ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 13, 2020 ’S EFFORT OF FOSTERING GOOD VALUES AMONG CIVIL SERVANTS AT THE PRIME MINISTER’S DEPARTMENT Nurul Aimi Razali1*, Khairul Azman Mohamad Suhaimy2, Lutfan Jaes2, Mohd Zain Mubarak3, Marwan Ismail3, Fauziah Ani2, Harliana Halim2

1Faculty of Applied Science and Technology, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn , Batu Pahat, Johor. 2Centre of General Studies and Co-Curricular, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia, Batu Pahat, Johor. 3Centre for Language Studies and Generic Development, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan. *Corresponding author: [email protected]

ABSTRACT Mahathir Mohamad has made various efforts to strengthen the administration and development of the country after gaining the country‟s lead again for the second time on May 10, 2018. In the first year as the seventh Prime Minister of Malaysia, his efforts to strengthen the country‟s administrative machinery were publicly known. During the Monthly Assembly Ceremony with civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department held almost every month, while delivering the key message to them, he also fostered the practice of good values among them by emphasising the values in each of his speeches. Therefore, this study aims to identify and explain the values emphasised by Mahathir to civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department in his first year of return to leading the country‟s administration. A qualitative content analysis was carried out on each text of the speech he presented at the assembly ceremonies to identify those values. The values were qualitatively analysed, categorised and expressed in frequency, and discussed by theme. The results show that the values Mahathir emphasised include themes such as clean, trustworthy, efficiency, caring, patriotic, determination to succeed, practicing good values, earnestness, sense of togetherness, obedience, ensuring quality, faith in God, respect for the law, focus, upholding welfare, rational, dignity, diligence, self-improvement, tolerance, healthy competition, strong self-esteem, ensuring authenticity, and gratitude. This shows that he emphasised values that are in line with the Clean, Efficient, and Trustworthy Policy and other positive values in an effort to foster the practice of good values among civil servants. The social implications of this study highlights the importance of practicing good values particularly in the administration of the country and generally in all life aspects. Moreover, it also shows the importance of the role performed by the head of state in instilling good values among the citizens. Practicing good values among civil servants can improve the quality of the government administrative machinery while practicing such values among citizens can induce their humanitarian and developmental aspects as human capital thereby strengthening the national development process holistically.

KEYWORDS: Mahathir Mohamamad, good values, civil servant, content analysis

1.0 INTRODUCTION Mahathir Mohamad re-assumed the post of Prime Minister that he previously held on May 10, 2018, after retiring from the position for 15 years. To date, he is the only Prime Minister of Malaysia who has served twice and this made him the longest serving Prime Minister in Malaysia and the world (Chin, 2018). He led the country‟s administration as the fourth Prime Minister from 1981 to 2003, for 22 years while as the seventh, from 2018 to present.

Mahathir was given the mandate to lead the country‟s administration when Pakatan Harapan (PH) won the 14th General Election. All the component parties in PH agreed to this in early 2018 if the coalition wins the general election (Chin, 2018; Mohamed, Yusoff & Omar, 2018). Mahathir‟s re-entry into the country‟s political scenario began in 2015 as he did not agree with the administration of Najib Abdul Razak, the head of Barisan Nasional (BN) who led the Malaysian government at that time (Abdullah, 2019; Funston, 2018). Although he loved BN as a government he had once led when he was the fourth Prime Minister and as the government that

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 13, 2020 had ruled Malaysia for almost six decades since its independence, he expressed his compulsion to abandon his membership because of his disagreement with Najib‟s administration who was accused with abuse of power (Case, 2017; Moniruzzaman & Farzana, 2018; Nadzri, 2018). However, the trial on the allegation is still pending. Mahathir joined PH as a chair of a component party called the United Indigenous Party of Malaysia or Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM). Following PH‟s announcement that Mahathir would lead the Malaysian administration if the coalition won the election, Mahathir expressed his desire to regain control of the country with the sole intention of restoring the citizen‟s trust in the Malaysia government (Abdullah, 2019; Hutchinson, 2018).

As soon as he returned to lead the country‟s administration on May 10, 2018, Mahathir has made various efforts to strengthen the country‟s government and development. During his one year of administering Malaysia, his efforts to strengthen the country‟s administrative machinery especially were among the most well-known. He delivered important mandates to civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department as they are the front liner or representatives of other civil servants in the administration of the country. In addition to delivering the mandate, he also fosters the practice of good values among the civil servants by emphasising the values in each of his speeches at the Monthly Assembly Ceremony with the Prime Minister‟s Department staff that is held almost every month. Since the events are still new and no study has been conducted on the events, therefore, this study aims to identify and explain the values that Mahathir emphasised to civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department in the first year of his return to head the country administration.

