The Role of the Civil Service: An Oral History Session with Tan Sri Dato’ Paduka Salehuddin Mohamed, Chief Secretary to the Government (1984 – 1990)

Tan Sri explaining the role of the civil service

After the success of the previous Oral History Sessions with Tan Sri Hashim Aman, Tan Sri Abdullah Ayub and Tun Dr. Ahmad Sarji, Perdana Leadership Foundation continued its effort to archive the lives and work experiences of former Malaysian Chief Secretaries to the Government, this time with Tan Sri Salehuddin Mohamed.

PLF and its collaborative partner, Institute of Dr. Mahathir’s Thoughts (IPDM) of Universiti Utara Malaysia got the chance to meet up and mine the thoughts of this former Chief Secretary this year. The transcripts of our sessions will be compiled in publication form in the second half of 2010.

We met Tan Sri Salehuddin Mohamed on 13^th November 2008 at his Ranhill office at Empire Tower, Kuala Lumpur (Tan Sri Salehuddin is Chairman of Ranhill Berhad). Prior obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics (Honours) from University Malaya, Singapore, Tan Sri Salehuddin joined the Malaysian Civil Service in 1959 (now known as the Administrative and Diplomatic Service) and held various senior positions in the Ministry of Finance (1965-1982) and the Economic Planning Unit in the Prime Minister’s Department (1982-1984) before being appointed Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia. He held the position until he retired from Government Service in 1990.

Though retired, Tan Sri Salehuddinn had not lost his passion for the civil service, as evidenced by his animated explanation of the concept of government, the roles and functions of politicians and civil service officers to administer the government. He recounted his experience working with Tun Hussein Onn, Malaysia’s third Prime Minister,  with whom he also played golf.

Tan Sri also expressed his admiration for the work ethics of his former boss and the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, whom he dubbed the “Father of Modern Administration” for introducing new policies to the country (the Look East and privatisation policies are examples) and systems for the civil service (the clock-in system for government employees).

We managed to elicit comments on one of his favourite hobbies, reading, where Tan Sri mentioned a preference for books that could bring about change. His book collection comprised of titles on politics, economics, management and stock markets. When asked about a recommended book, Tan Sri praised John Nasbitt’s latest, “Mindset”. He specifically recommended this title for Malays. The book is good, he said, for changing perceptions and encouraging more competitive traits.

As our interview wound down, Tan Sri spoke of his pride for the progress this country has made after five decades of independence, despite the challenges still ahead for the nation to achieve Vision 2020.