Welcome Rakan Sarawak March2004

Rangkaian Khidmat Awam Negeri Sarawak

A MONTHLY SUPPLEMENT OF RAKAN SARAWAK BULLETIN

(People, events, activities and programmes which make for a total quality-managed Sarawak Civil Service)

ISSN 1394-5726

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The State Public Service ICT Vision is important for the development and transformation of the state’s civil service,” said YB Datuk Amar Haji Abdul Aziz Haji Husain, State Secretary of Sarawak.

Elaborating more on the ICT vision at the State Secretary’s forum held on 1 March 2004, he added, “ICT must be established as a foundation technology for the State Public Service and be integrated and interwoven in all government processes, from beginning to end.”

The main objective of utilizing ICT is to enable public employees to provide quality service, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to customers anytime, anywhere and anyhow in the world. It will also assist the state in its vision to achieve the status of a knowledge-based society (k-society) before 2020.

However, in order to realize its ICT vision, the state public service need to have CLASS, which means:

Connected Public Service - the aim is for the entire Public Service to be connected in information, resources and people.
Leadership in ICT Usage - the State Public Leadership must lead the extensive, exemplary, innovative and creative adoption of ICT as well as promote ICT usage by the general public.
Accessibility to Government Services -the customers must have access to all services and relevant information at any time, anywhere and in any manner.
Synergy of State Agencies - the state agencies must work as a single entity. This requires all agencies to integrate their strategies and projects to gain the synergy that would not be possible if each agency was to work separately.
Seamless Public Service - the customers must view the State Public Service as a single service provider. As an example of the practical applications of the ICT Vision, the State Secretary cited the EBPP system.

"I urged all of you to register for the online EBPP system as soon as possible. You can conveniently use the secure line to receive and pay bills, saving time and resources," the State Secretary advised.

The short and medium term goals of the State Public Service ICT initiatives include, among others:

All public service employees must have full and immediate access to government online information services and facilities by end of 2005.
To achieve 100% ICT literacy in the State Public Service by 2005, i.e., every state government employee must be able to use ICT in carrying out his
or her work.
All state government bills and payments received must be made available online by end of 2005. (The Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP) system for online payment to government and approved agencies is one system that is currently available to make this happen).

"Implementing a full Electronic Government (EG) system in the State Public Service by 2008 is not a simple task. It requires radical change in working styles, the learning of new skills, and undergoing retraining," emphasized YB Datuk Amar Haji Abdul Aziz Haji Husain. He also revealed that a total of 57 projects (State Public Service ICT 2004 Programs) have been approved by the State Information Technology & Resources Council (STIRC) for 2004, which encompassed the 5-year and rolling annual ICT Strategic Plans (ITSP) of the state agencies and the State Information Architecture project.

Other critical issues relating to the State Public Service that the State Secretary mentioned included the new roles of HRM, HR Planning, HRD, Quality, Accountability & Supervision, Customerfs Complaints, Modernization of the Civil Service, Mid Term Review of 8MP and Status of Project Implementation (Financial & Physical Performances).

Concluding his remarks, YB Datuk Amar Haji Abdul Aziz Haji Husain called on the State Public Service to practice good behaviour, strive for continuous improvement and change their attitude for the better.

"Character development is formed through values. We must believe in and live by these values. It is a matter of doing what is right," he stated.