IT was an unbelievable electoral win for Pakatan Harapan. Shock met with awe and excitement as state after state and parliamentary seat after parliamentary seat collapsed like a poorly constructed Malaysian public facility ceiling.

The euphoria had barely settled when Dr Mahathir Mohamad spent the next three weeks shooting off announcement after announcement from his prime minister’s chair – some shocking, many bold but mostly well received, in a classic smooth delivery that only he could pull off.

It’s almost like he never left, but just took a 15-minute break from his office, during which two of his trainees managed to break the photocopier and set the pantry microwave on fire.

The sense of joy will soon turn into a sense of expectation, and that’s where Dr Mahathir’s experienced hands will come in handy.

It is a system used and largely shaped by both him and the influential people he brought back with him to finish off his mission.

When PH broke Barisan Nasional’s hold, it not only offered the chance to change the people running the system, but largely the system itself, which has been moulded not only to facilitate but almost force the people within it, to be corrupt.

This was done for many reasons, one being a reward in a largesse-driven system of politics and two, as a means to control federal coffers, and possibly (mis)use them for individual, camp or party funding.

The first thing that has to go is the system of political appointments for the many agencies and government-linked companies.

This involves the will and resolve to resist any temptation to fall back into the current, failed system.

This would include lost and wandering members of the previous administration who would be interested in securing their own interests and could weasel their way in with promises to show the infant government “the ropes”.

Instead, we must take advantage of the fact that here is a real opportunity now to make objectivity the new hallmark in this administration and performance and accountability the new defining criteria.

Without political interference, you remove the burden to the GLCs and agencies to comply with less-than-sound, or worse, completely self-serving organisational decisions, and allow them to increase their output, make money for the government and their stakeholders, or solve a problem for Malaysians.

In the past, their decisions have been stifled by the constant need to please their political patrons who appointed them to their cushy positions in the first place. 

The people appointed should, therefore, be minimal in number, adequately qualified, are competent, and it should suffice that the person can be trusted by the government of the day to execute his or her role, which should be to observe and advise, and not interfere. If necessary, a non-political person can fill this role, if none can be found from with the party ranks.

Even better, this could be practised for the remaining members of cabinet and for the deputy ministers, and that would send a right and positive message to the agencies and bodies which come under them.

The move to abolish overlapping agencies is a good one. The civil service has long suffered from overstaffing, which in a bid to remain popular, the previous administration has repeatedly denied. This crowded space, stifles individual career growth, forces salaries to remain at subpar levels and increases bureaucracy.

With the revamping of the system, perhaps the expertise of the civil service itself can be a marketable commodity, such as our expertise in health, or vernacular education. Staff could be diverted into critical areas like urban planning, drainage and irrigation or forest conservation. A paradigm shift of mentality is needed – one of production and results rather than loyalty.

A reformed civil service and re-energised GLC sector would propel Malaysia back on track as a strong trading economy, provided PH avoids the many pitfalls and traps that would try hard to push it back into its couch-potato mode. – May 30, 2018. 

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.