There are "white sheep" in the public service too

My faith in the public service will always get a boost whenever I read news items that prove there are some good men there. It is heartening that despite the many brickbats thrown at the whole lot, there are others in the service who will dedicate themselves to being a good public servant. That phrase itself, public servant seems to have been forgotten by quite a number who hold positions in their capacity as an employee to the people.

In this case, Madam Koid was the Director of Customer Market Conduct Department at Bank Negara but she did not find it above her station to answer a call when her secretary was not around. She explained that she was passing by her secretary's desk and answered the call. She listened patiently to the caller and made it a point trying to solve the problem when all the relevant information had been compiled. This would be a good example of the “People First, Performance Now” slogan being put into action. The public have not seen or felt the effects of the slogan throughout the whole public civil service but instead been inundated with horror stories of incompetency and arrogance.

This is an exceptional case but evidence that there are good public servants hidden under all the negative news on the public sector employees. An exemplary public servant must be nurtured by the system and not kept in cold storage just because the prevailing culture have not accepted such dedication. When the system tend to promote little Napoleons rather than those who do actual work, the rot will fester and overcome the good seeds and even overwhelm the others. It is an uphill battle as a culture of mediocrity has been established in some government departments. The long queues just to get a number at public hospitals for example seem symptomatic of the system.

I'm sure we can do better. The private sector employees sometimes have the same disdain for the public and this attitude for those who deal with the public must be stopped. The public goes to a department for a service and they must be treated with due respect and attention that they deserve. Not every customer is right but handling difficult customers is an art that can be learnt. Anyone who is employed to service the public either in the public or private sector must realise that they themselves might be at the opposite side of the counter or telephone call when the occasion arises. Then they would know that a dedicated unassuming employee has a positive effect on the entire experience. It is known that some people succumb to high blood pressure triggered by an unpleasant encounter with an employee. A pleasant time at a department will reduce the number of such cases.

Image from reedfarms