Zainudin mingling with participants of the Sankalpa Sabah 2030 Programme: Strategic Implementation Forum for SMJ 2.0 after officiating the forum at SICC today.
KOTA KINABALU: The success of realising the aspirations of the Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) 2.0 Development Plan hinges on the strength, commitment and capability of the entire civil service to work as a well-coordinated team, complementing one another and sharing responsibility towards a common goal.
State Secretary Datuk Zainudin Aman said this spirit forms the foundation of the SMJ 2.0 as the success of a government should not be measured solely by the policies announced or plans formulated, but by the extent to which those policies improve the lives of the people.
He said the culture of working in isolation, or a silo mentality, must be abandoned and replaced with a collaborative approach that positions every ministry, department and agency as a strategic partner in advancing the state and national development agenda.
“Strategic cooperation must be strengthened between ministries and agencies at both the state and federal levels, while synergies with the private sector, academia and communities should be expanded to ensure every development initiative is implemented in a more coordinated, efficient and impactful manner.
“At the same time, strategic communication must be enhanced through transparent performance reporting, the use of monitoring dashboards and effective data-sharing to ensure that every policy and initiative can be monitored, evaluated and continuously improved,” he said when officiating the Sankalpa Sabah 2030 Programme: Strategic Implementation Forum for Sabah Maju Jaya (SMJ) 2.0 at the Sabah International Convention Centre (SICC) here today.
Zainudin said the world today is vastly different from a decade ago, with rapid technological advancements, particularly in Artificial Intelligence (AI), transforming the global landscape, including the daily operations of the public sector.
“Therefore, SMJ 2.0 recognises digitalisation and AI as strategic enablers that will strengthen administrative efficiency, increase productivity and transform the way we plan, make decisions and deliver services to the people,” he said.
According to him, the achievements of SMJ 1.0 have demonstrated that when clear policies are supported by effective implementation, the results can deliver tangible benefits to the state and its people.
“For SMJ 2.0, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) will not be assessed based solely on the quality of reporting, but on the extent to which they contribute to the wellbeing of the people of Sabah,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zainudin said that following his meeting with Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar on July 6, several important matters were agreed upon to strengthen public service delivery and the implementation of Sabah’s development agenda.
Among them is the implementation of Bureaucratic Red Tape Reform (RKB) in project management through the Review, Keep and Boost concept to accelerate project management processes in Sabah.
In addition, he said, a proposal to create nearly 300 positions involving 26 agencies under the implementation of the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) was approved without requiring a Self-Audit of Staffing and Organisational Structure (AKPO).
He added that meetings between the State and Federal Governments will also be jointly convened by the Chief Secretary to the Government and the State Secretary to discuss the status of development projects and resolve implementation issues.
In this regard, he called on all Permanent Secretaries and Heads of Departments to prioritise the implementation of RKB by identifying at least one existing work procedure that can be improved through the reform approach.
He said every ministry and department should also have a strategic plan, ISO certification, an Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS) and Good Regulatory Practice (GRP), while integrating AI technology into work processes that have undergone the RKB phase to maximise service delivery efficiency.
Elaborating further, Zainudin said SMJ 2.0 is not merely a continuation of the successes achieved under SMJ 1.0, but a more strategic transformation based on three key thrusts: primary economic growth sectors comprising agriculture, industry and tourism; human capital and people’s wellbeing; and infrastructure connectivity and green sustainability.
He said these three thrusts are supported by five enablers and three key focus areas, namely the blue economy, AI utilisation and inclusive development, to ensure balanced development throughout Sabah.
He also urged all state ministries, departments and agencies to formulate strategic plans aligned with the SMJ 2.0 Direction, ensuring their respective strategies, initiatives and KPIs are in line with the development plan, while implementing every initiative swiftly, effectively and with measurable impact.
