PM - Be truthful to the people

KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 (Bernama) -- Acknowledging the importance for any government to have the trust and confidence of the people, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said that one of the best ways to win the trust and confidence of the people is to be truthful to them.

"Tell them the truth. If you've done well, tell them the policies are right. If the policies are not working, then you should have the courage to tell them that look, we've made mistakes but we intend to do better, we intend to correct these mistakes. And I think the rakyat would appreciate that.

"Although you are in the government, you are only human, and humans do make mistakes. The key is not that you will make mistakes, but how you recover from your mistakes. Hopefully mistakes will be few, but most of the decisions will be correct and the decisions will be spot-on.

"But there will be times when, because of changing circumstances, you suddenly realise that your policies or your decisions are not quite correct. But once you realise that they're not quite correct, be honest about it and tell people," the prime minister said in his latest jottings, uploaded yesterday, in his blog at www.1Malaysia.com.my

He said the people were intelligent and would appreciate honesty and truthfulness and the leaders should trust them.

"Over a period, certainly you will be able to develop that faith and trust with the people. Above all, keep your word. If you promise, you must deliver. One of the things that can undermine this faith and loyalty is if you break your promise. If you promise something, you must stick to your promise and you must deliver your promise," he said.

Najib said that over the past month, since taking over the helm of the nation, he had introduced, through his blog, a set of values, which he believed were fundamental in shaping formidable Malaysians befitting the 1Malaysia vision.

He said integrity completed this set of eight values, and was a key tool in ensuring that promises were kept and principles upheld.

"Once we are able to deliver what is promised and be more transparent and open with others, we will have built a solid foundation for trust," he said.

The eight values of 1Malaysia introduced by Najib were a culture of excellence, perseverance, humility, acceptance, loyalty, meritocracy, education, and integrity, which he said were paramount in efforts to add value to Malaysia as a developing nation.

"No one single value can be imbued without the other in order for 1Malaysia to truly take shape. While these values have long been taught in our culture, the application of these values must be renewed.

"I urge all Malaysians to inculcate and cultivate these values in our daily practices and actions not just amongst close friends and family, but in the workplace and our community at large," he added.