His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Deputy Sultan, yesterday called the Civil Service as the nerve of the government machinery as His Royal Highness reiterated that people in the Civil Service must be knowledgeable, skilful and possess appropriate expertise, as well as strategic thinking in carrying out their duties in order to remain relevant through the passing of time and changes in the surrounding factors.

His Royal Highness delivered a sabda during the Civil Service Day celebration at the ICC.

Apart from championing high integrity and high moral values, other personal characteristics that are equally important, His Royal Highness said, include the ability to work as a team, be innovative, prepare to share knowledge with compatriots and practise the concept of life-long learning.

His Royal Highness also touched on the introduction of a fast track method for promotion of Civil Service personnel in Division II and above.

His Royal Highness said the method has been consented by His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

His Royal Highness believed this important method would be utilised through effective implementation to establish a more competent and quality human capital in the respective Civil Service machinery.

"I would like to see our Civil Service to be more coordinated and proactive in an effort to create and implement changes to improve the effectiveness of services and human capital productivities. In this matter, the effectiveness in coordinating strategic change management must be taken into account and continuously improved," His Royal Highness said.

Earlier in the sabda, His Royal Highness hoped that the Civil Service Day will lift up the fervour and dedication of civil servants for the betterment of Civil Service.

"With the fervour, spirit and awareness, we will continue to develop the Civil Service and will be able to move forward in facing the existing challenges that will continue to increase," said His Royal Highness.

His Royal Highness said Civil Service is the central nerve of the government machinery responsible to maintain public welfare and especially to continually plan joint efforts to implement successfully the national development agendas in line with the National Vision 2035.

"An efficient and effective Civil Service is the need of the nation to reach progress in whatever fields of importance, including peace and harmony, and reinforce the stability of the nation," His Royal Highness further reiterated.

"Islam as a religion and holistic way of life also requires that all aspects of administration, management and policy formulation and planning as well as its inclusive implementation must be based on the teachings of al-Quran and as-Sunnah. In that sense, as administrators and managers of a sovereign Islamic nation, we must not take this obligation lightly," His Royal Highness stated.

The Deputy Sultan urged for continuous efforts to reassess the administrative and management processes and practices as well as in the policy formulation, especially within the Civil Service, in making sure that it is in line with Islam.

"His Majesty in his 66th birthday titah fundamentally meant that the management efficiency, discipline and leadership in the career progression of a Civil Service officer are some of the main issues that are still at the level that need improvement and attention," His Royal Highness said.

In this context, His Royal Highness touched on several factors that need to be given attention by the Civil Service in order to fulfil the wish of His Majesty.

Integrity and high moral values are important among the Civil Service population to become fully responsible civil servants with regards to the rules and regulations.

"We must also be responsive in fulfilling the public needs and the level of quality service in Civil Service according to the Client's Charter 'Tekad Pemedulian Orang Ramai' or TPOR," the Deputy Sultan stated.

"Our TPOR must be fulfilled and continually reviewed from time to time," His Royal Highness added.

With pressure from public demand that is ever increasing, His Royal Highness stressed on the importance of maintaining that attitude of "Mesra Pelangan" (customer friendly) and always be ready to serve, which His Royal Highness said are values that are highly sought after in the Civil Service.

The Deputy Sultan also stressed that executive officers and department heads in the Civil Service must always be more ready to roll up their sleeves and go outside of their offices to get closer and see in more detail the problems faced by the public.

His Royal Highness said that it is time to look at the achievements thus far in the Civil Service in the field of ICT, which His Royal Highness said must be examined in order to find out skills that have been acquired and to measure the true status in getting the benefits out of this important field, which will enable improvements to be made and to enhance the implementation of existing plans.

The Deputy Sultan also reminded the Civil Service to be always aware of KPI (Key Performance Indicator) to measure their respective achievements.

"Our target is to create a working culture oriented towards 'performance' in all sectors of the Civil Service including the private sector," His Royal Highness added. - Borneo Bulletin (18 October 2012)