Delegating some power necessary
Published on: Friday, February 01, 2019
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Federal Secretary Nor Azri Zulfakar (pic) said there are some matters which the Federal Government should consider giving federal officers here the power to decide.
He said no doubt those in Putrajaya are the policy makers, while federal officers serving in the State are the implementers, there are times that require flexibility.
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“No doubt we still have to refer to Putrajaya but there are matters that can be done by referring to the State Government to decide as well,” he told a media conference after officiating the “Pasca Bajet Negara 2019: Malaysia Wibawa, Ekonomi Dinamik, Rakyat Sejahtera” forum at Intan here, Thursday.
He cited the no-smoking ban in food premises imposed by the Federal Government via the Health Ministry.
“In the peninsula, the ruling came into effect on Jan. 1, but here the State Cabinet decided that it will only start on Feb 1.
“In such matters, although I represent the Federal Government, the State Government through the administration of Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal is referred to,” he explained.
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“We want collaboration, we have been working together all this while but we want to establish that cooperation even further, meaning that the State is also being referred to, because we are the ones who will be implementing it.
He said Sabah also has a Cabinet and so on, as well as its jurisdiction, adding that for federal officers here, they just follow what has been outlined as a policy at Federal level.
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“We have no problem, we are implementers,” he said.
He said there is a bit of constraint when every decision has to be referred to Federal Government and the decision making process is not on the spot.
“The quicker we are in making decisions, the quicker it can be delivered to the people, I think that is most important.
“I think this is what the State Government wants from the Federal Government, to be given some jurisdiction in making the decision.
“These are the things we need to iron out, but through the technical Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) these are the things that we want to present.
“Hopefully by June 27 this will be completed because the final report will go to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the Cabinet, there are things we are still ironing out,” he said.
On the forum, hoped it would be useful as one of the platforms that can bring about the outcome of discussions in delivering the best inputs to participants comprising federal department heads.
Earlier, he pointed out that budget and financial management, both in terms of revenue and receipts and fiscal spending should always be based on integrity.
“We can see the seriousness of the government’s aspirations through various initiatives planned for the success of government policies.
“I therefore urge and invite all federal civil servants, especially in the Sabah and Labuan to equally appreciate and fulfil the mandate given with the responsibility, commitment, transparency and integrity,” he said.
He said as civil servants, they must support the aspirations of the government in efforts to generate the country’s economic growth.
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