Why does the government's Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) provide reports on the weekly performances of cabinet ministers only on Fridays?

According to Pemandu CEO Idris Jala, it is to ruin their weekend.

Speaking at the Global Transformation Forum in Kuala Lumpur today, Idris said Pemandu reports on what targets had been achieved, and those that have not been achieved, each week.

These targets are then rated "red" if they are not done, "green" if done for the week, or "amber" if it the jobs were incomplete.

"Why on Friday? Because we can spoil their weekend. I remember the first time the prime minister put a message to one minister (whom he did not name).

"He said, 'Dear so-and-so, last week this item was red. Now, this week, the same item is red. What are you going to do differently on Monday so that on Friday, it becomes green?'

"That weekend, all hell broke lose. The entire ministry was in the office figuring out what to do," Idris said.

Who is the worst minister?

He was speaking on Pemandu's work and achievements, as well as his previous work in Malaysia Airlines and in Shell, which among others included how Pemandu helps ensure that the government's targets are met.

Pemandu is in charge of monitoring the government's National Transformation Programme.

Idris said ministers would get their Key Performance Index (KPI) at the beginning of the year, and the results would later be published on the Pemandu website after it has been audited by the audit firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

The ministers themselves are made personally accountable for delivering those targets, so that they cannot shift the responsibility of delivering those targets to their subordinates.

Twice a year, their performance would be assessed by the prime minister.

"There is only one other person in the room. That's me. They cannot bring any civil servant along to tell the prime minister what has been happening in the past six months.

"The prime minister will ask them, and they must know the answers. We know who is the highest performing minister too; we also know who is the lowest performing minister.

"If you want to know, visit Pemandu's website. We put it all there. It is amazing that nobody comes and looks," he said.

The Putrajaya inquisition

In addition to these measures, Idris said ministers also hold monthly meetings with civil servants to try and solve the problems that they face.

However, if a problem cannot be solved, it would be brought to the "Putrajaya inquisition" that is held twice a year.

"The prime minister, twice a year calls for everybody... The prime minister is there, the deputy prime minister is there, the government chief secretary is there, the chief treasurer is there and the relevant ministers and all parties involved come to the meeting room.

"If, for example, the reason why something doesn't move is because one individual in a department didn't do his or her job, that person is required to come to the meeting to explain why he or she is not doing it.

"I can tell you that 60 percent of the problem is solved before the meeting. That is why we call it an inquisition," Idris added said.