Change Communications
Face Challenge to "Preserve order amidst change" CMP
2000
"In the Information Age, what you do with information at your disposal is what
separate the winners from the losers. The world in which we find ourselves in
today is truly the 'brave new world' of communications. New technological advances
are coming on stream everyday to make all of our communications efforts faster
and more efficient. As civil servants, it is our responsibility to help our
people cope with these bewildering changes, to help them make the most effective
use of these technological advancements. It is a challenge for us, as Alfred
North Whitehead, has once said “to preserve order amid change and to preserve
change amid order”.
With these words, YBhg Datuk Hj Abdul
Aziz Hussain, Deputy State Secretary for Human Resource, symbolically mobilised
the pioneer group of “change communicators” in the State Civil Service.
The Dep. State Secretary addressed
the group at the closing ceremony of a “Training Programme on Social Mobilisation
and Communication Planning” organized as part of the Information, Education
and Communication (IEC) Programme for the State Secretary’s Office.
YBhg Datuk Aziz also stressed that
“although the road ahead maybe well-paved with even more mind-boggling
technology, what keeps it and us running straight and true is the bedrock
upon which it rests: good, honest communication”.
Explainning why participation in
the IEC programme is anchored on the spirit of volunteerism, Datuk Aziz delve
on the relationship between information, effective communicators and power.
He said: “Information is power. However, the stress is on having ‘the right
and most valid information. Effective communicators are able to find, process
and apply the most valid information. Hence, effective communicators are powerful
people.”
He went on to say that this ‘power’
must not be used for the individual’s own selfish, vested interests, but to
serve the people. “We only need individuals imbued with the desire to serve
others. It is said that in our quest for material progress, we are at risk of
losing this quality - the spirit to serve others willingly and voluntarily,
without expecting anything in return - that was once an integral characteristic
of our communities. We must reverse this trend by using the power of communication
to effectively play our role in nurturing a caring and humane society, eventually
attaining the civil society that we all aspire to have.”
The training programme was held to
equip the participants with knowledge and skills on planning for and implementing
communication campaigns. Dr. Reynaldo Guioguio, Professor and Chairman of the
Graduate Studies Dept of the University of the Philippines’ College of Mass
Communication was the key resource person during the three-day training course.
Dr. Guioguio taught the participants
the framework and the indicators of a successful and sustainable social mobilization
campaign in support of the government’s development programmes. Essentially,
social mobilisation refers to the process and strategies employed to generate
support and active participation from the targeted audience or stakeholders
of a specific government programme.
The participants also acquired the
basic knowhow in communication planning by taking part in a hands-on workshop
on developing an information campaign designed to help the people cope with
the haze situation.
They were also briefed on the IEC
Programme and how it fits into the overall communication programme for the
Sarawak Civil Service by Maria C.M.Cortez, RAKAN Sarawak’s managing editor
and IEC Programme’s project manager.
The course participants were among
the first batch of civil servants who responded to a call for “volunteers” to
get involved in developing and mobilising information networks within the State
Civil Service.
These information networks are key
components of the IEC Programme. To be set up in each of the major Divisions
in Sarawak, these are designed to complement existing information delivery channels
within the civil service. The networks’ emphasis will be to tap the power of
interpersonal communication as a channel of information delivery as well
as in generating support and participation among the civil servants as well
as from the public.
The pioneer batch of volunteers are:
Yusfida bte. Khalid (Chief Minister’s Dept), Ruth Sibat (STIDC), Agatha Aham
Suni (Kuching Water Board), John Lam & Shariman Faizul Abdullah (MBKS),
Yakop bin Jalel (Forest Dep), Mohd. Irtidzar Razali (Resident’s Office Kuching),
Sulaiman Kadir & Johari Atok (Land & Survey), Henry Colin Belawing (Majlis
Adat Istiadat), Hj Osman bin Hj Ibrahim (Jabatan Agama Islam), Stephen Kalong
(Resident’s Office, Limbang), Ilyas bin Abdullah (Resident’s Office, Sri Aman),
Edward Nyalang (Resident’s Office, Sibu), Mohd Fadzli bin Noh (Lembaga Sungai-sungai
Sarawak), Sebastian Baya & Awang Ikwan (LCDA), Haji Rakawi bin Ibrahim (Perbadanan
Stadium Negeri Sarawak), Ismail Yusof & Michael Wilson (NREB), HamdanSharbini
(DBKU), Chan Shun Sing & Jonicol Amen (PDRM), Francis Gombek (Forestry Training
School), Maxwell Landong (SALCRA), Bhajan Kaur, Sheila L Henry & Sebastian
Lissem (SAINS), Wilma Thein (Faradale Communications), Ismail Zailani and Abd.
Hamid bin Ahmad (Faradale Media-M Sdn Bhd).
More civil servants are encouraged
to join as volunteers and take part In the IEC Programme.
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