Quality Issues in Public Sector

The Civil Service and ISO 9000

The Malaysian Government believes that the universally accepted ISO 9000
standard can contribute significantly to improving quality, enhancing development
of an excellent work culture, lead to a more systematic management of quality,
and provide a means of consolidating quality management systems in the Public
Service.

Furthermore, under the Malaysian Incorporated Concept, a primary function of

the Civil Service is to facilitate the growth of the private sector. In discharging this
function, it is only proper that the Civil Service implement the ISO 9000 quality
standard which has already been widely adopted by the private sector that it
serves.

Implementing ISO 9000

The Government has developed a schedule by which the entire Malaysian Civil
Serviced is expected to have adopted ISO 9000 by the year 2000. This
encompasses 781 government agencies comprising 24 Ministers, 114 Federal
Department, 52 Federal Statutory Bodies, 13 State Secretariats, 128 District
Officers, 145 Local Authorities, 9 Resident Officers, 239 State Departments and
57 State statutory Bodies. At present the staff strength stands at over 600,000.

The enormous significance of this undertaking becomes clear when one

considers the extensive scope of the Malaysian Civil Service. Through its many
agencies, the organization is responsible for economic development, promotion
of industrial growth and international trade, agricultural development, revenue
collection and research and development in key areas. In social services, it is
directly involved in the provision of health care, education up to tertiary level and
welfare services for the needy. And apart from economic development and social
services, the Civil Service has also been traditionally entrusted with the role of
enforcing law and order, external defense, foreign relations and judicial functions .

Responsibility for overseeing the implementation of ISO 9000 in the Public

Sector has been given to the Malaysian Administrative Modernization (MAMPU)
in the Prime Minister’s Department. At the agency level the heads of the
respective agencies are responsible for the successful implementation of the
program.

For this to be achieved effectively, the following steps will be followed by all
Government agencies:

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a. Implementation of a Development Administration Circular and Guidelines
on the Implementation of ISO 9000 to all Government agencies. These
two documents elaborate the requirements of the standard and provide
specific examples of its application within Government agencies. They
also provide the program implementation schedule and auditing
requirements envisaged by the Government. To help in developing the
Guidelines, MAMPU invited external ISO 9000 experts and consultants to
conduct a series of training sessions, and visits were made to Australia,
New Zealand and the United Kingdom to get a first hand view of ISSO
9000 implementation in public sector agencies. The Guidelines were
further refined and approved Meeting of the Panel on Administrative
Improvements in the Civil Service (PANEL), chaired by the Chief
Secretary to the Government and later tabled at the Meeting of the
Secretaries General of Ministers, Heads of Federal Departments, Chief
Executives of Federal Statutory Bodies and State Secretaries, to secure
understanding and commitment of top management to ISO 9000
implementation in the Civil Service.

The Guidelines contain four main parts:

 Part I - ISO 9000 and Quality;

 Part II - The ISO 9000 Series and Elements;
 Part III - Documentation in ISO 9000; and
 Part IV - Implementation of ISO 9000

The guidelines were officially launched on 11 July 1996 and circulated to

all Secretaries General of Ministers, Heads of Federal Department, Heads
of Federal Statutory Bodies, Honorary State Secretariats and Local
Government Authorities. They will assist ISO 9000 implementation in
several ways. Firstly, by reflecting the commitment of the Government.
Secondly, by serving as a medium to explain ISO 9000 and its
implementation. Thirdly, by clarifying some of the issue confronting the
Civil Service during adoption of ISO 9000. Finally, they emphasize the
responsibilities of all levels of personnel involved in the process.

b. Top management of every agency will develop a thorough understanding

of the requirements of ISO 9000, and administrative structures will be
established to implement the standard.
c. Adequate training will be given to all employees to enable them to fulfill
the requirements of ISO 9000. In this respect, two training packages have
been developed. The first is targeted at top management with emphasis
on the concept and guidance on overseeing programmed implementation.
The second is to equip agency-level task force members with the skill and
knowledge necessary to carry out the detailed ground-level
implementation. However, should the need arise, agencies can also utilize
the services of ISO 9000 consultants.

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 d. Every agency is required to develop an action plan that will ensure the
effective implementation of at least one core ISO 9000 process by the
year 2000. This will serve as a learning experience that will eventually
enable agencies to implement the standard throughout their organization.

Interpreting ISO 9000 for the Civil Service

An in-depth examination of ISO 9000 shows that the 20 elements of the standard
are sufficiently generic to be applied to any quality management system,
including the Civil Service. The challenge however is to read the requirements of
the elements in the context of the Civil Service environment. This has been
achieved by giving Civil Service – related examples in the guidelines to facilitate
interpretation.

Public Sector agencies are required to refer to ISO 9000-1, Quality management
and quality assurance standards – Part 1: Guidelines for selection and use and
ISO 9004-1, Quality management and quality system elements – Part 1:
Guidelines to help in understanding and selecting the elements for the specific
quality management system to be established. ISO 9001, ISO 9002 and ISO
9003 will be used as quality system models for quality assurance, based on the
agency’s core processes.

Measuring the success of the program

The success of ISO 9000 implementation in the Civil Service will be monitored
closely by the Government through first party quality audits of all government
agencies, followed by second party compliance audits conducted by MAMPU.
Agencies found to have complied with all the requirements of ISO 9000 will be
issued with a "Malaysian Civil Service ISO 9000 Certificate", registered by
MAMPU. The audit report will present criteria for evaluating the overall
performance of the agency. Some government agencies with international
linkages may apply for third party auditing to secure international recognition of
their quality system.

The final test will depend on whether there is an improvement in the efficiency
and productivity of agencies, a reduction in public complaints and success in
meeting the objectives stated in the Client’s Charter ( a written commitment
made by all Government agencies concerning the delivery of output ad services
to their respective customers, and an assurance of compliance with the quality
standards declared in their Charters). In short, it remains to be seen if
government agencies will be able to implement the policies and programs
effectively and thereby satisfy the requirements of customers and key
stakeholders.