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

Good Values

Values such as living values, religious values, moral values, and local values are all good values. Values should be rooted in the soul of each individual who lives in the world as he or she interacts with others. All values of life; religion, morals, and localities are the same but what distinguishes these values is the category of when they are practiced and discussed (Brown & Crace, 1996). Practicing good values is very important to every individuals as it serves as a guide to determine the behaviour of an individual (Gaskell, Einsiedel, Hallman, Priest, Jackson & Olsthoorn, 2005; Lencioni, 2002). Therefore, the effort of fostering good values appropriately is also essential because it will provide guidance and a framework for how an individual should react to actions that are accepted by the majority within the category or context in which they are located.

Practicing a set of values in an individual‟s daily life is formed through the process of inculcating those values which is ideally good if practiced from an early age. The values that are practiced from childhood enable individuals to exhibit the set of values they hold in their daily behaviour (Brown & Crace, 1996; Lencioni, 2002). Although the notion of an individual practicing these values from a young age is good and ideal, it is undeniably true that a regular effort of fostering good values among the adults can also change one‟s hold on the values to be practiced (Porfeli, 2007). This is because the human life keeps evolving, moving and changing. A good change can be achieved by one who strives to do and practice good things as well as those who desire to

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 13, 2020 practice good values. Particularly in the context of a country, holding and practicing a common set of values is crucial in forming a community that holds the same values in the process of developing a sustainable nation and establishing a harmonious civilisation among the citizens (Gaskell, Einsiedel, Hallman, Priest, Jackson & Olsthoorn, 2005; Tan, 2000; van Houwelingen, van Dijke & De Cremer, 2015).

For a country that is relatively new to independence like Malaysia which recently achieved its 61 years of independence, the citizens should not just depend on the ruling government and national leaders to carry out the duty of developing and strengthening the country‟s growth. It is vital for all its citizens to hold on a set of values that can inspire them to be involved in such effort which in fact requires active participation of all parties in the country (Lencioni, 2002; Thompson, 2001; Robinson, 1996). The country‟s administration, especially during the first cycle of Mahathir‟s administration had launched national campaigns and policies that emphasised on the importance of practicing good values which indirectly fostered the values among Malaysians that are uniquely multi-racial (Beng, 2006; Rohman & Sabri, 2017; Suhaimy, 2009). Those campaigns and policies were well received by the people from all walks of life. Today, the efforts to inculcate good values in the life of Malaysians are still being pursued by Mahathir when he became the Prime Minister for the second time.

Mahathir Mohamad, a State Leader who Emphasises Good Values

In the effort to inspire and unite the people, according to Poulton, Proches and Sibanda (2017), responsible leaders are the ones who instil good values among their people. This is because in the administration of a country, one of the aspects that should be emphasised in raising the standard of national development is the development of the personal and the characters of the people who are also the valuable human capital of the country (Gaskell, Einsiedel, Hallman, Priest, Jackson & Olsthoorn, 2005). Practicing good values in daily life can enhance the well-being and healthy competition in individuals‟ lives while also enhancing the values of the citizens of a country as a whole (Bao, Wang, Larsen & Morgan, 2013; Ibrahim, 2006; Tan, 2000). Therefore, it is important for the national leaders to carry out the responsibility of instilling good values among their people in the pursuit of preparing citizens of values and high morals, in line with the goal of achieving sustainable nation-building and respected civilisation.

Mahathir Mohamad is widely known as a leader who holds strong to the values of life and believes in the significant role and function of good moral values in everyday life for every human being. As the prime minister, Mahathir is committed to instilling good values among the people (Beng, 2006; Cheah & Ahmad, 2017). Various policies that underpin the practice of life and good values were introduced during his administration such as the Clean, Efficient, and Trustworthy Campaign in 1982, the Implementation of Islamic Values in Administration in 1982, and the Leadership by Example Campaign in 1983 (Rohman & Sabri, 2017; Suhaimy, 2009). These policies were introduced in the early years of his administration in the country because he believed that good practice among the state administrators, civil servants and the people could change the quality of life and indirectly facilitate the process of development of the country he wanted to lead (Ong, 2005; Omar & Pandian, 2006; Rohman & Sabri, 2017). These policies were well received by all citizens, and the state administrators as well as civil servants particularly have shown a positive change in their work ethics and

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 13, 2020 efficiency (Embong, Hassan & Ibrahim, 2016; Hussain, 1997; Rohman & Sabri, 2017). This is because he emphasised on the importance of practicing good values among the state administrators and civil servants as they are the government ambassadors to the people. He believed that the practice of good values among the state leaders, state administrators, and civil servants could be the best role model for the people while encouraging them to practice the same values in their daily lives (Jaes, 2017; Omar & Pandian, 2006; Suhaimy, 2009).

