Deconstructing Malaysia’s civil service – but hands off the ‘sacred cows’ for now!

One of the movies I enjoyed watching was the animated movie Zootopia.

It is basically a detective story that uses metaphors and caricatures to effectively provide lessons on prejudice, stereotypes, police brutality, workplace discrimination, bureaucratic sabotage and inept government departments.

One particular scene (which I guarantee will make you laugh) shows the main characters, Judy the bunny and Nick the fox, fighting the clock and rushing into the Department of Motor Vehicles. Unfortunately for them, the office is staffed entirely by sloths – pleasant, even lovable but working at an excruciatingly slow pace.

Sound familiar?!

Sadly, for many of us in Malaysia, this is something we might be able to relate to – even if one might counter that such a depiction feeds into the “myth of the lazy native” and inaccurate generalisations about our ethnic Malay-dominated civil service.

Having been a civil servant for 30 years, I always bristle with indignation every time I come across generalisations about the lack of efficiency and integrity in our civil service.

True, the Malaysian civil service has gone through many changes since the 1960s. Not only has the efficiency and effectiveness of its delivery systems improved, so too has its human resource management, especially through better performance appraisal methods and salary structures.

We can see some positive outcomes in digitalisation, better delivery systems and less red tape in some government departments. But the changes are mostly incremental in nature, while the power dynamics within the system have remained largely unchanged.

Neutrality vs loyalty

The civil service is often described as the backbone of the government.

Elected executives come and go through the revolving doors of a general election.

But it is the unelected civil servants who hold the fort and remain within the system usually until they retire, especially if they wish to enjoy the public sector retirement benefits. These civil servants thus play a critical role in determining the state of the nation at any point in time – and sometimes even the survival of the government of the day.

In 2018 after Pakatan Harapan created history by ending the uninterrupted reign of the Umno-led Barisan Nasional coalition, some claimed a “deep state” existed within the civil service.

But it is probably more accurate to see alleged acts of sabotage and resistance as the actions of individual actors, including both elected and unelected executives within the civil service, rather than an organised network of resistance or conspirators.

The civil service ethos and work ethic is supposed to be based on the concept of the ‘neutrality of the civil service’.

But how exactly that is interpreted and practised has changed over the decades. It can range from non-partisanship and adherence to a professional code of ethical conduct that prioritises national interests to a narrow and debilitating “yes, minister” type of unethical and even sycophantic behaviour, to the detriment of national interests.

This is especially so when, over time, the boundaries between the Umno-led government and Umno the political party have blurred and overlapped. For some civil servants, serving the government of the day became synonymous with serving Umno.

This outlook was further strengthened by senior civil service appointments and promotions based on political patronage and loyalty to Umno, especially since the 1980s. This was the era of the “I agree and support” (Saya setuju dan sokong) workplace culture. The culture within the civil service then resembled the culture within the dominant party, Umno.

However, since the 1998 sacking of the then Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the loyalty of civil servants to Umno has slowly but steadily eroded.

Yet it still cannot be translated into unquestionable loyalty to the new Pakatan Harapan-led “unity government” for now. Remember, in last November’s general election, the opposition Perikatan Nasional candidate won the Putrajaya seat, where most of the voters are civil servants.

Enabling environment

Over the last few decades, civil servants who perhaps had a higher level of professionalism and work ethic were able to recognise malfeasance by unprincipled and corrupt officials, both elected and unelected.

But often these civil servants did not have an enabling environment to voice their concerns without fear of reprisals.

Most remained loyal to the government of the day, even in the face of decisions and policies that were clearly wrong, rather than exit the system and lose all the benefits attached to their positions. Hence, they became complicit through their silence and compliance.

The few courageous ones who dared to voice their dissent openly often had to pay a heavy personal price: they were subjected to disciplinary action or they were ‘rehabilitated’ through denial of promotions, transfers to remote locations or simply placed in ‘cold storage’ with dim prospects for career advancement.

Others chose to fight back quietly and secretly, by leaking documents, ignoring instructions or just not implementing what they saw as poor decisions and policies. Civil servants like Nor Salwani Muhammad and Dr Madinah Mohamad, who disclosed how the 1MDB audit report was allegedly tampered with on the instructions of then Prime Minister Najib Razak come to mind.

However, the recent Court of Appeal decision to acquit and discharge Najib and the CEO of 1MDB of tampering charges, coupled with former auditor general Ambrin Buang’s assertion he had authorised the amendments, illustrates how the concept of civil service neutrality can be highly subjective in practice.

