Touching base with the grassroots

By Toman Mamora

DURING the opening of a two-day conference of District Development Officers at Damai Lagoon Resort last week, the Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Haji Abdul Taib Mahmud called on government officers to intensify their efforts to reach out to the people, especially those at the grassroots level, and engage in more meaningful interaction with them. Either they were not performing to expectation or the pressure exerted by rising expectations from the people has caught up with them faster than expected. But this was not the first time that Taib has made such an appeal to both legislators and civil servants to step out of their protocol line and touch base with the people. In fact, it is not an over-statement to say that he has sent out such a message one too many.

In his winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly in November last year, Taib also cautioned Government backbenchers of the problems they might face if they were to lose touch with the people in their respective constituencies. He had then stressed that the relationship between legislators and the people must not be taken for granted, given the fact that the Government is mindful of the need to match the rising expectations of the ordinary people with the development goals of the State.

Similar message also went out to leaders and members of PBB during the party’s 40th anniversary celebrations held throughout the State in the last three months, where Taib repeatedly spoke of the need to adapt to change and for them to strengthen their bond of unity with the grassroots in the face of rapid socioeconomic development and globalising economy.

To politicians and civil servants alike, the message is clear: times have changed and the boundaries of their playing fields are constantly shifting. Hence, there is a pressing need for government officers, especially those in the rural areas, to be able to look at their role as agents of change in relation to the forces in the ever-changing environment. This need to depart from engaging themselves in stereotypical affairs and function more synergistically. And where people are becoming increasingly more involved in the mainstream of social and economic activities and at all stages of the development process, the civil servants can no longer afford to regard themselves as just administrators or order takers. Counsellors, motivators, crisis managers, moralists, planners, implementers and communicators they must be if the situation necessitates the performance of such roles, in addition to them being administrators of the bureaucracy.

The repeated calls by the Chief Minister for government officers to reach out to the people, interact with them and enhance bonds of co-operation and understanding underscore a growing concern for more interpersonal linkages between the Civil service and the people to be set up. Whichever way one chooses to look at such a concern, it all points to the question of commonality, which entails the creation of a shared platform for the pursuit and realisation of a shared destiny. 

It is important for Government officers, especially those who are in constant touch with people at the grassroots, to have a clear understanding and appreciation of the various development policies before they can be in the position to explain them to their target audiences and win over their support. New government initiatives such as the National Vision Policy and the Third Outline Perspective Plan must be understood in letter and spirit. There should be deliberate efforts on the part of these officers to keep abreast with new policy measures that may have direct bearing on the local people they serve. At the same time, their function does not stop at just explaining the Government policies and programmes to the people. Unilateral communication of such nature will not work effectively today as most people can no longer be treated as passive recipients unlike in the past. This means that to be effective communicators, officers on the ground must be good listeners as well as speakers. In most interactions, they must be knowledgeable and tactful enough to be able to face and address adverse comments and issues, many of which may be attributed to the people’s ignorance and apathy. Of course, such conflict situations vary from place to place and require the officers concerned to acquire an insightful understanding of the social and psychological make-up of the target groups they are dealing with. And with a diverse population dispersed over a large area, bridging the communication gap can never be easy, let alone be allowed to chance on a homogeneous approach.