Federal Government Administrative Machinery

The Prime Minister‟s Department is one of the administrative machineries of the country. The country‟s administrative machinery comprises three divisions, which include the cabinet, governmental organisations formed at discretion, and organisations under the provisions of the federal constitution (Prime Minister‟s Department, 2019). Prime Minister‟s Department is one of the government organisations established at the discretion of the other ministries. Other units or departments under this ministry are the National Economic Planning Unit (EPU), the Socio-Economy Research Unit (SERU), the Manpower Administration and Modernisation Planning Unit (MAMPU), and the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (JAKIM) (Prime Minister‟s Department, 2019).

Apart from being led by the prime minister, the Prime Minister‟s Department is an important ministry as it acts as the planner, formulator and coordinator of all national policies and determines the smooth implementation of policies by other ministries (Prime Minister‟s Department, 2019). The significance and function of this ministry is in line with Mahathir‟s needs to deliver monthly mandates to civil servants working under the ministry. They are the civil servants working at the primary ministry of the government and also the front-row civil servants representing the others; important individuals who have to ensure the survival of the country‟s administration (Prime Minister‟s Department, 2019). They are responsible for the day-to-day running of the administration and are involved in the process of developing and implementing public policies.

3.0 HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT

Mahathir is a national leader who emphasises the importance of practicing good values among the people. He has launched a number of campaigns and policies at the national level to inculcate good values into the practice of state administrators, civil servants, and indirectly lead to the general public as well (Omar & Pandian, 2006; Rohman & Sabri, 2017; Sani & Azizuddin, 2013). These campaigns and policies were launched in the early years he began leading the country‟s administration as a cornerstone to facilitate the administration of the country and to foster smooth nation building. Now, as the seventh prime minister, he still inculcates good values among Malaysians especially civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department through the Monthly Assembly Ceremony. Therefore, the hypothesis of this study is that Mahathir is working to instil the good values among civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department in carrying out their duties as civil servants in the forefront, representing other civil servants to ensure the survival of the country‟s administrative machinery.

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 13, 2020 4.0 METHODOLOGY

This qualitative study applied content analysis as a methodology. According to Creswell (1994), a qualitative approach enables word analysis by writing or speaking, while content analysis, according to Insch, Moore and Murphy (1997) and Krippendorff (2018) is a systematic methodology to examine and analyse data from texts. Therefore, qualitative content analysis was used to examine the text of the speeches delivered by Mahathir at the Prime Minister‟s Monthly Assembly Ceremony with the Prime Minister‟s Department staff and subsequently to identify the values he emphasised to the civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department.

The textual contents of the speeches were qualitatively analysed and the data consisting of good values were analysed in detail to highlight the values he emphasised in the pursuit of strengthening the country‟s administrative machinery. Next, the values were categorised and their frequencies were stated and then discussed. The series of text speeches of the Monthly Assembly Ceremony with Prime Minister‟s Department staff delivered by Mahathir is the main source of this study. Altogether, there are only 9 speech texts in one year because there were certain months where no monthly assembly was held.

Table 1 – Speech Texts of the Monthly Assembly Ceremony with Civil Servants at Prime Minister’s Department

Month of the Speech Delivered Text Code May 2018 S1 July 2018 S2 August 2018 S3 October 2018 S4 December 2018 S5 January 2019 S6 February 2019 S7 April 2019 S8 May 2019 S9

5.0 FINDINGS

The findings of the study show that the values emphasised by Mahathir were clean, trustworthy, efficient as well as caring, patriotic, determination to succeed, practicing good values, earnestness, togetherness, obedience, ensuring quality, faith in God, respect for the law, focus, upholding welfare, rational, dignity, diligence, self- improvement, tolerance, healthy competition, strong self-esteem, ensuring authenticity, and gratitude. This shows that he emphasised the values that were in line with the values in the Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy Campaign as well as some new values in an effort to foster the practice of good values among civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department. Therefore, the good values derived from the Mahathir speech series fall into two categories: the former values and the new ones. The former values refer to the good values associated with the Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy Campaign while the new ones reflect the new values that Mahathir emphasised.

