BERNAMApic
PUTRAJAYA: Civil servants have been urged contribute their efforts and ideas to ensure that Malaysia’s tenure as Asean chair this year yields substantial benefits for the country, particularly in investment and trade.
Public Service director-general Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz (pic) said being Asean chair brought important responsibilities that involved the country’s image and reputation, as well as its ability to lead efforts to drive development and regional growth.
"As civil servants, we have a role to play in ensuring that Malaysia leaves a positive and meaningful legacy for years to come, both in the South-East Asian region and globally,” he said in a recent interview.
Wan Ahmad Dahlan said civil servants must ensure that every programme, project and initiative implemented truly benefitted all levels of society and contributed to improving the quality of life of the people of Asean.
ALSO READ: Malaysia to prioritise energy, connectivity and bloc's independence as Asean chair, says PM Anwar
He added that Malaysia would be seen as incapable of leading Asean if civil servants were not prepared and the country did not perform as well as the previous chair.
"It is the resolve of the public service to move as a team to assist Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (to) highlight the country’s capabilities, leadership and positive image on the international stage,” he said.
Wan Ahmad Dahlan said the Public Service Department (PSD) played a key role as the focal point for Asean Cooperation on Civil Service Matters (ACCSM), a platform designed to promote the exchange of information, innovations, and best practices in public service management among member countries.
He said it also encouraged cooperation and mutual assistance in improving human capital development, which would indirectly help reduce the development gap among member countries.
ALSO READ: Malaysia's chairmanship crucial to strengthen Asean's relevance, says expert
Wan Ahmad Dahlan said the programmes and initiatives implemented by ACCSM were guided by a work plan developed every five years, with key focus areas such as public sector reform and modernisation.
"As such, the PSD will organise the Asean Conference on Future-Ready Public Service on Oct 7 to 8.
"The main purpose of this programme is to serve as a platform for sharing knowledge, ideas, and experiences among member countries in shaping a future-ready public service,” he said.
Wan Ahmad Dahlan said the conference would be followed by the signing of the Asean Declaration on Future-Ready Public Service which, among other things, would outline the commitment of the heads of civil service in member countries to shape a future-ready public service by leveraging digitalisation and advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence.
ALSO READ: Extensive preparations being made for Asean meetings, says KL top cop
In response to Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar’s call for an initial assessment of the English language skills of the officers involved, Wan Ahmad Dahlan said the National Institute of Public Administration (Intan) would soon begin evaluating civil servants’ overall competence to ensure that appropriate training could be provided.
"Actually, many civil servants are able to speak English, but that’s not the main issue. For this Asean chairmanship, we need to strengthen their abilities, and Intan will offer intensive courses to ensure they can interact better with officials from other countries,” he said.
Wan Ahmad Dahlan said Intan, as the largest civil service training institute in the country, was now shouldering the heavy responsibility of steering the Razak School of Government to be on par with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.
He said Intan, under the supervision of the PSD, would explore international-level courses and provide training for officers from government-linked investment companies (GLICs), government-linked companies (GLCs), statutory bodies, and top civil service leaders. – Bernama
