Abang Jo says civil servants role crucial
KUCHING: The Sarawak Civil Service (SCS) being the pulse and backbone of the state, has been urged to come up with a system of service delivery that will help the state achieve its vision of becoming a developed state and high-income society by 2030.
Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg said the SCS and the Federal Civil Service (FCS) in Sarawak played a crucial role in providing solutions to maintain the state’s wellness, social and economic wheel moving forward.
“Therefore, I call upon civil servants to be the pendulum for this plan. All SCS agencies, people, processes and technologies must come together as one heart and one mind,” he said.
The chief minister said Sarawak needed a SCS that was capable of acting fast enough to accelerate the state’s development.
“I must tell you that what happened now is that a lot of the people’s projects are quite slow in their implementation.
“It could be caused by red tape, may be due to procedures, which have the effect of slowing down the process of implementation or taking of corrective measures if there is a problem along the way,” he said.
Giving an example, he said the Marudi Bridge, which should have been completed, was delayed for a year or more.
“We have terminated the contract with the contractor and we have decided that a rescue contractor has to come in to complete the project, but certain procedures have to be adhered to that have been preventing the Public Works Department (JKR) from taking corrective measures speedily.
“I am not suggesting that we want to forgo procedures as the element of integrity or good governance must always be the basis of public spending.
“But there are procedures that I believe can be adjusted so that our development can be expedited,” he stressed.
Abang Johari hoped members of the state’s administration machinery would take note of the matter.
“If there is any need to revamp the procedures then revamp them. Some of the procedures are obsolete. I have directed the SFS to study the procedures not because we want to do away with procedures as stipulated by the Treasury, but because we have to change procedures which are not necessary anymore.
“With the advent of digital technologies, financial procedures need to be aligned more practically with technologies as being done by the Land and Survey Department which has practically put information on land administration, including the Native Customary Rights (NCR), at the tip of the finger,” he said.
The chief minister said the state government could no longer tell the people that COVID-19 delayed the people’s projects because the disease was on the downward trend.
“As such, we must deliver the projects to our people as promised,” he said.
Abang Johari also commended the efforts of the management of RECODA to streamline and monitor through digital solutions to facilitate project implementation and monitoring which he noted was the way forward in the implementation of government policies.
