Hope for Wisma Putra

I was reading "Servicing the Foreign Service" with joy and hope for Malaysian Foreign Service.

Finally, the ministry is able to recruit its own Foreign Service officers instead of selecting from the pool of Administrative and Diplomatic Officers (PTDs). I view this step as a positive development in rebuilding the Malaysian Foreign Service.

This direct recruitment exercise is certain to solve the problem of shortage in manpower. I can personally testified the seriousness facing this ministry as I once was asked to handle the workload of two Assistant Secretaries. The shortage of manpower has resulted in officers not being able to perform their task efficiently and contributed to consistent overtime. Many thought that government servants clocked out exactly at 5pm, but I have never done so in Wisma Putra. The earliest record I have clocked out was 6pm and the latest being 3am.

This is also a positive step in enabling the truly passionate and aspiring applicants to apply for the position of diplomats. Previously, the applicants have to applied through a common scheme of PTDs and to be posted. The competition was intense and sometimes the most suitable officer might be posted to other ministries rather than Wisma Putra.

Therefore, I certainly see this change to the recruitment policy as a stepping stone for the revamp and rebuilding of Foreign Service in Malaysia. However, I would also like to see further changes to the human resource management within the service, in line with the current development.

Although many people view the job as prestigious and glamorous, nevertheless, officers in the ministry has to faced many uncertainty in life. Malaysian Diplomats do not seems to have the choice in selecting their posting and is expected to be obedient in whatever decision made on them. However, many countries do not practise such policy. For example, Foreign Service officers in Australia and India, will have to apply for posting to overseas mission when there is a vacancy. This separate application process enable the officers to determine and plan their own career, in accordance to their family and personal needs. On the other hand, this also enable the ministry to choose the best candidate for every position and ensure that only the best deserving officer will be posted. The less competent officers will have to stay home and continue to improve themselves.

I take this opportunity to urge my former colleagues to continue striving on towards excellence with great hope that their over-burdened workload will soon be over. Gambateh!

Appointment to Service

I had the honour of being selected to serve Malaysia through civil service's elite scheme known as the Administrative and Diplomatic Service. It was a highly sought-after service where every aspiring bureaucrats would want to be in. I remembered going through 3 stages of interviews and assessment before being appointed. Following that, I attended a 2-week induction course. Throughout the course, all the newly- appointed officers were being instilled and taught the true meaning of service to the country in their capacity as civil servant. At the end of the induction course, everyone waited eagerly for their name to be called and to be presented with the posting order. Three days after the posting, every officer will report to their respective ministry or department and began their career journey as civil servant. All of us were expected to perform our duties as a full-fledged officer, even before attending the 6-month course on public administration.

For the past few weeks, there was this question lingering in me about God's calling. I have pondered and reflected upon it. This morning at the worship service, God reminded me of the prestige and honour that I experienced serving Malaysia as a civil servant. Happy and proud moments in that 4 months of working experiences kept repeating itself. If these temporary moments of being a junior diplomat was such memorable, then I began to think of the wonderful possibilities of being a career diplomat for the higher Kingdom of God. Coincidentally, the pastor spoke about service in the sermon following the worship. She shared about the 3 truths of service:

1) Called to Serve - a calling for every Christian
2) Gifted to Serve - discovery of gifts through service and not service after discovery
3) Connected to Serve - illustrated the importance of every Christian as a piece of jigsaw to connect for the completeness of God's purpose

From then on, I began to reflect how God is calling me into His service, drawing from my previous experiences with the civil service. Firstly, the appointment comes without a destination. I do not know where will I be posted at the moment of appointment. Similarly, I know God has a calling for me, which is waiting for me to answer that appointment.

Secondly, officers do not have choices regarding their posting. All posting is subject to transfer within short notices. More importantly, the newly appointed officers were being told and taught to accept and perform to the best of their ability regardless of the posting. However, without doubt, posting will be related to the skills and speciality of each officer. Similarly, I understand that when I accepted God's appointment, I have subjected myself to His posting. As a servant, I just have to perform my best. However, I also have the same understanding that every posting comes with a purpose, either in accordance with skills and expertise or with a learning experience at the end of it.

Thirdly, every officers in the civil service aspired to be posted to the prestigious or powerful ministries, such as foreign affairs, public service, international trade, tourism or internal security. Although I was privileged to be posted to the foreign service, I left the service after merely 4 months. Though the experience was short, it has created a huge impact on me and my future career. It has provided unique experiences which broaden my perspectives and worldview yet at the same time helped to realise many more purposes in life. Likewise, God could call us to any ministry regardless of the importance and prestigious. It will be vital to fully understand the directive and instruction from the Highest authority, for us to fully achieve the objective.

Fourthly, officers were expected to perform in accordance to their position. There is no specific and sufficient training provided before the posting. Officers were expected to be capable of learning from their superior and colleagues and yet perform accordingly. The actual training only comes 4 months later after the officers were more settled in their position. From various Bible characters, God has similarly placed His servant into the thick and thin of actions without providing them with proper equipping and sufficient training. However, it reminds me that it was through our weakness that we hold more firmly to God and rely on His providence. I was being reminded again that God does not necessarily equip me fully and sufficiently before sending me out for the posting.

As for now, I might still be waiting for the posting and direction in life. However, I am certain God has called and appointed me to be His servant in various ministry. Perhaps I need to remain versatile and open-minded in order to be able to answer whatever posting awaiting me in the future. One certainly is the appointment is a diplomatic calling but this time a higher authority than my country. I am eagerly waiting for the appointment notification, "induction camp" and "posting order" before I kickstart my first mission.