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Table 2 – Old Values Emphasised by Mahathir to Civil Servants at Prime Minister’s Department

Old Values S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 Total Clean 9 5 7 6 8 4 5 5 3 52 Efficiency 14 13 5 - 2 5 - 2 - 41 Trustworthy 7 12 2 - 7 1 3 9 2 43 Total 30 30 14 6 17 10 8 16 5 136

Table 2 shows the values that were consistent with the values of the Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy Campaign. Mahathir launched the Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy Campaign in 1982 with the aim of fostering the practice of positive and high moral values, especially among the leaders, civil servants and Malaysians as a whole (Rohman & Sabri, 2017). The „clean‟ value was the value with the highest frequency of 52, followed by the „trustworthy‟ value with a frequency of 43, while „efficiency‟ value had the lowest frequency among all the three former values, which is 41. The „clean‟ value was expressed by Mahathir in every speech given to civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department. The value of „trustworthy‟ was not pronounced only in the October 2018 speech, while the „efficient‟ value was not emphasised only in the October 2018, February 2019 and May 2019 speeches.

Table 3 – New Values Emphasised by Mahathir to Civil Servants at Prime Minister’s Department

New Values S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 Total Focus - - - - 6 2 - - - 8 Diligence - 6 1 ------7 Tolerance ------3 3 Ensuring - - - - 2 - - - - 2 authenticity Gratitude - - - - - 1 - - - 1 Patriotic 1 1 9 1 2 4 12 3 - 33 Practing good - 5 10 4 1 2 1 3 - 26 values Caring 4 - - 3 12 13 4 4 - 40 Togetherness 9 - 2 - - 8 - - - 19 Ensuring - 2 9 - - - - 1 - 12 quality Faith in God - 3 - - - - - 5 1 9 Respect for - - - 8 - - - - - 8 the law Determination 2 3 4 1 7 4 3 5 4 33 to succeed Upholding - - - 5 1 - - 1 - 7 welfare Rational ------7 7 Earnestness 1 5 7 - 1 3 1 6 - 24 Self- - - - - 3 1 1 - - 5 improvement Obedience 1 - - - - - 14 - - 15 Healthy 1 - 1 ------2 competition Strong self------2 - - - 2 esteem

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 13, 2020 Dignity - - 6 - - - - 1 - 7 Total 19 25 49 22 35 40 36 29 15 270

Table 3 shows other values apart from the good values of the Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy Campaign. There were 21 new values mentioned by Mahathir in his speeches which include „caring‟, „patriotic‟, „determination to succeed‟, „practicing good values‟, „earnestness‟, „togetherness‟, „obedience‟, „ensuring quality‟, „faith in God‟, „respect for the law‟, „focus‟, „upholding welfare‟, „rational‟, „dignity‟, „diligence‟, „self-improvement‟, „tolerance‟, „healthy competition‟, „strong self-esteem‟, „ensuring authenticity‟, and „gratitude‟.

„Caring‟ was the value with the highest frequency of 40, followed by „patriotic‟ and „determination to succeed‟ with the same frequency of 33, while „practice of good values‟ and „earnestness‟ had a frequency of 26 and 24 respectively. These values were the values that have the highest frequency among others. The next values that had moderate frequencies, were „togetherness‟ with a frequency of 19; „obedience‟ with 15; „ensuring quality‟ with 12; „faith in God‟ with 9; „respect for the law‟ and „focus‟ with 8 respectively. Moreover, „upholding welfare‟, „rational‟, „dignity‟, and „diligence‟ were all with 7 respectively; while „self-improvement‟ with a frequency of 5. On the other hand, the values that were least emphasised by Mahathir were „tolerance‟, „healthy competition‟, „strong self-esteem‟, „ensuring authenticity‟, and „gratitude‟ which have a frequency of 3 to 1 only. The „tolerance‟ value had a frequency of 3; „healthy competition‟, „strong self-esteem‟, and „ensuring authenticity‟ had a frequency of 2; and finally, „gratitude‟ had a frequency of 1.

6.0 DISCUSSION

This study analysed all 9 speech texts delivered by Mahathir at the Prime Minister‟s Monthly Assembly Ceremony with civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department. Based on an in-depth analysis of each speech text, there were 24 themes of good value with a total frequency of 406 emphasised by Mahathir in an effort to foster the practice of good values among civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department. The results show that „clean‟, „trustworthy‟, and „efficiency‟ values had the highest frequency compared to other values. Other values that Mahathir emphasised in his mandate were „caring‟, „patriotic‟, „determination to succeed‟, „practicing good values‟, „sincerity‟, „togetherness‟, „obedience‟, „ensuring quality‟, „faith in God‟, „respecting the law‟, „focus‟, „upholding welfare‟, „rational‟, „dignity‟, „diligent‟, „self-improvement‟, „tolerance‟, „healthy competition‟, „strong self-esteem‟, „ensuring authenticity‟, and „gratitude‟.

