SEPT 7 —  Let us start with two true stories.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) counsel Datuk Abdul Razak Musa grabbed his own neck and demonstrated to the courtroom just how a person could strangle himself and asked questions in a state of confusion. Those in the courtroom burst into laughter and some of the public even described it as the joke of the century.

American tourist Charles Edwards Stokes and his local partner Rosnani Yahya went to a police station to lodge a report after their bags and a laptop were lost during a bus trip. A person with the missing laptop later connected online via Skype with a friend of Rosnani and the friend, knowing that the laptop was lost, took a picture of that person via Skype. However, the police officer said that he does not know what Skype is.

The purpose of narrating the two incidents is not to laugh at those who are involved. Instead, it is meant to stress the need to improve the quality of our civil servants, particularly when the prime minister is committed to transform the country.

It is also a quality problem when civil servants are not cautious enough to make racist remarks. Even secondary principals, who are supposed to be educational elites, are not sensitive to racial feelings, let alone low-level civil servants. For example, a police investigating officer (IO) asked a woman who went to lodge a report to return to China, just because she couldn’t speak Bahasa Malaysia.

To avoid sensitive incidents, Education director-general Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom has issued a notice to remind all primary and secondary school principals and teaching staff to be cautious in speaking and not to express sensitive racial remarks or severe actions will be taken against them.

It is a good thing for the education ministry to issue such a warning. Shouldn’t other government agencies issue similar warnings, too?

Maintaining racial harmony is the joint responsibility of all civil servants. If they need to be reminded by their superiors, it shows that there is a need to improve their standards and thinking.

In view of increasingly intense global competition, all countries are working hard to enhance their civil service quality.

For example, China has introduced 10 systems, including strict punishment and reward, attracting talents, providing training to enhance capability and improving quality through a competition mechanism. In Hong Kong, all applicants for civil service vacancies must first sit for the Basic Law Test.

To ensure that civil servants understand the racial sensitiveness and the concept of social harmony, perhaps the government should require all applicants to pass a relevant test or sit for a particular test before they can be promoted.

In addition, the government should also step up professional training, including training for thinking, shaping mindsets, learning professional knowledge and management skills. If it is true that the Biro Tatanegara actually instils racism, it has then violated the spirit of 1 Malaysia and is not conducive to racial integration.

It is good to have more non-Malays joining the civil service sector as it can bring diverse thinking to the sector.

If Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak wants to successfully transform the government and implement the New Economic Model (NEM), he should then step up the administrative reform. From the five-day working system to the frequent welfare improvements, there are signs of slackness in the public sector, including the frequent failure to charge suspects involving in corruption, drug abuse and murder cases. Thousands of accumulated traffic summons are also left unsettled.

The number of civil servants has jumped to 1.29 million people. The number has been increased, but the quality has not been improved. The execution cannot be enhanced if the quality is not being improved and the management level will also be stagnant with the unchanged mindset.

It is a cause for alarm when civil servants start to make inappropriate remarks and commit mistakes. The country will not be able to move forward if no reform is made in the public service sector. — mysinchew.com

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.