Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Defence II Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd) Dato Paduka Seri Awang Haji Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof emphasised that the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and its agencies have formulated various strategies to preserve political stability and defend national sovereignty.
The whole-of-government and whole-of-nation approach and the national security agencies work in maintaining safety and security of the country was emphasised at the 21st Legislative Council session yesterday,
On the aspect of national security, a national fiscal consolidation programme will be implemented, the vehicle and motorcycle rental project for enforcement agencies. The project will involve the Royal Brunei Police Force, Narcotics Control Bureau and the Internal Security Department to further improve response time in dealing with any incident while increasing their visibility: their feasibility among the community and building public service confidence in the existence of enforcement agencies.
In this regard, a steering committee for the procurement of vehicles for the security and enforcement agencies of the PMO has been established to oversee the procurement process.
At the same time, the Public Service Commission is also implementing the transformation of the staff recruitment system through the smart screening initiative and applicant validation process aimed at simplifying and accelerating the recruitment process for ministries. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest transformative force that drives the increase in innovation, efficiency and provides results in helping the public services today.
One of the initiatives of the PMO in starting AI in the public service is collaboration with the Public Service Department and the Commonwealth. The Public Service Department is in the process of testing the efficiency of a toolkit called the StrategusAI Toolkit, provided by the Commonwealth Artificial Intelligence Consortium (CAIC).
The toolkit is intended to be used by ministries, especially for the formulation of policies and regulations using AI.
In maintaining national harmony, the government’s official media agencies through Radio Television Brunei and the Information Department will continue to serve as the main channel for accurate and effective government information through various media platforms.
Close cooperation is very important in building the people’s understanding of government policies and initiatives.
The grassroots approach will always be strengthened as a bridge for two-way communication between the government and the people to ensure that every feedback can be addressed appropriately.
Moving towards strengthening sustainable economic diversification, PMO as the lead, is committed to ensuring effective policy formulation and implementation.
In the context of the Economic Blueprint Brunei Vision 2035, apart from pursuing efforts to maintain the upstream sector, the Department of Energy is also focusing on the development of energy infrastructure to support the development agenda of diversifying and expanding the economy including the transition to new sectors including green technology, manufacturing and digital.
The PMO and its subordinate departments will continue to implement capacity development programmes to improve the skills of civil servants in the country.
One of the main efforts is the job placement programme, especially the civil service development programme to Singapore.
The programme, he said, continues to bring great benefits to excellent officers as it not only opens up opportunities for the exchange of ideas and experiences, but also strengthens bilateral relations between Brunei and Singapore.
The PMO through the Civil Service Institute also implements development programmes under the Civil Service Leadership Pipeline to prepare officers to hold leadership positions in the future.
This includes collaboration with international strategic partners to enrich training capital in line with efforts to obtain international accreditation to achieve its goal of becoming a centre of excellence. – Fadhil Yunus
