Give your best, PM tells civil servants
Farrah Naz Karim
January 10, 2006  
New Straits Times

PUTRAJAYA, Jan 9: What would be a good New Year’s resolution for a civil servant? Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has one for them: I resolve to give my best.

As government plans to uplift the people depended heavily on their effective and efficient implementation, the Prime Minister said today, it was vital for civil servants to resolve to give their best in carrying out their responsibilities.

Abdullah said as the success of the Ninth Malaysia Plan would hinge on sound execution, government departments and agencies should prepare for the plan’s effective implementation.

PRAYERS FOR ENDON: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi at a tahlil ceremony held for his wife, Datin Seri Endon Mahmood, at Masjid Al-Jamiul Badawi in Kepala Batas, Penang, last night. On his right is Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas. Before that, he offered prayers at the grave of his mother, Datuk Kailan Hassan.

Speaking at the monthly assembly of staff of the Prime Minister’s Department, Abdullah said it was crucial that civil servants start the new year with a resolution to serve the Government and people in the best ways possible.

He said they must not only continuously empower themselves with knowledge that could improve their performance, but also learn from the past.

"It is not right to say ‘forget the past’ when things go wrong. Instead, one should study it and determine what caused it to go wrong.

"Acknowledging and knowing what went wrong will prevent us committing the same mistakes."

Abdullah said learning from experience, especially hard and sad experience, was the most effective way to improve oneself.

Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Tuesday/National/20060110082434/Article/index_html