PSC can do it
Saturday, 30 June 2007
Qazi Azad
IT was interesting to hear newly appointed Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman Dr. Sadat Hossain answering some difficult questions in an interview programme of a local TV channel last Monday. He could not come up with satisfactory answers to a few of them.
One of the journalists on the panel of interviewers asked him how bureaucrats should ensure rule of law and good governance under an unruly political government. Another asked him whether senior civil servants of the time were also to blame alongside the political leaders who had held public offices during the tenure of the immediate past elected government for many of the wrongdoings now being reported, on account of their collusion with the direct offenders. Yet another asked him how his reformed commission would act to ensure that civil servants would perform well in future for the attainment of the goal of rule of law and good governance.
The new PSC chairman, who often showed during his eventful career as a bureaucrat that he had a backbone and yet could rise from the junior level to the highest office of a civil bureaucrat-- the cabinet secretary, withstood periodic turbulences centring his career as a public servant. It is, however, difficult to say whether he would have been able at all to successfully weather through those storms had he been not a member of the erstwhile elite civil service. While facing the panel of interviewers on the TV channel, he knew that he had no easy answers to their difficult questions.
In reply to the first such question, he said civil servants at the field level during the time of a political government often face pressure from ruling party leaders to compromise rules; and they sometimes yield to survive in service. He also said senior civil servants, on having completed 25 years of service, always remain under the threat of compulsory retirement under a provision that authorises the government to do so using its discretion whenever it feels needed. He thus tacitly inferred that their compromises on matters of rules and policies under pressure from political bosses are similarly dictated by their need to survive in service.
While replying to the second question, Dr. Sadat suggested that a rule or a law should be there envisaging that no action against some important secretaries could be taken in future without the recommendation of a high level committee. The secretaries who he named by their assignments are in fact the members and the chairman of the Superior Selection Board (SSB), which selects and recommends officers at the senior levels for promotion to the highest executive authority of the country. Apparently, he thus gave vent to his pains for having not succeeded as the chairman of that board, in his capacity as the cabinet secretary, during the tenure of the immediate past elected government to do justice to some officers who deserved promotion, in his consideration, as per rules and on the basis of their academic and service records. One may thank Dr. Sadat on that count. The biting of conscience for an unwilful default is felt by only good persons.
One may, however, humbly ask Dr. Sadat: How many civil servants do have firm backbones and clear minds for rising up above personal biases and prejudices or temptations? If a little prospect of an ambassadorial appointment on appeasing one or two powerful political bosses would tilt a few of these secretaries or all of them on the SSB to seek suggestions from such bosses about who should be promoted, the whole purpose of having a high level committee to protect them from machinations of an unruly government would stand nullified and meaningless. Rather, the assured protection from a high level committee may add to the vanity of such opportunity-seeker secretaries and may make them unusually arrogant.
In his reply to the third question about how the reformed PSC would act to ensure rule of law and good governance, Dr. Sadat said the matter is not within the purview of his constitutional body. His was a straight reply in accordance with the provision under the Constitutional Article 140. He said the basic functions of the PSC are to select candidates for appointment by the government in the services of the republic and to offer its opinions on service-related matters referred to by the President.
There is a saying that warns: "As you sow so you will reap". If this proverb reflects human wisdom acquired from long experiences, which in fact it does, Dr. Sadat would have to think a little more on the subject. In his new capacity as the PSC chairman, he can at least ensure that the seeds to be selected for sowing in the service of the republic are mature and fertile. He may recall some views of Henry Kissinger, as recorded in his autobiography-The White House Years. The man, Kissinger, may be wicked, as indicated by his recent opposition to the decision in Washington to reveal CIA's past covert operations abroad against some foreign governments. Truly democratic values do not permit that the government of a country or its intelligence agencies would conspire against or unseat a foreign government which is not up to its liking. That is highly immoral and unfavourable for peace. But Kissinger was successful in his job. He recorded in the book his principle of staff requirement on being appointed first as the National Security Adviser in Nixon administration (page 23). He writes, "…. I was determined to recruit the ablest and strongest individuals I could find. While I hold strong opinions I have always felt it essential to test them against men and women of intelligence and character; those who stood up to me earned my respect and often became my closet associates".
