Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan

Datuk Dr. Tam Weng WahPublic complaints are now handled by the second most seniorperson in an agency. And the journey to government agencies needno longer be a dreaded voyage for the public.Mohandas K. Gandhi once said that the best way to find yourself is to lose yourselfin the service of others. This in essence summarises the public service.When the strength of a public service is defined by the people, the society isempowered.Key to this ownership is complaints and inhow the Public Service manages and respondsto demands and complaints of the nation.How we react will have its correspondingeffect on national competitiveness. Vital toany national competitiveness is governmentefficiency and its ability to act quickly tothe rapidly changing global environment. Ifthe government machinery is perceived asinefficient and indifferent to the changingglobal profiles and trends, investors will veryquickly place their investments elsewhere.The function of complaints managementin governments is unique. It must beequipped to address not only issues relatingto government, but also areas in privatesector which if not addressed, wouldand could have direct impact on nationalcompetitiveness.The function ofcomplaints managementin governments isunique. It must beequipped to address notonly issues relating togovernment, but alsoareas in private sectorwhich if not addressed,would and could havedirect impact on nationalcompetitiveness.In the past, handling of public complaintswas seen as mundane and unimportant. Inmany organisations, both private and public, the handling of customer complaintsis seen as a highly unpleasant and unenviable task. In short, a non-glamorous one.As a result it was often delegated to the lower echelons who haven’t the authorityto resolve the complaints. Who is ever energised to deal with a highly unhappyand frustrated customer?With rising competition in the private sector for market segmentation and space, aswell as a national competitiveness race for investors’ fund, the effectiveness of howcomplaints are managed and resolved has moved from the back burners of priorityto very much the front and centre agenda in the public and private sectors.113