Welcome Rakan Sarawak May 2004

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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Sarawak Public Service Conference 2004 - "Enhancing Professionalism Towards A Vibrant Public Service"

The conference attended by about 300 participants, and declared open by the Chief Minister, YAB Pehin Sri Dr. Hj. Abdul Taib Mahmud

The State Secretary, in welcoming participants to the 2-day Public Service Conference held on the 25-26 March 2004 in Kuching, described the present day public service in Sarawak as the cornerstone for economic development and nation-building.

Sarawak in particular, has seen the role of the public service and government administration significantly changing over the years in line with the country’s rapid but steady economic growth.

Datuk Amar Aziz said that “…globalisation, K-based economy, information and communications technology, good governance and public demand for quality and efficient services were exerting greater pressure on the public service to modernise its systems and processes in order to be effective and competitive.”

He explained that to cope with the new challenges, the State government, through the Human Resource Development Unit of the Chief Minister’s Department, would continue to place emphasis on human resource development through training. Urging the public service to adopt a change in mindset, he emphasised that “…it would be almost impossible to make any great progress in any direction unless the mindset of the bureaucracy is changed.”

He also urged them to provide quality service, which should include service provided with ‘convenience and a smile, and at reasonable user charges.’

Papers presented at the two-day conference include Practicing Participatory Leadership in the Public Service by Dato’ Zulkurnain bin Hj Awang, Director, Institut Tadbiran Awam (INTAN) Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur; Sustaining Effective Stakeholder/Boundary Management in the Public Service by Dr. Tiffany Morrison, School of Public Policy and Management, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia; The Framework of an Elite Public Service: The Framework of an Elite Public Service: Case Study of Indian Public Service by Mr. Jishnu Barua, Private Secretary to the Honourable Minister of State Statistics Programme Implementation, Government of India, Sardar Patel Bhawan New Delhi.