Individuals of strong opinions tend to be articulate. They cannot conceal their minds if they are confronted with views opposed to their opinions. It does not, however, guarantee that people with strong opinions are invariably good. Many of them may be wicked and insensitive like bulldozers to humane values and other noble considerations while promoting the objectives of their own strong opinions. But the fact that they talk out their minds while confronted with tactful questions offers an opportunity to any authorities considering them for appointment in service to make a reliable assessment about their tendencies-traits built in their characters.
In setting questions for future BCS written examinations and holding viva-voce, Dr. Sadat's PSC may aim at bringing out the tendencies or traits of character of individual candidates in their answers. While assessment of the knowledge level of individual candidates would definitely remain one of the major aims, a sound guess about their tendencies must remain the prime goal. Fast runner wild horses cannot be good choices for participation in a race nor persons with talent but with ill motivates are good for placing trust on in regard to public services.
"Public service", told the US judge to Col. Oliver North on the dock as an accused for the Iran-Contra scandal, "does not involve telling your boss always 'yes' but also telling him 'no' when he is wrong". Without the willingness and guts to tell 'no' to their bosses when the bosses would be wrong, the PSC's future recruits for civil services may also frustrate this nation.
Late illustrious filmmaker Khan Ataur Rahman of this country, who for his remarkable multi-faceted talent could be called the Bangladesh edition of Sattyajit Roy -- the late world famous filmmaker of India, who had his root in this country, had a serious message in one of his self-composed lyrics. He wrote, "You were then appeasing, like a thief, your boss with yes sir and yes sir".
The republic does not at all require only 'yes sir' characters in its public services. Dr. Sadat, as the PSC chairman, will have to filter out such characters at the phase of selection of candidates for appointment in the republic's services.
IT was interesting to hear newly appointed Public Service Commission (PSC) Chairman Dr. Sadat Hossain answering some difficult questions in an interview programme of a local TV channel last Monday. He could not come up with satisfactory answers to a few of them.
One of the journalists on the panel of interviewers asked him how bureaucrats should ensure rule of law and good governance under an unruly political government. Another asked him whether senior civil servants of the time were also to blame alongside the political leaders who had held public offices during the tenure of the immediate past elected government for many of the wrongdoings now being reported, on account of their collusion with the direct offenders. Yet another asked him how his reformed commission would act to ensure that civil servants would perform well in future for the attainment of the goal of rule of law and good governance.
The new PSC chairman, who often showed during his eventful career as a bureaucrat that he had a backbone and yet could rise from the junior level to the highest office of a civil bureaucrat-- the cabinet secretary, withstood periodic turbulences centring his career as a public servant. It is, however, difficult to say whether he would have been able at all to successfully weather through those storms had he been not a member of the erstwhile elite civil service. While facing the panel of interviewers on the TV channel, he knew that he had no easy answers to their difficult questions.
In reply to the first such question, he said civil servants at the field level during the time of a political government often face pressure from ruling party leaders to compromise rules; and they sometimes yield to survive in service. He also said senior civil servants, on having completed 25 years of service, always remain under the threat of compulsory retirement under a provision that authorises the government to do so using its discretion whenever it feels needed. He thus tacitly inferred that their compromises on matters of rules and policies under pressure from political bosses are similarly dictated by their need to survive in service.
While replying to the second question, Dr. Sadat suggested that a rule or a law should be there envisaging that no action against some important secretaries could be taken in future without the recommendation of a high level committee. The secretaries who he named by their assignments are in fact the members and the chairman of the Superior Selection Board (SSB), which selects and recommends officers at the senior levels for promotion to the highest executive authority of the country. Apparently, he thus gave vent to his pains for having not succeeded as the chairman of that board, in his capacity as the cabinet secretary, during the tenure of the immediate past elected government to do justice to some officers who deserved promotion, in his consideration, as per rules and on the basis of their academic and service records. One may thank Dr. Sadat on that count. The biting of conscience for an unwilful default is felt by only good persons.
