By TEH ENG HOCK enghock@thestar.com.my
Najib: ‘I do not want the automation culture to become the lifestyle among the civil servants The Civil Service needs to focus on innovation and creativity in today’s competitive environment in order to change the public sector transformation.Embracing innovation and creativity is key to successfully supporting the four pillars of the Government, namely the 1Malaysia concept, the Government Transformation Programme, New Economic Model and the 10th Malaysian Plan. Government agencies need to prioritise efforts in introducing innovation to all aspects, including management and service delivery to people and clients.Innovation, coupled with proper planning, will help the country achieve its objective of being a high-income nation within a short period of time.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak had emphasised that the Government would transform Malaysia through a holistic innovative process, ranging from innovative administration in the private and public sector, societal innovation, urban and rural innovation, and branding innovation. Other fields singled out for innovation were education, healthcare, transportation and social security.“Civil servant today should think out of the box. I do not want the automation culture to become the lifestyle among the civil servants.“We have to think critically and constructively in carrying out our responsibilities and also being trustworthy in generating creative and innovative solutions which are beyond the norms,” said Najib.
Najib said the parts of the innovation process was already being carried out through pre-cursors such as the 1Malaysia concept, National Key Result Areas (NKRAs), Key Performance Indicators (KPI), New Economic Model, and the establishment of Special Taskforce to Facilitate Business (PEMUDAH), Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) and the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC). This underlined the Government’s commitment in bringing about total innovation to bring the country to the next economic level. “If previously, Quality Control Circle (QCC) focused on solving problems pertaining to main issues within departments, today, Innovative and Creative Circle (ICC) has given space to the members of its organisation to be innovative and creative in producing new ideas, without having to wait for issues or problems to occur within the department. “In accordance to that member of the organisation must be more sensitive, concern, and proactive within their respective working environment, in line with the aim to improve our service,” said Najib He said: “If once upon a time we succeeded in transforming the economy from agriculture to industrial based, now we are moving forward towards a new economic model based on innovation, creativity and high added values”.
In the context of the civil service, it is hoped that innovation, in the form of products, services, processes or technology, will increase current output values and bring changes to existing practices.
When Najib assumed national leadership, he stressed that it was of utmost importance for the civil service to shift to a new paradigm which fuses productivity, creativity and innovation.
While the achievements of the civil service had been measured in terms of productivity in the past, he said the civil service should now also include creativity and innovation.
An incremental improvement can be achieved by focusing purely on productivity, he said, but when combined with creativity and innovation, could result in a quantum leap.
A commitment to innovation As a start, civil servants will be celebrating Innovation Day on Oct 31, instead of Quality Day as in previous years.
Government agencies have been encouraged to create an environment that is conducive for creative thinking, with the final product being an improved service delivery to the people and private sector. Emphasis is on the agencies to increase their output and outcome value in the shape of products, services, processes or technology. For the civil service, innovation can be applied to various aspects such as customer management, work culture, strategic management and organisational leadership, and human resources. To help agencies chart and plan their strategies and action plans, Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) has come up with a guideline entitled “Strengthening the Innovation Culture in the Civil Service”.
Agencies and departments can establish a steering committee to determine the policies and strategies to encourage idea generation, coordinate and monitor efforts of instilling the innovation culture, and acknowledge civil servants who have done well.
To ensure success, agencies and departments must prepare an Innovation Action Plan, complete with a list of activities tailored to achieve the goal. The agencies and departments must also raise awareness on the necessity of the innovative approach in service delivery. This can be done through campaigns, exhibitions, seminars, talks and contests. Internally, each agency and department must set up a mechanism which encourages and gathers ideas from its staff. All suggestions must be received, regardless if it brings about a big or small impact.
Externally, customers and service providers should also be encouraged to give feedback on how to improve public delivery. Prime Minister’s Quality Award Since 1990, agencies that have excelled were acknowledged under the Prime Minister’s Quality Awards.
To underline the new commitment towards innovation, the Government has decided to introduce a new award – the Prime Minister’s Innovation Award. Nominees for the Prime Minister’s Innovation Award are selected by a search committee chaired by the Chief Secretary to the Government, while its members comprise senior Government officials and individuals from the private sector, academia and non-Governmental organisations. The winner of the award will be selected based on four main criteria – innovativeness, relevance, significance and effectiveness. The first winner for the 2009 award will be announced at the awards ceremony today, at The Royale Chulan in Kuala Lumpur, with the Prime Minister personally giving away the prizes.
