In spite of garnering international accolades and recognition, thus being one of the best states in Malaysia in terms of innovation and quality initiatives, members of the Sarawak civil service should not rest on their laurels easily, reminded State Secretary YB Datuk Amar Jaul Samion.
“The Sarawak civil service is among the best in the country, and I am proud to say that this has not come by accident.
“However, being the best is not good enough if we failed to solve any problem including those affecting the work processes, the rakyat and also industry players,” he said.
Additionally, civil servants should view all public complaints as ‘opportunities’ to further enhance their service delivery rather than being defensive and not making any effort for improvement.
“If we fear being criticised for our faults, that fear would stop us from becoming innovative.
“Public complaints are important for us in developing effective measures to better ourselves, improve our service quality and make life easier for everyone,” he noted.
These were part of his address during the launch of the Forest Landscape Restoration Programme by Forest Department Sarawak at Bakam Government Reserve, Miri on 2 October 2020.
The event was held in conjunction with the State-level Innovation Week 2020, in which the State Secretary expressed Sarawak’s aspiration of becoming a forerunner in forest restoration and planting programmes in Malaysia within the 12th Malaysia Plan time-frame.
Achieving this required the cooperation from all relevant sectors, which could lead to increasing state revenue, the people’s income and commercial utilisation of planted forest resources.
“We also hope that with a more systematic management at the Bakam Government Reserve, it would be well protected and (there would be) no encroachment; thus positioning (the reserve) to become a model for other future restoration programmes, as well as an important research centre in Sarawak,” said the State Secretary.
He added that the Government intended to transform the reserve into a key urban park, given its strategic location that is only a 40-minute drive from Miri city centre.
On that note, the State Secretary accepted a proposal by Forest Department Sarawak to rename Bakam Government Reserve as ‘Jaul Restoration Model Area’ (JRMA).