Transparency, good governance key to world-class delivery of Sarawak’s civil service, says Abang Johari

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Len Talif (centre) unlocks the face recognition on a tablet to symbolically officiate SFC’s Integrity Day 2021 while witnessed by Zolkipli (second left), Hamden (second right) and others. – Ukas photo

KUCHING (Nov 1): Sarawak’s civil service cannot go without the element of transparency and good governance if it wants to serve a world-class delivery system, said Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg.

He said in order for the civil service to provide world-class service, integrity and accountability is part and parcel of the delivery service and execution of duties.

“The government sector is often perceived by the public as one of the sectors that is very susceptible to corruption in the economy of any country, particularly developing countries.

“Corruption, when not kept in check, can cause leakage to public funds, drive away foreign investment, reduce economic return on investments and not to mention, its adverse impact on public safety and health,” he said at the launch of Sarawak Forestry Corporation’s (SFC) inaugural Integrity Day at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here.

His speech was read by Assistant Minister of Urban Planning, Land Administration and Environment Datu Len Talif Salleh.

Abang Johari said in recognising the impact of corruption on the economy and government delivery system, he had introduced several measures to ensure that Sarawak’s administration is efficient, clean and transparent.

“The training of officers under the Certified Integrity Officers (CeIO) programme and their placement in relevant departments and agencies is example of our initiative towards ensuring a clean administration.

“There are other measures currently being implemented by the State Integrity and Ombudsman Unit (Union) in order to enhance the check and balance mechanisms at all levels of government, laws enforcement, and policies implementation in order to establish a health and thriving environment,” he said.

The chief minister said anti-corruption committees (JAR) were also formed at the ministry, division and department levels in Sarawak to provide a platform to enable specific issues related to integrity and prevention of corruption in a ministry to be addressed immediately.

“All these are enormous and essential reforms to ensure that Sarawak is a developed state with highest standard of good governance and integrity by 2030,” he said.

In the context of organisation, he said a strong culture of integrity is conducive to making better decisions among the employees for the long-term interests of the organisation.

“It would create an environment of trust among employees which is vital for teamwork, minimising costly mistakes, disputes and delays.

“This makes good business sense which is vital for the organisation to thrive,” he remarked.

He thus commended SFC for committing itself in its journey towards a world-class corruption free organisation.

“I sincerely hope that SFC will continue to take this responsibility to carry out all the initiatives in the Organisational Anti-Corruption Plan (OACP) and ensure that the organisation conforms to the integrity procedures and framework,” said Abang Johari.

Also present were SFC chief executive officer Zolkipli Mohamad Aton and Sarawak Forest Department director Datu Hamden Mohammad.