Who is responsible for Daniel\’s death? The president of the Bar Council Yeo Yang Poh wrote a brilliant comment about \”who really killed the 12-year-old boy, named Daniel, in Sabah?\” in the New Straits Times (NST) on Jan 9. For those who did not read the news or the article, the young boy committed suicide after no one would give him money to pay his school fees!

In his argument, Yeo astutely pointed out that we are all responsible for this boy\’s death. NST entitled the piece, \”Yes, we all had a hand in Daniel\’s death.\” In fact my last column for 2006 too was entitled, \”Who betrayed my friend?\” My friend Mat Tahir Ayob, aged 57 years, succumbed to colon cancer because our health system could not help him detect his cancer early enough, although he went for numerous medical examinations and tests.

Therefore I totally agree with the Bar Council president that we must and can all be held responsible for both Daniel\’s death and my friends passing because we may have been negligent with our God-given responsibilities of time, relationships and opportunities. It surely is a curse upon us in Malaysia that in a rich and well endowed country like ours, a poor boy cannot find enough money to pay his school fees. Yeo\’s concern is a reasonable and valid one that every citizen should be questioning and reflecting upon. We must each ask why we allow the Daniels of the world to die. To ponder this, for the purpose of a mental experiment, can we each assume that Daniel was our nephew or cousin and that we lived in Sabah but somehow we did not know of this real and felt need. How could things have been different for Daniel?

Three years ago, I publicly raised this very issue before the PM. I called upon him to implement a real radical change in the pubic services; moving her from the \”power paradigm towards the responsibility paradigm.\” This was at a CEO\’s Forum with the PM on Jan 13, 2004. The Pak Lah administration had organised this private forum after they had a similar one for the public sector. More than 500 CEOs attended.

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The PM arrived late and spoke on his favorite topic and made promises about a \”new governance\” against corruption, more openness and transparency and promised an improved public service delivery. After his speech, Mustapa Mohamed, then minister in charge in the EPU moderated a short question and answer session where just five speakers were given a chance to ask a question. My question was more than one; it was also a suggestion to the PM that he faced a serious problem in \”changing the mindset of the public service.\” Therefore, having congratulated the PM for his \”work with me and not for me philosophy\” of Robert Greenleaf\’s servant-leadership model, I went on to suggest what paradigm problem was.

Currently, all public servants sign-off their letters with the words, \” saya yang menurut perintah .\” But we need to better understand the etymological roots of this translation from the old English tradition. In English culture and tradition this means; \”I, Your Obedient Servant of His Majesty, the King or Queen of England.\” In Malaysia though, the Federal Constitution explicitly clarifies that although public servants are appointed by a neutral Public Services Commission, they report to the government of the day, as appointed by the King. Therefore, over the years, rather than acting as a neutral public service \”of Her Majesty\’s Service,\” we have often become a mere extension the government of the day. And rather unfortunately, unlike in the British system with alternative governments of the day, we have had the same government for the last 50 years.

Now, worse still, this executive government is further dominated by Umno-leadership and many are card-carrying Umno members in the public service. That is exactly Pak Lah\’s paradigm problem. Most government officers today are unable to differentiate and distinguish between public interest and the governing party\’s private interests. Their public service philosophy, therefore is, like that of the Ford Motor Company: \”what is good for Umno is good for the country!\” I beg to disagree.

The responsibility paradigm

The world today is driven by the power paradigm. Those who have the power rule. My son told me recently that his tuition teacher told him that there are only two rules: The teacher is always right, and rule number two is that, if the teacher is wrong, please refer to rule number one. In fact, a very senior colleague from my church who is in the private sector also repeated that theirs is a similar model of management. In fact, in the Administrative and Diplomatic Service (or the PTD), this was the golden rule taught to all civil servants almost from day one. I should know as I was one of those facilitators of training at Intan for almost 12 years. This worldview and philosophy of management was what Pak Lah inherited from Dr Mahathir Mohamad, after 22 years of the latter\’s administrative \”ruler-ship.\”

In those two decades of the power paradigm, the public service nurtured a cadre of \”yes-men\” who were selected and promoted because they \”learnt the rules rather well.\” And so I cautioned Pak Lah that unless he changes the \”sign-off\” from the old one to: \”Saya Yang Bertanggongjawab,\” he would not succeed in changing anything. Well Pak Lah allow me to repeat the warning, after three years of the original caution. Allow me also to remind that you have not yet kept your public promise to me; that you will change the sign-off as suggested because you thought it was a brilliant idea. And, if you remember, you also gave me the permission to remind you until you do it. That is what I am seeking to do with and through this article on the third anniversary of that original suggestion.

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The real problem is this: in the power paradigm \”truth becomes the victim\” and political correctness becomes the norm and way of life. Therefore, all subordinates at every level learn to say \”yes sir, to even the most stupidest of ideas without much forethought.\” After all, the boss is always right, right? Wrong. Most of the time, bosses are and can be wrong much like fathers and mothers can be wrong; if they do not learn to listen to their children. Daniel\’s parents did not learn to listen to his needs as he spoke his truth; about wanting an education! They have now learned a very bitter lesson. We all have to learn the fine art of listening as well. Actually, to me, this was in fact Mahathir\’s brilliance. He listens exceptionally well and seeks to fully understand the content. Therefore, I pray that Pak Lah is also willing to listen.

