KUCHING, Dec 13: To prepare the state’s public sector for the era of Digital Economy as envisioned by Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg, the state government will be introducing a new development module called Digital Acumen next year.
State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Morshidi Abdul Ghani said this was to ensure that civil servants could understand, appreciate, and adopt radical and possibly disruptive ideas and technologies to enable digital government to flourish in the state.
Speaking during the Civil Service Day 2017 event at Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) here earlier today, he said as a start, the state government would be launching the State Digital Economy document as a guide for the module, wholly in-house-developed by a committee consisting of state civil servants.
“This shows the commitment and readiness of the Civil Service to embrace the digital economy. Among the significant initiatives proposed under digital government is the creation of ‘Service Sarawak’ as a platform to provide truly one-stop and seamless frontline services of the state government.
“Service Sarawak will provide frontline services on behalf of all state agencies, and will greatly facilitate the ease of doing business in the state. When launched towards the third quarter of 2018, this will revolutionise government service delivery — an implementation of the ‘no wrong door’ and ‘one government at your service’ policies,” Morshidi said to more than 5,000 civil servants from various state and federal departments attending the function.
The function was also attended by Abang Johari, who launched the Sarawak Multimedia Authority (SMA) and unveiled the Sarawak Digital Economy Strategy 2018-2022 Document.
Tabled and approved during the Dewan Undangan Negri (DUN) sitting last month, SMA would be the leading agency to carry out policies for the Sarawak digital economy transformation.
Meanwhile, Abang Johari said SMA would collaborate with seasoned corporate bigwigs to propel the digital economy to the fore.
He said the civil servants were the backbone of the government, so their knowledge about the digital economy would be critical when explaining it to the people at the grassroots level.
“The State Digital Economy affects each one of us, the civil servants and the rakyat. That is why I am also launching the SMA on this Civil Service Day so that all civil servants in Sarawak can recognise and understand the significance of this digitalisation initiative.
“Digitalisation is impacting our economic development as well as social life. It causes constant disruptions and poses a potential threat to those who are reluctant to embrace the new technologies. It also provides new opportunities to others who are prepared to venture into this new field. I need all of you to be on the same page and strive and uphold your integrity in your execution,” he said.
Abang Johari explained that during the last DUN sitting, he told the August House that the state had no choice but to strengthen its development strategies to further accelerate economic growth to overcome the challenges of the global economy.
This, he added, was imperative especially with the emergence of the digital economy driven by the rapid explosion of technological advancement and the disruptive forces of the digital revolution.
“As such, the state has to embrace the new era of digitalisation and ride on the digital economy in order to stay ahead, thrive and prosper for the wellbeing of the rakyat.
“We are already implementing some of these digital disruptive strategies to generate untapped opportunities, innovations and value creation for all,” concluded Abang Johari. — DayakDaily
