CIVIL servants must develop a civil service culture which will help pave the way for the emergence of a dedicated, committed, efficient and ethical civil service.
All departments and agencies should aim to instil noble and ethical values among their staff to fight corruption.
Noble values and ethics in the public service are essential if we are going to have a clean, efficient and trustworthy administration.
The key values that should be a part of this work culture should include trust, a sense of responsibility, dedication, discipline, diligence, transparency and integrity. It is also essential for us to instil such values among the younger generation.
In this connection, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission should intensify its anti-graft campaign in schools to educate the young in a long-term effort to combat corruption.
Bringing the anti-graft campaign to schools is the most fundamental approach to fighting corruption.
Teaching schoolchildren to loathe corruption in the same manner as they are told to hate dadah is appropriate.
Malaysians must be constantly reminded of the importance of good values and ethics in their pursuit of self-advancement.
If Malaysia strives to become a fully-developed nation with a society that possesses high morals and ethics, priority must be given to the inculcation of values, morals and ethics, beginning with the young.
We cannot be fully developed in every aspect if we are wanting in values. The process of inculcating values should not only be the responsibility of the schools but also the home and workplace. The issue of morals and ethics should be of major concern to all Malaysians.
In Malaysia, we often come across many immoral and unethical issues, which are not only confined to economic activities but also in every other facet of human activity, such as in politics, sports and other areas.
Cases of fraud, criminal breach of trust, corruption and other forms of malpractices arising from greed and unethical practices are often the subject of media reports.
In our efforts to strive for the attainment of a moral and ethical society, which is one of the nine challenges of Vision 2020, three fundamental issues need to be addressed.
THERE must be political will on the part of the government and commitment by all sectors of society to put an end to all forms of corruption;
THERE is a need to develop an ethical corporate climate coupled with good governance and making integrity the best policy as a truism, both in business activities and personal life; and,
THE people must be prepared to adopt a culture based on honesty, discipline and integrity as a way of life.
Just as we want to cultivate a caring culture, it is equally important to develop a culture based on discipline and honesty.
Here lies the biggest challenge to all Malaysians — how to make honesty and integrity away of life. It is by no means an easy task given the problems we have to encounter and the many temptations and greed of those who are never satisfied.
TAN SRI LEE LAM THYE
Kuala Lumpur