“We are living in a wicked and VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world. The existential threats that face public administration globally – such as climate change and environmental degradation, the end of globalisation, or at least the most recent phase, inflation and large scale migration – calls for a more holistic approach to thinking broadly about major social problems and about the possible ways of addressing them,” said Public Service Department Director-General Dr Norfarizal bin Othman.
He made these remarks during the opening ceremony of the 14th Brunei-Singapore-Malaysia Leadership Development Programme (LDP) at Ittisal Hall, Civil Service Institute yesterday.
He also underscored the unprecedented challenges faced by governments across the world and the Civil Service should be prepared to address them.
“Through the advancement of disruptive technologies such as IoT, AI and 5G, the world is undergoing a new industrial revolution. Through such changes in society and technology, the handling and use of data is gaining more significance, and now we are facing the age of Digital Transformation, where digitalised work is remarkably increasing in our daily lives. In particular, the past COVID-19 pandemic accelerated such transformation,” he added.
To provide high-quality administrative services amid a hyper-connected society, he said, “It is pertinent for the Civil Service to have an intelligent government, and its basis should be intelligent HR management. In particular, at the time when we are facing the age of HR 3.0 which is going beyond Strategic HR, digital transformation in the public sector has become one of the major challenges for governments across the world.
“Taking a broad contextual approach allows greater room to discover alternative ways of solving problems. It is paramount that the Civil Service today needs to develop its leaders holistically to manage such complex policy challenges and address skills gaps within its wider workforce. The Civil Service has to be ready for post-COVID and increasingly digital world.”
The Trilateral LDP will be conducted over 12 days until October 13. This year’s theme is ‘A Future-Ready Public Service’ providing the opportunity for participants from three countries to learn and share best practices in preparing initiatives and policies towards a dynamic yet resilient civil service in achieving national goals and agendas.
The programme hopes to develop leaders capable of turning strategies into actions as well as strengthen individual networking and foster future cooperation between the three nations.
Participants from Singapore and Malaysia travelled to Brunei for the first leg, followed by participants travelling to Singapore on October 5 for the second leg before reaching Malaysia in its final leg on October 9. Twenty-eight civil servants from Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore were selected to participate in the programme. – James Kon
