HIS Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam yesterday graced the 21st Civil Service Day celebration, where he consented to award civil servants for their contributions to the country.

The theme for the celebration was ‘Dynamic Governance Towards Prosperity’.

Accompanying His Majesty at the event held at the International Convention Centre in Berakas were His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office; His Royal Highness Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade; His Royal Highness Prince Haji Sufri Bolkiah and His Royal Highness Prince ‘Abdul Malik.

Permanent Secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office, Haji Yahya bin Haji Idris, in his opening address said that the dynamic values civil servants should possess are emphasised in Al-Quran and the Prophet’s (pbuh) sunnahs.

His Majesty also delivered a titah during the celebration, where he raised his concerns on the drop in Brunei Darussalam’s ranking in the Ease of Doing Business Index and also highlighted the need to drastically speed up government processes, especially regarding job applications.

During the event, recipients of the ACPA and Outstanding Civil Servant Employee Award (APCPA) were feted.

The ACPA is divided into two categories: Project Sheet and Proposal Papers and is open to all civil servants in the public and private sectors. This year 12 projects and three proposals were received for the ACPA.

Meanwhile, the APCPA saw 46 officers and staff in Divisions II, III, IV and V from 12 ministries awarded for their contributions.

Before leaving the ceremony, His Majesty and members of the royal family toured an exhibition featuring projects and proposal entries received in the ACPA and toured the e-Government Centre’s exhibition which is promoting their Open Data Portal (http://data.gov.bn), which is an information platform for sharing statistics and reports for public use.

In addition, a fresh new look for the national web portal – the e-darussalam portal – (http://www.gov.bn) became operational yesterday.

His Majesty and members of the royal family then consented to group photos with award recipients. - Borneo Bulletin (28 November 2014)