Master keys to turn Civil Service to be among the best (Part 9)

COULD not our bureaucrats be like those in other successful countries which recognise and give various national Prestigious Awards to self-reliant young entrepreneurs who eventually survive the endless turbulences of the businesses?

To quote Fahmi Rais, the managing editor of the Aspirant: (Singapore), Issue No. 1 August/2007, "Singapore offers a conducive environment for self-starters, smart executives and daring young entrepreneurs to realise their dreams."

So please do not just easily, quickly target our bona fide entrepreneurs and have them criminalised; lead them, help them to breath to have their dreams realised; be like those life-savers and paramedics.

When they are fully successfull they may globalise. When we have attained this condition, we have fulfilled the advices of these titahs and Hadiths.

Those bona fide young entrepreneurs who are determined to earn their own livelihood, to be self -reliant, without ever causing any problems to the country and the government of His Majesty, should instead be targeted to be guided, motivated and helped, instead of being haunted and hurt.

A huge notice at a construction site in Singapore, reminds their employees that: Better teamwork, Safer site work.

We would like to borrow and share this safety reminder in the context of this issue:

Better national teamwork,

No red tape barriers to obstruct;

The country will steadily develop,

No poverty, no problems encountered;

Insha Allah, as the Hadiths have reminded,

And what the titahs have commanded.

Brunei will be the best, easiest, safest place to have SMEs started and protected.

Since the Pharaoh's Egypt; since the Roman Empire, since the existence of Islam; since the Sultan Bolkiah Empire; since the pangalus and padians plied to and fro across along the Brunei River; since oil was first drilled in Seria; since the spread of the British Empire and now during the cut-throat globalised era, all nations had taken their socio-economic progress or regress very seriously: It is national life and death. In fact it is a religious obligation to be economically strong and powerful.

Thus, all economic resources, factors of production and systems of distribution must be protected and expanded, especially when the population is increasing rapidly as projected.

This is the reason why the Director of Economic War Institute in Paris warned that economic sabotages take many forms: through legal, financial, religious, social, political, technical, administration, information. ("Business play dirty in global high stakes", The Strait Times, June 15, 2001.)

[(What ever justifications, truths, untruths, the fact is China is now seriously suffering from this form of "economic war" ("Furore over China goods biased, says top official — 99 per cent of products meet safety standards, insist quality control chief", The Straits Times, August 20, 2007). This situation is similarly depicted in one of your cartoon which depicted a Tiananmen Square scene where an American tries to stop a Chinese tank carrying "Made in China" toys, contaminated with lead, as symbolised by a watery word "LEAD" on the backtrack, The Brunei Times, August 20, 2007)]

If we stretch the importance of this warning further, one wonders if a sort of surreptitious economic sabotage has been/is being committed by those recalcitrant, overzealous, inefficient, lacking-empathy Little Napoleons?

Assuming this is true, then these Little Napoleons must be placed at the top of the List of "FAILURE INDICATORS", not in the List of "SUCCESS INDICATORS, for being so "EFFICIENT" in smothering the spirit, the motivation, the breath of our entrepreneurs, the golden geese which lay the golden eggs, their SMEs.

The strict, meticulous monitoring of this "FAILURE INDICATORS" is essential because of the recent world-public avowed undertaking of the Prime Minister's Office to make our Civil Service as one of the best in the world! Otherwise, our national reputation, credibility will be universally sullied. Hence this Royal syair is apt:



"Indah peta laila digubah,

laila kata jangan berubah,

yang kurang elok baik di-tambah,

itulah pesan dalang persembah.

(Rajang Laila Syair: "Syair Laila Hasrat" by Penyair Diraja,

Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Sa'adul Khairi Waddien.)

We venture to approximately render this Royal Moral precept as follows:

"An elegant map is being created,

a sincere statement never get altered,

that which is deficient better be perfected,

that is a bequeathal advice of a humble presenter."