Mahathir emphasised the „clean‟ value more often than other values in general. Practicing clean value is important because it covers many aspects of an individual‟s life. According to the Prime Minister‟s Department (2019), „clean‟ refers to having a high moral, disciplined, ethical and incorruptible. In addition to adopting a neutral approach, it also means being selfless and free from treachery and spite. The essence of the clean value clearly shows that it is vital for every individual, whether they are civil servants or other citizens to take a neutral approach so that high integrity and morality can be maintained in carrying out their duties. Therefore, Mahathir‟s call to civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department to practice clean value is appropriate as it enhances integrity and maintains morals in carrying out their duties.

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 13, 2020 Fostering the value of „trustworthy‟ particularly among civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department and the people in general is also fundamental and necessary. The „trustworthy‟ value allows an individual to be clear of the tasks and responsibilities entrusted to him while being motivated to work diligently and sincerely at the same time to achieve the goals of a task that has been agreed with the employer or set by himself (Ouedraogo & Ouakouak, 2018; Rotter, 1980). Furthermore, this value also dignify the individuals and encourage them to be honest with oneself, colleagues and the organisation as they are certain of the scope of the duty to be done to avoid any issue that may be harmful to the co-workers, employers or organisations (Ashraf, Bohnet & Piankov, 2006; Levi & Stoker, 2000).

Next, the „efficiency‟ value is also emphasised by Mahathir as an important value to be practiced by civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department specifically and the people in general. The „efficiency‟ value refers to an individual‟s need to be brave and quick in decision making, calm in the face of crisis, firm in principle, confident, forward-looking and skilled in a particular field (Mafunisa, 2000; Wilkins & Ouchi, 1983). The aspects included in the efficiency value shows how important this value is for everyone to practice. By practicing this value, civil servants will become more reliable because they have the good ability to solve a problem or situation faced by the management for the development of the country, which indirectly strengthen the federal government administrative machinery.

The high frequency of „clean‟, „trustworthy‟ and „efficiency‟ values as compared to other values demonstrated the importance and relevance of the Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy Campaign launched by Mahathir in 1982. The continuity of Mahathir‟s emphasis on these three values among civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department in the context of this study in particular shows that he holds firmly and believes that these values serve as the backbone to strengthening the machinery of national administration as well as supporting national development (Rohman & Sabri, 2017). Indirectly, he demonstrates that the practice of good values is essential to every human capital that is the people as the basic unit of a nation.

Good values such as „caring‟, „patriotic‟, „determination to succeed‟, „practicing good values‟, „earnestness‟, „togetherness‟, „obedience‟, „ensuring quality‟, „faith in God‟, „respect for the law‟, „focus‟, „upholding welfare‟, „rational‟, „dignity, „diligence‟, „self-improvement‟, „tolerance‟, „healthy competition‟, „strong self- esteem‟, „ensuring authenticity‟, and „gratitude‟ that Mahathir emphasised also underscored the importance of other values to be practiced by civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department in strengthening the country‟s administrative machinery. These values are the basic values that every civil servant needs to adopt in order to bring about appropriate action in line with that goal. The process of strengthening the country‟s administrative machinery is easier if all civil servants hold and practice the same values (Jensen, Andersen & Jacobsen, 2019).

The „caring‟ value shows a high frequency of 40 times signifying Mahathir‟s call upon civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department to practice care or being heedful while they are on duty. Caring or being heedful is, of course, an important value for civil servants to practice in order to become more aware and informed of the urgent need at specific times and circumstances. This value is also important for everyone to practice in their daily lives as it enables an individual to be aware of the surroundings and to know how to act in the best

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 13, 2020 possible way that fits the situation at that time (Fairbairn, 2002; Koehn, 2012). The value of caring makes one more sensitive to the needs of the surrounding environment. In the context of civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department, their need to care for the surrounding environment is vital to enable them to prioritise tasks and issues that require more attention or prompt solutions to promote better management and administration of the country (Rohrlich, 1961; Zanetti, 2014).

