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This article is in conjunction with the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service’s centenary celebrations this year.
KUALA LUMPUR: Since its establishment as the Malayan Civil Service one hundred years ago, the Malaysian Administrative and Diplomatic Service (PTD) has evolved in line with the nation’s modernisation and development.
Mainly involved in the maintenance of law and order in the early years of its formation, its role has since expanded to, among others, planning, monitoring and evaluating development programmes and ensuring the effective and efficient delivery of public services.
The PTD is the most senior service in the government, with most of the top posts held by PTD officers. Its formation can be traced back to Jan 1, 1921, when the Malayan Civil Service (MCS) was incorporated. In 1972, the MCS came to be known as PTD.
Bernama spoke to two eminent members of the PTD Officers Alumni Association (Alumni PTD) who shared their experiences working in the civil service.
Alumni PTD president Tan Sri Sallehuddin Mohamed, stressing the government’s Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy slogan, urged PTD officers not to abuse their power nor be tempted by offers of bribes and gifts as such acts will not only damage their integrity but taint the image of the government as well.
“Each and every PTD officer must adhere to the ‘clean, efficient and trustworthy’ principles in discharging their duties and responsibilities,” he said, adding that the slogan, coined by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, has been his guiding force throughout his career irrespective of the post he held.
Recalling an incident that occurred sometime in 1969 when he headed the Tax Division at the Ministry of Finance, Sallehuddin, who joined the MCS in 1959, said he was offered a substantial sum of money in exchange for national taxation information classified as highly confidential.
“It angered me because the person who offered me the bribe was someone I knew. I chased him out (of my office) because I felt insulted. No one can buy me over with offers of bribes and money,” he said in an interview at his residence here.
Alumni
Sallehuddin, 88, who served as the eighth chief secretary to the government from June 15, 1984, until he retired on Jan 31, 1990, said it is frustrating to read the increasing number of news reports on graft and breach of trust cases involving government officers
“Untrustworthiness is something that is totally prohibited at the workplace. We must hold firmly to our principles so that others would not dare to approach us with bribes,” he said.
Sallehuddin who, following his retirement, served as executive chairman of the Employees Provident Fund until 2000, also urged PTD officers to seize opportunities to serve in the various states and be appointed to significant posts such as state secretary and district officer in order to develop their careers.
On the role of Alumni PTD, he said their association was registered on April 19, 1989, to enable ex-PTD officers to meet and forge close ties, as well as carry out welfare, economic and social activities.
The alumni also acts as an official platform for its members to offer their assistance in the implementation of government policies should their expertise be needed.
Sallehuddin said the alumni regularly collaborates with the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) to conduct seminars and courses for the current generation of PTD officers to improve their services as well as assist in the governance of the nation.
“As of now Alumni PTD has 703 members who are always committed to sharing their knowledge and experience with the young officers,” he said.
Most of the alumni members have more than 30 years of experience in public service and have held high-level administrative posts at ministries, state governments, federal government departments and established international organisations.
Sallehuddin said the alumni has also been actively handing over memorandums on various matters to the government since 2009, among them being the Memorandum to the Public Service Special Commission – To Study the Transformation of the Public Service 2012; PTD International Conference Report 2014; Alumni PTD Forum on 11th Malaysia Plan: Are We in the Right Direction 2015; and Forum on Public Service Delivery – The Auditor-General’s Report 2015.
Challenges faced by women PTD officers
Meanwhile, Alumni PTD deputy president Tan Sri Nuraizah Abdul Hamid, 77, (pix) in an interview with Bernama spoke about the challenges faced by the women PTD officers in the male-dominated sphere.
She said when she joined the civil service in 1967 as a PTD officer, the male officers then were predisposed to looking down on the abilities of their female colleagues.
“At that time, there were five women PTD officers. Imagine working in a service dominated by male officers... in fact, we even had separate salary schemes, with the basic pay for the male officers being RM592 and female officers RM544 a month,” she said.
She also recalled attending a meeting organised by the Economic Planning Unit at the Prime Minister’s Department where she was handed a note with this written on it, “Who are You?” Not only was she the sole woman PTD officer at that meeting, but until that day no woman had ever attended such a meeting.
“Despite that, I remained steadfast to the mandate given by the then chief secretary to the government Tan Sri Abdul Jamil Abdul Rais who was instrumental in getting the approval of the Cabinet to recruit women into the PTD. It was his mandate that kept reminding me to excel in my work,” she said.
Incidentally, it was under Nuraizah’s tenure as secretary-general at the Ministry of Energy, Telecommunications and Posts that the Communications and Multimedia Act was drafted within a year in 1996.
She said she was assigned by the then minister Tan Sri Leo Moggie Irok to implement a directive from the then prime minister (Dr Mahathir) to enact legislation to integrate all communications and multimedia networks and facilities as well as the licensing systems under the same regulations in order to develop the nation’s digital communications and multimedia industry, and also to turn Malaysia into a renowned information technology hub in Asia.
Integrity, trust
“Among the key challenges we faced then was the shortage of technical expertise to help us to realise this mission. Furthermore, the use of computers in the government administration was still limited then.
“It, therefore, took time for us to make the preparations. But, finally, we succeeded in drafting two Acts, namely the Communications and Multimedia Act and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission Act,” said Nuraizah who, after attaining retirement age in April 1999, continued to serve as secretary-general at the Energy, Telecommunications and Posts Ministry on a contractual basis until 2000.
Nuraizah also said that the basic qualities of a PTD officer are having a positive attitude towards any challenge that comes their way and adhering firmly to the principles of integrity and trust when carrying out their duties.
“In those days, we didn’t get many opportunities to attend training and courses... even if we did, it would be for short-term courses in other countries such as New Zealand.
“Now, everything is provided. PTD has a 10-month preparatory course that is conducted at INTAN. Not only that, but the officers also have access to so many benefits, including furthering their studies at the master’s or doctorate level. So I would like to urge them to grab the opportunities (that come their way) and become PTD officers that the nation will be proud of,” she added.
Meanwhile, various programmes have been arranged to mark the 100th anniversary of PTD this year, including the launch of Alumni PTD’s publication titled “Perspectives” which took place on April 6.
Alumni PTD is also scheduled to publish a special edition of its bulletin next month and in August, it plans to organise a forum titled Looking Back – Going Forward.
In November, a dinner will be held to commemorate the PTD’s 100th anniversary, during which Alumni PTD plans to launch its coffee-table book titled “From Federal House to Putrajaya”. - Bernama