One may, however, humbly ask Dr. Sadat: How many civil servants do have firm backbones and clear minds for rising up above personal biases and prejudices or temptations? If a little prospect of an ambassadorial appointment on appeasing one or two powerful political bosses would tilt a few of these secretaries or all of them on the SSB to seek suggestions from such bosses about who should be promoted, the whole purpose of having a high level committee to protect them from machinations of an unruly government would stand nullified and meaningless. Rather, the assured protection from a high level committee may add to the vanity of such opportunity-seeker secretaries and may make them unusually arrogant.
In his reply to the third question about how the reformed PSC would act to ensure rule of law and good governance, Dr. Sadat said the matter is not within the purview of his constitutional body. His was a straight reply in accordance with the provision under the Constitutional Article 140. He said the basic functions of the PSC are to select candidates for appointment by the government in the services of the republic and to offer its opinions on service-related matters referred to by the President.
There is a saying that warns: "As you sow so you will reap". If this proverb reflects human wisdom acquired from long experiences, which in fact it does, Dr. Sadat would have to think a little more on the subject. In his new capacity as the PSC chairman, he can at least ensure that the seeds to be selected for sowing in the service of the republic are mature and fertile. He may recall some views of Henry Kissinger, as recorded in his autobiography-The White House Years. The man, Kissinger, may be wicked, as indicated by his recent opposition to the decision in Washington to reveal CIA's past covert operations abroad against some foreign governments. Truly democratic values do not permit that the government of a country or its intelligence agencies would conspire against or unseat a foreign government which is not up to its liking. That is highly immoral and unfavourable for peace. But Kissinger was successful in his job. He recorded in the book his principle of staff requirement on being appointed first as the National Security Adviser in Nixon administration (page 23). He writes, "…. I was determined to recruit the ablest and strongest individuals I could find. While I hold strong opinions I have always felt it essential to test them against men and women of intelligence and character; those who stood up to me earned my respect and often became my closet associates".
Individuals of strong opinions tend to be articulate. They cannot conceal their minds if they are confronted with views opposed to their opinions. It does not, however, guarantee that people with strong opinions are invariably good. Many of them may be wicked and insensitive like bulldozers to humane values and other noble considerations while promoting the objectives of their own strong opinions. But the fact that they talk out their minds while confronted with tactful questions offers an opportunity to any authorities considering them for appointment in service to make a reliable assessment about their tendencies-traits built in their characters.
In setting questions for future BCS written examinations and holding viva-voce, Dr. Sadat's PSC may aim at bringing out the tendencies or traits of character of individual candidates in their answers. While assessment of the knowledge level of individual candidates would definitely remain one of the major aims, a sound guess about their tendencies must remain the prime goal. Fast runner wild horses cannot be good choices for participation in a race nor persons with talent but with ill motivates are good for placing trust on in regard to public services.
"Public service", told the US judge to Col. Oliver North on the dock as an accused for the Iran-Contra scandal, "does not involve telling your boss always 'yes' but also telling him 'no' when he is wrong". Without the willingness and guts to tell 'no' to their bosses when the bosses would be wrong, the PSC's future recruits for civil services may also frustrate this nation.
Late illustrious filmmaker Khan Ataur Rahman of this country, who for his remarkable multi-faceted talent could be called the Bangladesh edition of Sattyajit Roy -- the late world famous filmmaker of India, who had his root in this country, had a serious message in one of his self-composed lyrics. He wrote, "You were then appeasing, like a thief, your boss with yes sir and yes sir".
The republic does not at all require only 'yes sir' characters in its public services. Dr. Sadat, as the PSC chairman, will have to filter out such characters at the phase of selection of candidates for appointment in the republic's services.