Next, the „patriotic‟ and „determination to succeed‟ values show the same frequency of 33. The high frequency of these two values shows that Mahathir also emphasised the practice of „patriotic‟ and „determination to succeed‟ values among civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department. Efforts to strengthen the machinery of the country administration can be further reinforced by the need of being patriotic and the desire to succeed values. Mahathir repeatedly stated in his series of speeches to civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department to love the country and to carry out their work with the aim of restoring and improving the country. This patriotic spirit is imperative for every citizen to practice because it is the basic principle behind which one seeks to work, defend and fight for his country (Kosterman & Feshbach, 1989; Martin, 2017). It applies the same with the value of „determination to succeed‟. Practicing this value is important mainly for the civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department and generally the public because the value of determination to succeed enables the practitioner to have a clear goal in taking action that is to achieve the most satisfactory results, or in other words successful (Duckworth & Gross, 2014).

Furthermore, the value of „determination to succeed‟ is also closely related to the value of „earnestness‟ which had a relatively high frequency of 26. To support the value of „determination to succeed‟, the value of „earnestness‟ is essential for civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department to work wholeheartedly. The commitment in doing something enables the individual to keep practicing it in order to achieve the dream they desire (Grimes, Kurns, Tilly & Il, 2006; Ouedraogo & Ouakouak, 2018). As earnestness causes an individual to put in the best effort in a given task, Mahathir also highly emphasised the value of earnestness among civil servants so that they are committed to carrying out the tasks assigned to facilitate the survival of the country‟s administration.

Moreover, other values of moderate frequency of between 19 and 12 were „togetherness‟, „loyalty‟ and „ensuring quality‟. The value of „togetherness‟ was emphasised by Mahathir 19 times, while the value of „loyalty‟ 15 times and the value of „ensuring quality‟ was emphasised 12 times. Emphasis on the value of „togetherness‟ was done by Mahathir in his speech to civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department by highlighting the need for them to work together and to assist the country‟s administrators in managing and administering the country. The synergy between civil servants and the state administrators in managing and administering national development is important because the government that governs the country as a legislative representative needs the support of civil servants as the executor to carry out the day-to-day administrative tasks as well as to facilitate the process of formulating and implementing public policies (Bao, Wang, Larsen & Morgan, 2013; Hussain, 1997; Jensen, Andersen & Jacobsen, 2019). While the value of „loyalty‟ is also essential to be instilled in every civil servant at the Prime Minister‟s Department and the general public, as obedience enables individuals to be clear about to which party they should give their loyalty and

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 13, 2020 honour (Onsardi, Asmawi & Abdullah, 2017). In the context of this study, Mahathir called on civil servants to be loyal to the country rather than to the ruling party. While it is vital for them to respect the party that governs the country or the government that governs it, loyalty is only necessary for the country. This is because with a country-based loyalty, civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department as well as the general public will take the national interest first in any action compared to other interests which may be exposed to the interests that do not serve the benefits of the country. The next value is „ensuring quality‟. Quality is an element that determines the value of an object or thing (Alvesson, 2018). The concept is also applicable for the tasks or trusts that have been assigned to each individual. Mahathir called on the civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department to ensure and prioritise the quality of every assignment or task they do is in the best position in producing good results. In order to strengthen the machinery of the country administration, good quality work can further enhance the viability of a country‟s administration (Jensen, Andersen & Jacobsen, 2019). Therefore, it is important to practice the value of quality in everyday life especially in carrying out the assigned tasks.

In addition, values that have frequencies between 9 to 5 were „faith in God‟, „respect for the law‟, „focus‟, „upholding welfare‟, „rational‟, „dignity‟, „diligence‟, and „self-improvement‟. The value of „faith in God‟ had a frequency of 9 times; „respect for the law‟ and „focus‟ 8 times; „upholding welfare‟, „rational‟, „dignity‟, and „diligence‟ 7 times; and „self-improvement‟ 5 times. In line with the national constitution which upholds the dignity of Islam as the official form of the federal religion while other religions can be practiced in harmony, Mahathir emphasised the importance of religion and faith in God among civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department. He emphasised the importance of praying to God after trying to do something. This is in line with the beliefs of Islam and other religions that everyone can strive to achieve, however, the help of God is also important in realising their dream (Ibrahim, 2006). The next values are „respect for the law‟ and „focus‟ with the same frequency of 8. Respecting the law among civil servants in particular and the people in general is imperative as it will preserve the harmony and stability of the country. In addition, by respecting the law, every individual will feel guilty to be involved or commit any crime even if the crime has been ordered by other deviated leader (Heymann & Gershengorn, 1991). However, by respecting the law, this can be avoided. The focus „value‟ is also vital to be practiced in everyday life, especially by those who are engaged in works that require more attention such as managing and administering the country. Practicing this value allows the issues faced by the administration of the country to be properly managed because of the undeviated focus (Jensen, Andersen & Jacobsen, 2019). For example, a matter of urgent need can be dealt with immediately as attention is given to the problem. Thus, civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department were urged by Mahathir to inculcate this value so that they know what matters or issues that needed more attention and be resolved quickly. While the general public should also practice this value to better understand the problems that occur in daily life whether it is related to personal life or the issues in the country or worldwide. Indirectly, this will educate individuals to be more considerate of the problems faced by those less fortunate.

