Public ethics helps limit the bad images of officials and civil servants.

According to Dr. Dinh Van Minh, the Ministry of Home Affairs' development of a Decree promulgating the Code of Ethics for Public Service is very necessary to build an honest public administration that is dedicated to serving the people.

Attitude is more important than skill

- Have you ever encountered situations where officials or civil servants behaved in ways that made you unhappy?

It is obvious that in life, it is inevitable that people go to public agencies to exercise their rights and obligations. The first thing people expect is the attitude of officials and civil servants to create trust in public agencies. A warm, ready-to-work attitude, a willingness to listen and share are very important.

So, we still say “attitude is more important than qualifications”. Sometimes administrative procedures are quite complicated, there are things that people do not understand, so they need guidance and detailed explanations.

When people want to express their difficulties and raise concerns, it is extremely important that officials listen, share and guide them. There are things that are very simple for officials and civil servants, but not all people have the qualifications or conditions to learn, so they have questions and complaints. In this case, if people ask and officials get upset and angry, "It's so simple, but you don't know" then it is not acceptable.

Or as for the way officials and civil servants dress, we also need to pay attention to it to make it appropriate. Dress nicely, seriously, showing neatness, readiness for work, not the beauty of going to a party, flashy dresses, or on the contrary, simply sloppy like going to play sports...

- Some people say that the content of "ethics" is difficult to measure and specify in detail in a legal document. What is your opinion on this?

I want to say that those things are ethics, culture, not just a legal story. Law is only the minimum of ethics, and ethics is the maximum of law.

Officials and civil servants not only fulfill their duties according to the law "to get the job done", but also have the heart and virtue of a representative of public authority, where the State trusts and the people expect. That is what people call public ethics and public service culture.

Law is just the outer shell of rules, while ethics is when behavior is expressed from the heart, effort, and comes from dedication, the desire to support, accompany, and share to help people.

That is public ethics, and in my opinion, even higher is culture and beauty. That is, officials must act in a way that creates a good relationship between the people and the government, and make the people feel that they are being listened to, accompanied, and helped.

In reality, there are phenomena that damage the image of public agencies, causing people to complain. That is the reason why we must study, promulgate and implement regulations on public ethics to overcome the above situation in the near future.

- The draft Decree stipulates quite detailed behaviors in communication and conduct of officials and civil servants. In your opinion, what is particularly important to pay attention to in order to build a better image of officials and civil servants in the eyes of the people?

I think the provisions in the draft Decree first of all impact on making cadres and civil servants fully aware of their responsibilities in public service activities, even in community activities or places of residence, must be deeply aware that cadres and civil servants themselves are representatives of public agencies, are assigned certain powers by the state and the people, requiring higher exemplary behavior, must be more standard.

Because they are the ones who exercise power and understand the law. Therefore, in all circumstances, first of all, the place where the task is carried out must present itself as a very standard image to create trust with the people.

Not only in the office but also in public places and other places, a culture and exemplary behavior are required from cadres, civil servants and public employees.

The good will gradually grow and eliminate the bad.

- For a long time, people have been reluctant to go to administrative agencies to do procedures. When something forces them to go, few people feel comfortable. Will the promulgation of the Code of Ethics for Public Service eliminate this mentality?

It is clear that people are afraid and reluctant to go to government agencies to do procedures, and that is not surprising. We have high expectations for this Decree, but it will take time to eliminate this mentality, which includes many factors.

Firstly, our procedures themselves are too numerous, the places where procedures are done are always crowded and partly due to the attitudes and working methods of officials and civil servants.

Therefore, on the one hand, we continue to promote administrative reform, simplify procedures, especially digital transformation, and apply science and technology. On the other hand, we also need to propagate, disseminate, and guide people so that they can easily access and implement new methods in carrying out administrative procedures.

From there, how can they also become "digital citizens" to accompany the State in the process of implementing e-Government?

On the contrary, people must also be willing to learn and be ready to accept new things to work with the State to make things simpler and faster.

Second, returning to the story of the attitude and communication of officials and civil servants, to implement the Code of Ethics for Public Service, it is also necessary to carry out campaigns in many forms to gradually penetrate the consciousness of each official and civil servant.

When the good gradually grows, the bad will be eliminated. In an organization, if everyone is serious and on time, if someone does something different, they will feel out of place and ashamed.

In addition, it is necessary to strengthen the control and supervision of society, first of all, the people in the performance of public duties at offices and in community activities or at the residence of officials and civil servants.

Many countries have done this now, if people complain about officials or civil servants, they just need to check the camera and it will be found out immediately. I went to China and saw that at the public administration center, they put a machine for people to press whether they are satisfied or not. The agency can immediately check why people press not satisfied by checking the surveillance camera.

There was an inspection case where an officer was found talking on his personal phone for more than 5 minutes, causing people to call him unsatisfied. From there, it is easy to trace responsibility for strict handling and timely correction.

We have technological tools, promote supervision, and people's opinions, then the behavior of officials and civil servants will be different and gradually become routine.

Like boss, like employee!

- Many opinions are concerned that the lack of sanctions will lead to a situation where things go back to the way they were or implementation will be perfunctory and perfunctory. What do you think?

It is necessary to understand the nature of the moral and cultural story, although it must be accompanied by sanctions, but that is not fundamental.

Simply put, the law is what officials and civil servants must do, and if they do not, they will be punished. Meanwhile, ethics and culture advise them to do it, and sanctions can be adjusted by public opinion, by the evaluation of those around them, and most importantly, by the role of the leader.

Like boss, like employee! Where the boss is disciplined, so are the subordinates. If the boss is strict about time, then of course the employees cannot be disorderly.

I still emphasize how leaders must be aware of their importance and responsibility in the process of forming a suitable public service culture. Therefore, first of all, leaders themselves must be exemplary, standard-setting and always remind and advise everyone to follow.

Nothing is easy, but if we persevere, the public administration will gradually improve. In fact, deep down, everyone wants to live in a good environment.

In my opinion, we must turn external pressures and demands into internal control and desire. At first, civil servants may practice public ethics because they are afraid of being criticized and punished, but gradually, proper behavior becomes natural and cultural, and only then will success be sustainable.

Just like the story of fining drivers who drink alcohol, at first some people are not used to it and feel forced to do it, but after a while it becomes a habit, and then at some point there is no more pressure from the outside but it becomes an awareness from the inside.

So the story of ethics of civil servants is the same. People often say "rule by law near, rule by virtue far".

I hope that the birth of the Code of Public Ethics will help limit the occurrence of "unsightly" images of officials and civil servants such as the case of the former female captain "causing chaos at the airport", or the case of a former representative of the People's Council of Quang Nam province beating a female golf course employee...

- Thank you for your comments!

According to Vietnamnet