GOVERNMENT POLICY

SUKARTI: OUTDATED POLICIES MUST GO

Sukarti (centre) receiving a memento from Dr Ismail while Yusof (left) looks on 1st April, 2011KOTA KINABALU: In keeping with the times, policies that are outdated and no longer effective must be done away with. “There is a need to formulate new policies that are relevant to meet changes, to face economic and political challenges so as to continue to progress and compete with other countries,” State Secretary Datuk Sukarti Wakiman said when opening a seminar on Politics of Public Policy here yesterday. He said policies to be formulated must benefit the people especially those who have shown they are capable and determined. Sukarti added that while new policies to be introduced must be effective, those who draw up these policies must also be efficient and possessed good knowledge. And, he said that in facing challenges from within and outside the country, everyone in the public service must work very hard in order to achieve success. He also said everyone must be fully committed in order to achieve the objectives of Vision 2020. “Every individual must be prepared to work hard, reinvent themselves, change the way they think, be disciplined and have a sense of urgency in facing the ever increasing global challenges,” he pointed out. Meanwhile, the State Secretary urged all civil servants to play their respective roles in helping to realise the noble efforts of the state government in carrying out the strategies and policies that have been introduced. “This is to enable Sabah to become a high income state in line with the goals of the New Economic Model,” he said. He said civil servant must understand the problems and difficulties faced by the people so that they are able to take appropriate meaures to overcome them. “And we not only must be productive but also creative and innovative in facing future global challenges. They must also think out of the box,” he said matter-of-factly. Yesterday’s seminar was organised by the Cabinet and Policy Division in the Chief Minister’s Department (CMD). The speakers were Prof Madya Datuk Dr Hilmi Abdul Rahman of UiTM Pahang, Datuk Dr Chua Kim Hing of UiTM Sabah and Prof Dr Marina Roseman of Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Also present were director of the Cabinet and Policy Division Yusof Abd Abbas and organising chairman Dr Ismail S. Charles