ineffective services responding too slowly to the ever changing needs of their societies."

With a population of approximately 370,000, Brunei's civil service is the single largest source of employment. Approximately 11 per cent of the population are government employees.

Guided by the five-year national development plans, the civil service is facing the targets of improving the quality of life of the people, maximising the economic utilisation of national resources, developing non-oil and gas-related industries, accelerating human resource development to meet the country's demands, maintaining full employment and increasing productivity levels.

Again this is a tall order. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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