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THE State Government emphasises cyber security in line with the implementation of Digital Government.

Head of State Tun Juhar Mahiruddin said this is done through programmes to strengthen the level of awareness and competence of civil servants regarding cyber security as well as strengthening procedures for ensuring the security of application systems.

According to him, the State Government Digitisation Plan 2020-2024 has opened various opportunities for development and progress in various sectors of the State, especially in the three success sectors in the Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ).

“Through this initiative, stakeholders, especially the people, can access government services more efficiently and easily with a reduction in bureaucracy.

“The digitisation of the Sabah Government which entered the “Digital Innovation” Phase this year not only improves the quality of life of the people, but also puts the State on a stronger footing to support long-term growth and sustainability in line with the SMJ Development Plan.

“To improve the delivery system of the State Government through digitisation, several initiatives were implemented this year, including giving priority to the use of Electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC), digital signatures, blockchain, open databases and online payments in State Government applications, in addition to establishing the State Government’s Public Computing Service (Private Cloud),” he said.

Juhar said the State Government always formulates programmes for the development and strengthening of the civil servants, in line with efforts to produce competent, professional, skilled and integrity civil servants.

He said last year, a total of 729 officers were sent to participate in 35 high-impact trainings in various fields.

“Programmes and training in the service will continue through the State Public Service’s comprehensive training module towards producing a line of leadership layers and members of the public service that are timeless. The module is expected to be completed by the end of this year and ready for use in 2025.”

To strengthen district administration, Juhar said the State Government approved the creation of the Sukau Sub-District Office, the upgrading of the Sook Sub-District Office and the Paitan Sub-District Office to full district offices.

He said the State Government hoped the creation of a new sub-district office and the upgrading of a sub-district office to a full district office would facilitate rural communities in accessing government services, thus improving the delivery of State Government services.

The State Government is also committed to ensuring that the State administration system is administered based on the principles of integrity, accountability and transparency to ensure the continuity of efforts to preserve the culture of integrity.

“This commitment was expressed through the Chief Minister’s Directive No. 1 of 2023 which introduced the Sabah State Service Integrity Circular (PIPANS), which was the first of its kind being implemented at the State Government level in Malaysia,” said Juhar.

He added that the State Government is also implementing initiatives to strengthen governance that focus on inspection, consultation and continuous guidance in aspects of good governance, complaint management, strengthening integrity and agency compliance with the regulations currently in force.

“Therefore, to continue this momentum, the State Government will continue to dignify the Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption (GIA) initiative through five main strategies which are to increase the involvement and commitment of top management; increase awareness and appreciation of the importance of integrity; strengthen governance and internal control; ensure the effectiveness of enforcement and monitoring; as well as empowering the training and communication of pure values.”