COMMENT In the latest development involving both the state finance officer and state secretary, it is obvious that the civil servants are to be blamed when they fail to deliver according to the expectations of the people.

Both were falling back on the Data Protection Act 2012 to deny Kampung Tunku assemblyperson Lau Weng San of his request for the salaries of a list of senior management staff in state government-linked companies (GLCs).

This is part of the checks and balances that we need in any democratically-elected government.

Despite the Selangor state government having implemented its Freedom of Information Enactment 2010, which has set it a world apart from Putrajaya and its Official Secrets Act (OSA), the two most senior civil servants at the state level chose to drag their feet, citing confidentiality as the reason for not releasing the information.

The opaque OSA culture, which is traced back to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s era, is often used to hide the truth from the ordinary people.

The OSA cap is on top of every can of worms and our leaders expect us to be blind voters who will cast our votes in support of the Barisan Nasional for another 50 years simply because no one exposes their wrongdoing.

This was what prompted even the inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar, whose first reaction to the news of Tabung Haji’s involvement in the purchase of Tun Razak Exchange (TRX) land, was to promise that the people behind the expose would be investigated under the OSA.

Apparently, the top cop was unaware that it was Dr Mahathir himself who had raised the Tabung Haji issue, which is a highly sensitive issue to the Muslims and as such, what happens to the money should be known by all. By trying to prevent the truth from surfacing, Khalid was in fact doing a great disservice to the contributors to the fund.

How then can the IGP himself now justify the use of OSA, especially when the Tabung Haji is not even a government department in the first place? This clearly shows how entrenched our civil servants’ mentality is in the so-called ‘Official Secrets’.

Anything and everything can be stamped ‘OSA’. Whistleblowers are prosecuted, while the culprits get away with billions of Ringgit. Where is the transparency and good governance promoted by the government? There is only talk, but no actions. How can Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s government earn the confidence of the people, when he himself is not upfront with what happened to the RM42 billion? When asked, Khalid could only say: “OSA!”

It is such typical mindset that makes Malaysia a third world country. Therefore, when Lau ( photo ) first complained about not being able to obtain information from the state government, I knew right away it was the civil servants who were making it difficult.

Since former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s time, the term, ‘Little Napoleons’ has been coined to refer to these civil servants who think they are important warlords within their turfs.

This is why, in the absence of a good and firm leader at the federal government level, the Little Napoleons are behaving like little emperors. In this case, Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali has performed better than Najib as a state leader.

It is a shame if senior civil servants have to be ticked off, as if they do not know their jobs or the policies.

In the first place, why did we allow such civil servants to be promoted to such a level even when they cannot perform? A good example is a public relations officer of a local council I knew about 20 years ago, who has been promoted to director of corporate communications despite his poor performance. These civil servants are as good as deadwood in the corporate world

The Little Napoleons

By 2020, we are supposed to be a developed nation, on par with the rest of the first world countries, but if our civil servants’ mindsets are still entrenched in the ‘wait-and-see’ culture, bordering towards the lackadaisical attitude that we see so prevalent in our local councils, how can we progress as a nation?

Civil servants are supposed to implement the directives of the government of the day, instead of playing the politics of sabotage. Ultimately, it is the people who elect the government of the day and we expect salaried employees to just carry out their jobs efficiently.

If the civil servants fail to serve the people, or implement the state policies, they should face the wrath of the people. This is my answer to fellow Selangorians who think there are no dramatic changes in the state administration, despite Pakatan Rakyat having been in power for the past seven years.

The people implementing the policies are indeed the government servants. If they underperform, they should be the main target or be forced to resign, instead of the menteri besar or the state exco members.

Pressure has to be applied from the top as well as from the rakyat, if we want to eventually see improvement in the civil service in this country.

The rakyat have to take responsibility in the way our civil servants behave or carry out their duties. If they underperform, it is up to us to apply the brickbats (with of course, a bouquet of roses to those who have done well) and tell them what is expected of them.

Sometimes, it can make a big difference when the matter is brought all the way to the top executive in the department. Otherwise, even the junior officers will make us run around.

It happened to me when I was applying for a replacement to a house title on behalf of my mother last year. The staff at the Federal Territory Land Office created a lot of hassles for me, before I blew my top and demanded to see their superiors.

Within minutes after seeing the senior officer, the job was done! But, I wish to say that while we have inept people in every government department, there are also the good souls who are helpful and always willing to serve the public. These are the ones who deserve the thumbs-up from me.

Who do councillors represent?

These past few years since 2008, I have been mingling around with some good local councillors.

My advice to them has always been on the importance of their positioning. Do they tell the public that, being councillors, they are not the punching bags on behalf of the council staff; instead, they are the voices of the people, who represent the residents and the complaints, to raise important issues in local council meetings.

There is a big difference when you position yourselves correctly. While it is true that the councillors have some degree of authority over the council staff, they often have to work through the directors of different departments. On top of this, there is also the president of the council.

The people who implement the jobs are not the councillors themselves, but the council staff who are paid a salary to do the job. The truth is not every director is cooperative. Even if the directors are cooperative, not all staff members work as hard as people in the private sector.

This is why the councillor’s job is to follow up with the Little Napoleons in the local councils and tell them to toe the line. Sometimes, it is necessary for them to even throw brickbats at certain directors if they fail to perform; otherwise, the councillors would be ineffective when the local council staff underperform in their duties.

Put is simply, it is those Little Napoleons who should be facing the brickbats when policies are not implemented, and work is not being carried out, or efforts are made to purposely sabotage the state’s initiatives.

Therefore, if you ask me whether there are already significant improvement in Selangor, I would say this: even the former menteri besar Khalid Ibrahim had done a lot for the state in the early years of his term of office. A good example is the amount of money that had been collected from the sand mining which, in the past, had gone into a black hole.

The next time the civil servants fail to deliver, you know who to target!

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.