Abang Johari speaks during the webinar session.
KUCHING: The Sarawak government has always placed great emphasis on utilising technology to enhance the efficiency and productivity of its civil service, says Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.
He said civil servants are sent for training to expose them to the importance of innovation and modern ways of managing a government.
“The Sarawak government has training programmes for senior civil servants who are sent to reequip themselves with modern knowledge through programmes such as the Harvard Management Programme.
“This is one way for them to be exposed to a new mode of managing a government and good governance,” he said during Malaysia Productivity Corporation’s (MPC) Post Covid-19: Sarawak The New Normal Webinar today.
He was responding to a question by MPC director-general Dato Abdul Latif Abu Seman who had asked how civil servants in the state can be more productive and improve their service delivery after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Abang Johari said when he first led the state government, one of his main agendas was to ensure that the state’s civil service moves in tandem with the rapid changes in technology.
“Technology is the key now and I want the civil service to know technology.
“That is why our Land and Survey Department has its own app to make sure that land issues are settled within two days or even land titles to be issued within one day if possible.
“The same is also being done through the Public Works Department’s (JKR) app called JKRDash which enables senior officers as well as ministers like myself to look into the stages of implementation of projects that have been approved,” he said.
He said the increased training in technology would allow the state’s civil service to complement the private sector.
“If the public sector is not exposed, there will be a mismatch between the two and they will definitely create some problems that we have to solve.
“This is the way how we want to get the public service to engage with the private sector,” he remarked.