By switching the sign-off from the colonial one to a new national one, we are effectively taking charge and relocating the locus of responsibility to the actor: us, and away from all non-actors and mere role-players. Currently, in the public services we have too many role-players and not enough actors. Actors are those who take and accept full responsibility for the job that needs to get done and accept the fact that the buck stops here! Directors and role-players simply pass on the buck downwards, often with the words, \” sila urus !\”

We must move away from the power paradigm towards the responsibility paradigm. That is my simple conclusion from my doctoral studies on dignity in the workplace. Human beings are created in the image of God, and therefore would really prefer to act and behave like \”good stewards of a given responsibility;\” which was assigned to them originally in creation. They prefer not to simply become \”robots who take orders at the workplace.\” Through such robotic behavior, they are effectively selling their souls (or dignity) to their bosses; and thus denying their own God-given dignity; of assuming responsibility for their actions. They lose their sense of purpose and relevance at the workplaces as God\’s viceroy and over time they end up doing shabby or ordinary work; promoting a close one eye culture, at its worst.

Man is purpose driven and cannot work if they find no meaning and purpose in what they are doing. Therefore it is time for all organisations to move beyond the \”power paradigm towards the responsibility paradigm.\” Dignity of the workforce is restored when workers are held directly responsible for success and failure of operations and tasks assigned to them. And, due rewards must also be given for adequate recognition of good and responsible work.

The responsible actor

Michael Harmon, my professor of Public Administration and author of the books, Organisation Theory for Public Administration and Action Theory begins the first chapter with a case story of a US newspaper report asking the question \”Who betrayed the five-year- old boy?\” The boy was battered to death by the boyfriend of the mother who was a divorcee, while at least 8-10 different groups \”knew\” this was happening but no one took action until it was too late.

The Bar Council president\’s question is really no different in form and substance. And rightly so, he has argued that we are all responsible for Daniel\’s death, not legally but morally by keeping quiet and tolerating \”poverty at our doorsteps.\”

For instance, why did not the school Principal know that Daniel\’s parents were divorced and probably faced untold difficulties? Why did not someone from the welfare department know the problem facing this family? What about the neighbors, did they even know Daniel and his dreams about life and education? What about his religious institution, are they only concerned and good enough to bury Daniel at his death? Did they bother to care for him while he lived? Even worse, are they only good enough to \”fight for his body\” after he is dead. What about the community where his family lived? What about the various political parties who fight to get elected? What about the Ministry of Education who seeks to \”enable schooling for all?\” What about all the government text-book support schemes, scholarships and support programmes? Where were they when Daniel needed help?

My pet hypothesis is that all of us are part and parcel of the power paradigm. We also sometimes have an illusion of helplessness and hopelessness. We think everyone else owes us a living but we do not owe anyone else anything. Therefore, we are all preoccupied with self-interest issues, with little or no time for public interest issues. Other than going to vote once in five years, we have no other responsibility for the public space of life. Sometimes our self-interest is even transferred to the government, and we think the government owes us this or that. This is an outdated and decadent mindset. We need to begin to see ourselves as God views us; as responsible actors for the life mandate already given to us by Him.

We are all responsible for whatever happens in our environment. None of us is an island unto ourselves. Unless we learn to take care of not just our private spaces but also our public spaces as well, we run the risk of \”losing our public spaces to chaos, injustice, rogues and thieves.\” Poverty is one such scourge. Why should we allow such a curse to even continue to exist in Malaysia today? After all we are a very richly blessed nation. Poverty has not been eradicated not because we do not have the means; but rather because we lack the political will and because of the failure of our public service delivery system.

Finally, all this reminds me of a real life experience I had in University of Malaya during my undergraduate years. A good friend and senior of mine once told me that he was present in the governing council of the student body because he wanted to represent \”his political interests.\” I asked him what that interest was. He articulated that \”as long as the rich \”towkay\” who owns the then UMBC does not care for the poor beggar in his five-foot way, one day the poor beggar may find enough money to buy a bullet and put it through the head of the owner!\” That was 1969.

Today the rich \”towkay\” is no more only a Chinese or a foreigner; he is all of us in urban areas who have the means and are at least middle-class wealthy Malaysians. But, like the poor beggar, there are many Daniels out there who either lack the means or knowledge of the means to access public services to seek out the necessary help needed. Regardless, it is our common responsibility to be involved in brining about better solutions to their quality of life. We must all begin to say, \” Saya yang bertanggungjawab .\” Not, \” Saya yang menurut perintah ,\” because the \”perintah\” (order) has already been given and we are only now called to fulfill our roles with full responsibility.

In heaven we must all report on our performance, and non-performance. God Bless Malaysia and help us eradicate poverty.