Former Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has urged the people to get rid of their “kampung” mentality in their work culture, if the country wants to ensure the continued survival of its people “within the global context”.

Tengku Razaleigh, or Ku Li as he is affectionately known, said there is a need to make a change within in terms of a new mindset and culture, to adopt a more “professional” attitude.

tengku razaleigh speech 110310 02 “We can never aspire to be professional so long as we continue to be imprisoned by the feudal mentality that conditions our mind to blindly follow our leaders or those in positions of power and authority,” he said.

Ku Li said the dominance of one race in the public sector (Malays) has created a sub-culture that expresses itself in ways that are incongruous to a modern public administrative ethos that emphasises professionalism.

“We need to remove the kampung from our minds and work towards inculcating and internalising a new culture and ethos that reflects universally acceptable standards of professional conduct.

“Only then can we ensure the success of our struggle and ensure the continued survival of our nation as a civilised entity within the global context,” he  said.

He was giving a speech on professionalism at a dinner by the law firm Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill last night.

'Credible legislature and media needed'

Pointing to the tardiness in the security and defence forces, Tengku Razaleigh cited reports of military weapons and two sets of RMAF jet fighter engines found missing or stolen, as examples of a “total absence of professionalism”.

“In order for professionalism to take root in our society, we need to avoid manipulation by the powers-that-be. This is impossible to achieve in the absence of a strong and credible legislature and a robust media that highlights official malfeasance and abuse of power.

NONE He urged professionals to also stand up for their rights and live up to the ideals of their respective professions.

Sometimes, said Tengku Razaleigh, the professionals are only too eager to please their political masters.

“Everyone knows that wisdom among Malaysian politicians is rare, but perhaps few realise that the courage to tell the truth to people in power is just as rare, if not rarer among the professionals.

“Nowhere is this more obvious than in the public sector - which at the time when we inherited it from the British could be described as par excellence. Today, it has become a burden on the people and our resources,” the Kelantan prince said.

He also blamed executive interference as being prevalent, undermining professionalism that is affecting several sectors like education.

“Executive interference has pervaded almost every profession that we consider to be sacrosanct.

NONE “Today, our education system is in tatters. The drastic drop in educational standards is such that many parents shudder to think of putting their children through the Malaysian school system.

“The problem of standards is clearly due to executive interference, which in turn poses a serious challenge to the professionalism of our teachers.

“We may not like to hear it, but the sad truth is that the rot in our education system started with executive interference linked to the New Economic Policy,” he said.

Needless to say, he added the inevitable fall in standards has led to massive brain drain out of parents wanting to see their children enjoy a better education overseas.

‘Don't allow profession to be prostituted’

Ku Li later gave some other examples of unprofessional conduct like the recent case of sexual assault of an Indonesian woman at a police station, the black-eye incident involving the former inspector-general of police against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and the lack of professionalism within the ranks of the police in dealing with Bersih protestors and journalists during its mass rallies.

NONE He also remarked on the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) busying itself with petty matters while failing to address more urgent and important matters as further examples of unprofessional behaviour that had led to the deaths of DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock and customs officer Ahmad Sarbaini Mohamed, incidents that he said further undermines the  professionalism and integrity of the officials.

The former Umno vice-president and Gua Musang MP also highlighted that the Selangor BN government destroying its records after being defeated in the last general election as another instance of unprofessional conduct by civil servants.

“My concern is simple - we do not want a profession to be prostituted. Never allow a noble profession, be it medical, legal, journalistic or any other calling, to be diseased by allowing opportunists to abuse the profession,” he said.