"Government services are now on the brink of disruption. On one hand, government services need to manage the public as “consumers”. Yet, the public sector needs to provide the best services while facing tough scrutiny over cost management in order to sustain economic stability."
"Foreseeably, when COVID-19 recedes, it will leave behind a severe crisis. However, a lot of the post crisis management will be navigated by the public sector.
"Beyond the immediate fallout of a crisis, governments all over the world are starting to feel pinched. As a result, most governments view tightening the law as a way to get a handle on future needs and withstand future shocks."
"Over the years, the Malaysian public service has undergone a defining phase. Quite tellingly, it has survived a long list of acid tests where the sector’s capability, efficiency and financial management were put under pressing political and public microscopes."
"Reforms have always mattered in public service. In fact, some of the biggest shifts in public service have occurred coming out of a crisis. Oftentimes, reforms are fundamental shake-ups carried out to super-charge public service efficiency, capability and delivery to adapt to the contours of reality-based situations and changes."
"In a highly interconnected world, distance matters less. Modern transportation and logistics have increased global mobility and trade that fuel buzzing world economy. The same shared route, however, has also prompted the spread of myriad diseases."
"It is a sad fact that the most vulnerable in our societies need many public services at one time. Even sadder is the reality in which citizens who are poor and with limited education must navigate multiple bureaucratic structures with slow-moving processes."