This idea of "FAILURE INDICATORS" is the opposite of the concept of "SUCCESS INDICATORS" that will measure the level of effectiveness of public services, as was mentioned by Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister's Office, Dato Seri Paduka Eusoff Agaki Hj Ismail, ("Civil service told to improve on delivery", The Brunei Times April 2, 2007).

We pray that with the serious implementation of this "FAILURE/SUCCESS INDICATORS", Laila kata jangan berubah, yang kurang elok baik ditambah, Brunei Darussalam will be so confidently proud to present at the next Apec Summit, and will be soundly applauded by the world for having achieved its successes in "cleaning" and turning its entire civil service performance as one of the best in the world.

This will be then the best guarantee of flourishing growth of both local and foreigner SMEs in our country, and to make Brunei the best place in the world for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to start, grow, globalise, as the world's easiest, safest place to do business".

Hopeful, the world will regularly come to Brunei to find the "secrets" of what make Brunei Civil Service the best, the most trusted, the most efficient, the most pro-supportive and empathetic of businesses, which confidently show the world "how to do" rather then "being told by the sufferings citizens what to do".

A civil service weak and poor in slogans, strong and rich in performances, will not only quash public concerns, but eliminate the public's burden!

Before we close this discourse, it is vital to reiterate part of the titah of His Majesty the Sultan dan Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam carried by The Brunei Times on July 16, 2007: "Make SMEs engine growth, says His Majesty".

"... all relevant parties to begin appreciating the contribution of SMEs and to start pulling together to tackle any problems they may face and called for the removal of all hurdles hindering achievements or delaying efficient service. His Majesty thus ordered all agencies that still retain tardy regulations or processes to immediately improve their outlook.

The civil service processes and mechanisms to be constantly reviewed and revised, particularly those directly related to customer service. Its main aim is for efficient customer service, one that has been long-awaited and able to reduce the public's burden."

We truly believe that this titah contains several "master keys" to close the door of bureaucratic inefficiencies, lack of empathy and anti-business mentally, and open the door of an efficient, empathetic, a trusted, competent knowledgeable, pro-supportive business civil service, one of the best in the world.

The Government and the rakyat's "pulling together" — saperti kuku dengan isi, — (as fingernails are part of the flesh), working, striving, with focused efforts to remove all antipathy, to eliminate all inefficiencies, all weaknesses; all shortcomings; to demolish all the barriers, the hurdles which cause endless, sufferings to the rakyats, which kill initiatives, suffocate the spirit of entrepreneurship, smother the dreams, and abort births of SMEs that render the country poor and weak.

"Pulling together" enables and facilitates the exercise of checks and balances, to prevent injustice, of shared views, shared values, coordinated tasks, coordinated structures, linkage mechanisms, common principles, common socialisation, common empathy for the benefit of the citizens and hence the nation.

"Pulling together", the government and the rakyat in consent awareness "to hear and to obey, in hardship and in ease, in circumstances pleasant and unpleasant" (Al-Bukhari and Muslim, from "The Principles of State and Government in Islam" by Muhammad Asad-born Leopard Weiss).

Both standing united supporting each other, always be prepared to sacrifice for the socio-economic progress of the country and hence its strength and survival and security.

Since time immemorial economic prosperity was the foundation of strength and security.

"All relevant parties to begin appreciating the contribution of SMEs", is in fact to fully pay heed to the Advices of the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. that 9 out of 10 (halal) income comes from (halal) businesses; that at the end of time (in the future) man must prepare and strive to create wealth to uphold the Akidah — the sovereignty of religion and its affairs and manage worldly, temporal, affairs; and, that poverty may lead to apostate, (in modern context may cause social-economic-religious-political ills), and that begging is detested.

Yang Dimuliakan Pehin Orang Kaya Lela Raja Dato Seri Laila Jasa Haji Awang Abdul Rahman bin Haji Awang Karim, DSLJ, PJK was formerly Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Defence.

Part 10 continues tomorrow

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