'THE public service must not see itself as an 'alternative government'. The political leadership has to submit itself to the polls in general elections every four to five years, and it is for the public to choose who they believe will best serve them for the future.
The public service does not submit itself to public choice every few years, and therefore cannot presume to be an alternative for leadership of government.
That said, however, the public service has to be far from passive or indifferent in the development of policy and the delivery of service.
It has to be alert, active and responsive.
And deep within the psyche of the public service must be the understanding that, so far as the public is concerned, 'implementation is policy'. In particular, 'communication is policy'.
I single out communication because too often, implementation is understood to be execution - getting things done - without adequate consideration for the communication aspects, where the key to communication has to be how things look like from the public's point of view rather than from the Government's point of view.
Communication cannot simply be a minister's speech or a press release or a reply to the forum page of a newspaper. It is explaining, but it is also addressing the heart and not just the head.
It does not matter what the policy intent is in the memorandum to the Cabinet: what the public sees and feels and experiences is, so far as the public is concerned, what the policy is about.'
FORMER HEAD OF CIVIL SERVICE LIM SIONG GUAN, emphasising the importance of communicating with the public.
(Thanks to ST - Fri 27 June 08, "Not enough to get things done")
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