Who can I speak to? Sorry, officer not in

The New Straits Times, Kuala Lumpur
29 December 2005



Who can I speak to? Sorry, officer not in

Sarban Singh and Minderjeet Kaur
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28:

Call it the "pegawai tidak ada" (officer not in) syndrome. Most
Malaysians
must have got this dreaded reply at least once when they telephoned or
walked into a government department to get something done.

This has caused untold misery to the public, especially those coming
from
the small towns to seek service in government departments.

Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Samsudin Osman, in a
circular to
all ministries, State Governments, local councils and statutory
bodies, said
this had been identified as one of the main obstacles in the
Government's
initiative to provide an efficient public delivery system.

To overcome this, he issued a directive telling them to come up with a
system where senior officers could act on behalf of department heads
whenever these people were not in the office.

"Department heads who are responsible for decision making should empower
their subordinates and allow them to make decisions in their absence
so that
the public would not be inconvenienced," he said.

However, to ensure there was no abuse in the delegation of powers,
Samsudin
(right) said department heads should adhere to several principles:

. Formulate a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure those empowered
would be able to make the right decisions;

. Amend, if necessary, any laws or regulations to allow department
heads to
delegate powers to their subordinates;

. Ensure the officer given the powers is competent, trustworthy and
accountable; and,

. Create a mechanism to allow department heads to monitor all
decisions made
by their subordinates and ensure they are reported to him.

Samsudin said this approach would encourage the participation of junior
officers in decision making.

"This would also help them enhance their knowledge and expertise in
improving the public delivery system."

Samsudin said all departments and agencies must report the
effectiveness of
the "empowerment" system to the Special Committee to Reduce
Bureaucracy at
the ministry and state levels periodically.

"It is my hope that this will be given priority," he said.

The directive to set up such committees at all government departments
and
agencies aimed at reducing red tape came from Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Abdullah had said if this was not done, it would breed corruption.

The panels are to be chaired by the respective ministers.

What people say about counter services

L.H. CHIN, 40, businessman: I pay my business management study loan
from the
Selangor State Government in instalments, but it is really
frustrating. I
have to go to three different counters that sometimes take hours. I
check
the balance on my loan at the first counter, make the payment at the
second
and collect the receipt at the third. Please cut the red tape.

ALAN FONG, 37, manager: Every year, I call the Inland Revenue Board
and the
same thing happens. I get passed around to six or seven people,
repeating
the same information, only to learn that the person I have to deal
with is
either off or out at a meeting. The telephone operator should be
trained to
direct the call to the right person.

VINCENT NG, 20, manager: Two weeks ago, I was at the Petaling Jaya
National
Registration Department to apply for MyKad. The queue was endless. Even
though the application process is simple, I had to wait the whole day to
register. They should have more counters or mobile counters to cater
to the
increasing number of people.

SHAHRUL NIZAM RAMLI, 31, a freelance drama director: I was in pain
and went
to the Bangsar Dental Clinic to extract my wisdom tooth. I waited for
several hours and at 4.30pm they closed the counter and told me
return the
next day. Frustrated, I went to a private dental clinic and paid
RM400 to
have the tooth extracted.

VALENTINE SIVA, 66, retired government worker: Once a month, I would
fast
the whole night in order to check my blood for sugar. The 9am
appointment at
a government hospital is often dragged to 10.30am or longer. The queue
hardly moves. I feel the unit taking blood should have more staff to
reduce
the waiting time.