Najib: ‘I do not want the automation culture to become the lifestyle among the civil servants The Civil Service needs to focus on innovation and creativity in today’s competitive environment in order to change the public sector transformation.Embracing innovation and creativity is key to successfully supporting the four pillars of the Government, namely the 1Malaysia concept, the Government Transformation Programme, New Economic Model and the 10th Malaysian Plan. Government agencies need to prioritise efforts in introducing innovation to all aspects, including management and service delivery to people and clients.Innovation, coupled with proper planning, will help the country achieve its objective of being a high-income nation within a short period of time.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd. Najib Tun Abdul Razak had emphasised that the Government would transform Malaysia through a holistic innovative process, ranging from innovative administration in the private and public sector, societal innovation, urban and rural innovation, and branding innovation. Other fields singled out for innovation were education, healthcare, transportation and social security.“Civil servant today should think out of the box. I do not want the automation culture to become the lifestyle among the civil servants.“We have to think critically and constructively in carrying out our responsibilities and also being trustworthy in generating creative and innovative solutions which are beyond the norms,” said Najib.
Najib said the parts of the innovation process was already being carried out through pre-cursors such as the 1Malaysia concept, National Key Result Areas (NKRAs), Key Performance Indicators (KPI), New Economic Model, and the establishment of Special Taskforce to Facilitate Business (PEMUDAH), Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) and the National Economic Advisory Council (NEAC). This underlined the Government’s commitment in bringing about total innovation to bring the country to the next economic level. “If previously, Quality Control Circle (QCC) focused on solving problems pertaining to main issues within departments, today, Innovative and Creative Circle (ICC) has given space to the members of its organisation to be innovative and creative in producing new ideas, without having to wait for issues or problems to occur within the department. “In accordance to that member of the organisation must be more sensitive, concern, and proactive within their respective working environment, in line with the aim to improve our service,” said Najib He said: “If once upon a time we succeeded in transforming the economy from agriculture to industrial based, now we are moving forward towards a new economic model based on innovation, creativity and high added values”.
In the context of the civil service, it is hoped that innovation, in the form of products, services, processes or technology, will increase current output values and bring changes to existing practices.
When Najib assumed national leadership, he stressed that it was of utmost importance for the civil service to shift to a new paradigm which fuses productivity, creativity and innovation.
While the achievements of the civil service had been measured in terms of productivity in the past, he said the civil service should now also include creativity and innovation.
An incremental improvement can be achieved by focusing purely on productivity, he said, but when combined with creativity and innovation, could result in a quantum leap.
A commitment to innovation As a start, civil servants will be celebrating Innovation Day on Oct 31, instead of Quality Day as in previous years.
Government agencies have been encouraged to create an environment that is conducive for creative thinking, with the final product being an improved service delivery to the people and private sector. Emphasis is on the agencies to increase their output and outcome value in the shape of products, services, processes or technology. For the civil service, innovation can be applied to various aspects such as customer management, work culture, strategic management and organisational leadership, and human resources. To help agencies chart and plan their strategies and action plans, Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) has come up with a guideline entitled “Strengthening the Innovation Culture in the Civil Service”.
Agencies and departments can establish a steering committee to determine the policies and strategies to encourage idea generation, coordinate and monitor efforts of instilling the innovation culture, and acknowledge civil servants who have done well.
To ensure success, agencies and departments must prepare an Innovation Action Plan, complete with a list of activities tailored to achieve the goal. The agencies and departments must also raise awareness on the necessity of the innovative approach in service delivery. This can be done through campaigns, exhibitions, seminars, talks and contests. Internally, each agency and department must set up a mechanism which encourages and gathers ideas from its staff. All suggestions must be received, regardless if it brings about a big or small impact.
Externally, customers and service providers should also be encouraged to give feedback on how to improve public delivery. Prime Minister’s Quality Award Since 1990, agencies that have excelled were acknowledged under the Prime Minister’s Quality Awards.
To underline the new commitment towards innovation, the Government has decided to introduce a new award – the Prime Minister’s Innovation Award. Nominees for the Prime Minister’s Innovation Award are selected by a search committee chaired by the Chief Secretary to the Government, while its members comprise senior Government officials and individuals from the private sector, academia and non-Governmental organisations. The winner of the award will be selected based on four main criteria – innovativeness, relevance, significance and effectiveness. The first winner for the 2009 award will be announced at the awards ceremony today, at The Royale Chulan in Kuala Lumpur, with the Prime Minister personally giving away the prizes.