Other values that have frequencies of 7 times namely „upholding welfare‟, „rational‟, „dignity‟, and „diligence‟ were also emphasised by Mahathir to civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department. Although these values were not emphasised as often as others, these values were still seen as significant. The value of „upholding welfare‟ is of utmost importance to be practiced by civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department in

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 13, 2020 managing and implementing the national development plan. The welfare of the less fortunate party or group must be taken care of as it is the function of a good state administration (Sellers & Lidstrom, 2007). Caring for the welfare of every citizen in a country is very important. Giving or placing something to those entitled is a priority and this shows how well a country‟s administration cares for its people. The practice of this value allows the civil servants in the Prime Minister‟s Department particularly and the people in general, to be fair to those who are entitled to something. The subsequent values are „rational‟ and „dignity‟. These two values are related to one other. The „rational‟ value was emphasised by Mahathir because rationality enables an individual to choose the best or the right course of action while avoiding getting caught up in something that is bad like abuse of power, such as corruption (Tripp, 2001). The rational value enables a person to maintain his or her dignity. The value of upholding dignity is not only important in the daily life of a person as an individual, but also as the civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department. These values if being practiced can prevent the individual from doing bad things.

In addition, „diligence‟ as well as „self-improvement‟ values also have similarities. Mahathir emphasised the importance of civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department to practice diligence as it enhances their workforce and productivity while accelerating the country‟s administration and development process. In an effort to strengthen the machinery of the country administration, the „diligence‟ value practiced will become greater and stronger if the value of „self-improvement‟ is simultaneously practiced by all individuals involved. The spirit of improving one self is significant in every person‟s life because it enables an individual to enhance his ability to do job and to maintain his performance (Duckworth & Gross, 2014). The value of „self- improvement‟ also gives the individual an opportunity to realise the shortcomings that exist in every human being, but at the same time, it does not make the individual stay at the same level but tries to fix the weaknesses over time until those weaknesses are no longer a hindrance to success (Breines & Chen, 2012).

Following are values that had the lowest frequencies among all the values emphasised by Mahathir to civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department that are „accustomed‟, „healthy competition‟, „strong self-esteem‟, „ensuring authenticity‟, and „gratitude‟. Although these values were less frequently emphasised by him, the importance of these values is undeniable. The „tolerance‟ value had a frequency of 3, followed by „healthy competition‟, „strong self-esteem‟, and „ensuring authenticity‟ which had a frequency of 2 respectively, while „gratitude‟ value had a frequency of 1. The value of „tolerance‟ was emphasised by Mahathir to civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department with the intention of making them adapt quickly to any situation or problem. Practicing this value is particularly important in the context of a new country facing a change in the governing government. This is because by adjusting to the current situation, the tasks and plans in managing, administering, and developing the country will be easier and smoother (Hussain, 1997; van Houwelingen, van Dijke & De Cremer, 2015; Jensen, Andersen & Jacobsen, 2019). This value is also important to be practiced by the general public, so that they are more open to change and not oversensitive to something that is quite different from the norm (Sjoberg, Mellon, Peixoto, 2017).

Furthermore, the value of „healthy competition‟ was emphasised by Mahathir to them in his effort to encourage all civil servants to work more productively. Through this, they are inspired not to find or show who is better,

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 13, 2020 but to work together more proactively as a team to ensure the smooth functioning of their duty as well as to ensure the smooth running of the country‟s management and development (Bao, Wang, Larsen, & Morgan, 2013; Ouedraogo & Ouakouak, 2018). The general public also needs to practice the value of competing healthily at work or in doing tasks that requires healthy competition as it can make them more engaged in performing job while being competitive in improving work performance (Osborne, 1999).

