KUALA TERENGGANU: Civil servants should be problem-solvers, instead of giving the public the runaround when approached for assistance.
Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman advised civil servants to pay attention to the public’s woes by placing service before self.
“Do not take your tasks and responsibilities for granted as your actions and behaviour are always scrutinised by the public.
“The advent of the cyber world has given the opportunity for us to provide online services at our fingertips.
“At the same time, it has also enabled the public to highlight their grievances and the inadequacies of officials via social media.
“This can have an adverse impact on us, as a dissatisfied society can punish the government when their term is up in five years during the general election,” said Razif after presenting excellent service awards to 50 civil servants at Wisma Darul Iman today.
Each of the 50 recipients were awarded a plaque, certificate and RM5,000.
“We always support and greatly value your services to develop the state and to care for the well-being of the people.
“The government will be crippled if civil servants do not carry out the policies and tasks laid out, efficiently,” Razif said.
“In addition to free hajj pilgrimages and overseas trips for excellent staff, we are contemplating sending them to further their education and widen their knowledge overseas.
“This will provide a win-win situation to benefit the officials and government, so that they can better serve the people.
Razif cited the example of Huaxi in China which has successfully produced excellent talents.
The village of Huaxi, about 120km from Shanghai, was an impoverished place with 2,000 peasants dwelling in it in the 1960s.
However, thanks to the foresight and industrious effort of a former soldier known as Wu, the village today has transformed into a thriving metropolis.
Wu had challenged the locals to toil their lands with bare hands to produce farms that reaped good profits, which they used to invest in machinery and technology to open factories, ports, oil and gas facilities, mines and a world-class hotel.