In 1985, a team of us in the public service, led by Intan, coordinated and launched a national productivity measurement programme. It was an impressive attempt because there was not even a coherent theory then for such a public service performance measurement system.

Nonetheless, supported by an eminent PTD director of Intan with a PhD in public administration theory, the team made up of one Mampu officer, one JPA officer and three Intan officers, including the late Dr Surijt Singh successfully launched the \’national agenda\’ under the leadership of the late Dr Othman Yeop Abdullah, then director general of Mampu.

The late Surjit and the late Othman were amazing PTD officers who always strove and gave their best to serve public interest. Surjit started as an EO in the Home Affairs Ministry with only a Senior Cambridge Certificate, but went on to complete his PhD with his diploma being awarded to him on his sick bed at home by UKM three days before his passing.

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Therefore, for me, attending the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) \’open house\’ last Friday was not just nostalgic but more importantly, an opportunity to review the current buzz-language of National Key Result Areas being driven by Najib Abdul Razak\’s \’People First, Performance Now\’ slogan.

Three reasons for failure

I had done a full review of our productivity agenda, while doing my doctorate and concluded that it failed to achieve its objectives for three reasons:

1. Lack of good and clear political will.

Our programme was a simple but intentional initiative of some very junior officers at Intan, working as a team with some very good senior officers in the public services. Since all were directly interested only in public interest, we worked hard without a distinct budget and specialised group of officers but with only passion and compassion. Nonetheless, it only remained a bottom-up initiative. Therefore there was no political will.

2. Lack of relevant skills and competent specialists to help and undertake public sector change management.

In the public service those days, we had a simpler view that if we train staff to know the right things, they would do the right things. Wrong. We learned much later what Kurt Lewin wrote: Performance is a function of both; the behaviour of the person and that of the environment. Simply put, change agents cannot survive in an environment which does not support their change agenda. This is clearly also linked to the political will.

3. Lack of a clear strategy for driving change agenda promoters, motivating individual change agents and organisations concerned, and involving all the relevant stakeholders.

The theories linked to motivation we understood, but what we did not comprehend was the need for total and full support of the real players and actors at the highest level. One example will suffice. We even succeeded to get the deputy minister of finance to launch our programme in the presence of about 700 public servants and players.

In his speech, we drafted our \’motivation factor\’; that 10 percent of all savings from the annual productivity measurement programme can be utilised towards group or team enhancement at the discretion of the controlling officer of the ministry or the CFO.

However, the deputy minister delivered the speech without any discussion with his ministry\’s budget officers, who alone can decide on such policy issues. Therefore, for any major change agenda to succeed, the political will must come from the highest level and must have the full commitment and support of the CEO and CFO of the system.

Meeting with Idris Jala

Premised on that limited but relevant experience of the past, allow me to give my initial and honest review of the Najib government\’s GTP. But first I must declare I did not attend or start out as an honest believer, but rather a skeptic. And the only reason I chose to attend was that I had personally met Idris Jala at the MBPJ Christmas concert and he convinced me to give him and Najib a chance.

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I am now most impressed by the public personage and personality of Idris Jala. In his 30-minute speech, he was convincing, sincere and seemed to know what he was talking about and spoke directly from the heart, by his own admission. His off the cuff introduction speech was simply brilliant and convinced me that at least he is serious. He also made a statement about the theory of human nature which also thoroughly impressed me. Man is made beautifully imperfect, he said. How true. I had registered my complaint to his wife that I did the e-registration but had received no response.

After this, I attended the focus group session on educational transformation with the agenda and plans laid out by none other than another good friend from University Malaya and now the deputy DG of education Noor Rezan Bapoo. To say the least, she was brilliant with her fast speed presentation of content which she understood very well. I had attended to help friends think through how to \’reposition all mission schools to become relevant to the GTP\’.

Since there are about 400 mission schools and only about 60 Chinese independent schools, our belief is that, like the Chinese schools, if we can reposition and re-strategise a newer and more relevant role for them, they could easily recapture the glory days of the past, as schools to build and nurture character and a caliber of excellence.

Therefore my conclusion from these two samplings are: that the entire GTP seems to address all the three reasons for our failure in the past, it is now top-down and strategic in nature and thinking, it seems to have some very brilliant and competent younger Malaysians in the team, whether from Khazanah or McKinsey or whoever, and finally, there appears to be passion and compassion with which these two sample representatives are driving their agenda.

Leadership is not about power

I hear that most other non-political leaders are equally committed. I may be biased and maybe there was some self-selection involved in the way I met these two leaders of the GTP, but whatever the reasons, I am convinced that if these two leaders continue with the GTP agenda, the chances of success are great. But, my warning also is of the same genre, if leaders like these are removed or changed when the \’environment gets more resistant to change over time\’, this programme too will become a failure.

Leadership and change are symbiotic traits which feed on each other. Leadership today is no more about power and authority but knowledge and data-based information driving new vision.

Both Idris and Noor Rezan are excellent examples of information and knowledge competent change agents with the will to change and improve performance excellence. But in any large system, change involves many parties and stakeholders but most of all clear political will from the highest level.

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Both Idris and Noor Rezan are convinced and they convinced me too that the PM is serious, and I saw and met many parties and stakeholders who are willing to believe that 1Malaysia is theoretically possible.

Therefore, my word to both my friends is: please continue to convince me as I do like to see the real 1Malaysia emerge.

In fact, I look forward to the published version of the promises with exact dates and timeframes.

We the people will then judge based on performance excellence, not just the current espoused theories. For now, at least I am willing to believe you both. May God bless Malaysia indeed.