Mahathir also emphasised the values of „strong self-esteem‟, „ensuring authenticity‟, and „gratitude‟ in his efforts to foster the practice of good values among civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department so that the machinery of the country administration could be strengthened further. Strong self-esteem value is important for each public servant as well as the general public as it serves as a guide in deciding actions that are appropriate to perform in accordance with the place and circumstances of the majority acceptance of the context (Crocker, Brook, Niiya & Villacorta, 2006). Likewise for the „ensuring authenticity‟ value, it is vital to practice it in everyday life as it allows one to be right about something that is known and also allows one to control oneself from spreading wrong information (Hyun, 2001). This value is essential for everyone to practice in dealing with any situation as it minimises errors in any dissemination of information and also reduces errors in actions that will be taken based on the information obtained (Hyun, 2001; Lencioni, 2001). This value acts as a filter for any further action a person will take. The final value that Mahathir emphasised to civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department is „being grateful‟. This value of gratitude is also important to be practiced by all the civil servants particularly and the general public as it makes one more grateful of the results obtained from an action taken after the best effort has been put into it. Gratitude should also be expressed when receiving any gift or benefit bestowed by God as by being thankful, something gained will make more sense if the result is good (Wood, Froh & Geraghty, 2010). However, if the outcome is unsatisfactory, thankful individuals will take lessons that can be learned from the situation (Watkins, Woodward, Stone & Kolts, 2003). All of the values that Mahathir emphasised to the civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department have their own significance regardless of their frequency of being mentioned in the speeches. These values were emphasised by Mahathir to foster the practice of values among the civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department so they can perform at their own capacity with good intentions, purpose and ways while establishing the federal government administrative machinery.

7.0 CONCLUSION & LIMITATIONS, FUTURE SCOPE OF THE WORK

This study has identified, explored and discussed in detail the values that Mahathir emphasised towards civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department through a series of his speeches during the Monthly Assembly Ceremony with the Prime Minister‟s Department staff. Known as a person who adheres to the value system in everyday life, Mahathir certainly did not underestimate the role of values in governing and developing Malaysia. Beginning with the effort to instil good values among the state administrators, civil servants and the general public through the Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy Campaign as well as several other policies when he began his lead as the country‟s fourth Prime Minister, today, Mahathir serves as the seventh Prime Minister continues his efforts to instil good values among them. The results show that the values he emphasised were clean, trustworthy, efficiency, caring, patriotic, determination to succeed, practicing good values, earnestness,

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ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 13, 2020 togetherness, loyalty, ensuring quality, faith in God, respect for the law, focus, upholding welfare, rational, dignity, diligence, self-improvement, tolerance, healthy competition, strong self-esteem, ensuring authenticity, and gratitude.

The social implications of this study include; first, the importance of practicing values in the aspect of the country‟s administration in particular and all aspects of life in general. Second, the practice of values among civil servants can enhance the workmanship of the country administrative machinery and thirdly; the practice among citizens can create and strengthen their humanity and progress as a human capital of the country, while strengthening the national development process holistically. The fourth implication is that it highlights the importance of the role of the head of a country in instilling good values among the citizens.

Despite of significant research findings and useful social implications of this study, several limitations were identified in this study. The limitation is, firstly, the research data focused solely on the text of Mahathir‟s speech during the Monthly Assembly Ceremony with the civil servants at the Prime Minister‟s Department. Secondly, the study focused on the values that Mahathir emphasised during his second administration; and thirdly, this study focused on Mahathir‟s speech to a specific target audience. Therefore, the following suggestions are highlighted for future studies. First, methodologically, reinforcing the data by triangulation of good values extracted from Mahathir‟s speeches with the Prime Minister‟s Department staff as well as from the values of other speeches he delivered such as during New Year, National Day, Malaysia Day and festive celebrations like Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Aidilfitri, Deepavali, and Christmas in which the target audience of these speeches covered all Malaysians when he is the seventh Prime Minister. Secondly, it is recommended that a comparative study of the similarities, differences and addition of values that Mahathir emphasised to the country‟s administrators, civil servants and the people as Malaysia‟s fourth and seventh Prime Minister to be conducted. Thirdly, a study that focuses on Mahathir‟s views as a statesman known as a fighter or a rigid practitioner of good values on the importance of good values in human life through his interviews could also be possibly done. Unfortunately, the study on his leadership in leading Malaysia is still a handful despite the advantages that could be learned and benefited from his leadership. Hence, a further study on Mahathir‟s leadership is still relevant to be conducted.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This article is based upon research supported in part by the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (FRGS) 1/2017, under project Vote 1650, University Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia and Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia. Any opinion, finding, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this article are those of authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of any of the supporting institutions.

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