After the Umno-led government was unseated in 2018, the then incoming Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad proposed to replace the phrase “I, who obey orders” (Saya yang menurut perintah), which was used to sign off on all government correspondence since 2007, with “I, who carry out the trust” (Saya yang menjalankan amanah).

While this may seem trivial or cosmetic to some people, the PH-led government did begin deconstructing the civil service by leading the attack on corruption and abuse of power by elected executives, beginning with the prosecution of then outgoing Prime Minister Najib and some key members of his cabinet.

This was what PH supporters and voters had clamoured for, but whether the civil service as a whole was supportive of the process then is debatable.

The enabling environment, however, did encourage some civil servants to come forward to voice their concerns or provide much-needed information without fear of reprisals.

Perhaps claims of the existence of a ‘deep state’ back then, including within academia, showed a lack of the right kind of engagement and approach in carrying out the deconstruction of the civil service. Ultimately, this contributed to the PH-led government being unable to complete its first run in office.

Anwar’s approach

Now, with Anwar Ibrahim leading the PH-led government on its second run, one can see discernible differences in the approach to deconstruct the civil service. His approach has been respectful, conciliatory and uplifting, always highlighting the expertise and competence inherent in the civil service while promoting teamwork and collaboration.

The PM still repeats the usual calls for civil servants to be honest, efficient and trustworthy. But he attempts to build trust and change mindsets in a non-threatening, familiar way by couching it within Islamic teachings, fully aware of the sense of insecurity and siege mentality that may exist among some civil servants.

Beginning from his maiden speech to his staff, Anwar has been vocal about good governance and the need for change, especially top-down change. He has highlighted the problems of ‘leakages’, systemic corruption and kleptocracy (amalan sakau-menyakau), as well as the “culture of asking for commissions” within the civil service.

The PM has also taken immediate action to address questionable procurements and approvals without open tenders.

We can already see some positive outcomes from this top-down approach. The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief recently observed: “When there is a drive and political will from the top, especially the prime minister, it makes my job easier.”  

The MACC reported that civil servants were the biggest group detained for investigations into corruption and abuse of power, including many high-profile cases.

Some of the cabinet ministers have made visits and spot checks on delivery systems at government hospitals, commuter stations and immigration checkpoints.

The Ministry of Education has now set up its own whistleblower system to accept complaints from the public against its staff at all levels, including schools.

Of course, much more needs to be done, especially considering the barrage of complaints and criticisms still being levelled at the civil service. This would require an integrated approach with support from all levels and all branches of the civil service.

However, Anwar is keenly aware of the ‘sacred cows’ and untouchable elements of the civil service, as seen by his response to comments regarding the Malay-dominated civil service and lack of diversity: “We are not considering the proposal as I do not think it is a problem now.”

The downsizing of the civil service and lack of career advancement opportunities for ethnic minority civil servants are also issues he has not yet addressed.

The PM has also made some conflicting and contradictory decisions, whether by free will or forced by circumstances, resulting in many questioning his sincerity, motives and ability to bring about substantive changes to the civil service.

These poor decisions include the appointment to public office of individuals tainted by corruption or political appointments in state-owned enterprises.

Anwar also has much more to do to tackle institutional weaknesses that have resulted in trickle-down corruption within the civil service and, crucially, elite capture of public resources through cronyism and collusion with private entities.

The first step to civil service reform is to admit there is a problem – and to his credit, the PM has done that from day one.

Deconstructing the civil service involves both changing mindsets and addressing institutional weaknesses. It requires challenging and dismantling some elements of the status quo that are detrimental to the greater good of the nation before reconstructing a better and stronger foundation.

This will take time and needs tenacity and patience. So the PM has to tread carefully in nurturing a symbiotic relationship with the civil service.   

Our role  

However, the deconstruction of the civil service is not just Anwar and his administration’s responsibility. We all have a role in this process.

To ensure that the civil service serves us well and lives up to our expectations as the ‘client’, we need to play our part. We should give credit where it is due and shine the light when the civil service fails in its commitments – and today, social media has made that even easier.

As a civil society organisation, Aliran has done exactly that, through our many press statements and writings by our correspondents.

So, let’s continue to move forward with courage and determination to reconstruct a better civil service to reclaim our nation.

Mary Magdaline Pereira
Co-editor, Aliran newsletter
29 April 2023

The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.

AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama

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