KOTA KINABALU – All Sabah public offices should review their activities to plug corruption loopholes, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor.
He warned of the effects of corruption, saying governments have collapsed due to a lack of integrity among those in the civil service.
“The effects of corruption are devastating, and countries have collapsed due to such activities.
“To ensure the country can continue progressing, leaders and communities in Sabah must be united against corruption,” he said in a streamed address in conjunction with National Anti-Graft Day today.
Reiterating the state administration’s commitment to curb corruption, the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah leader warned officers against leaking government secrets, and emphasised the need to address the likelihood of youth becoming involved in graft.
He said officers need to be more responsible and cautious to prevent leaks, adding that unscrupulous parties may abuse such information to disrupt the running of state affairs.
On a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission study this year on the perceived effectiveness of efforts against graft, Hajiji said 55% of youth in Malaysia are involved in corruption.
This is of great national concern, he said, as youth will one day become the country’s leaders.
Sabah Secretary Datuk Seri Safar Untong said the state is the first in Malaysia to assign anti-graft officers to the chief minister’s office, which has also adopted the National Anti-Corruption Plan 2019-23.
This is being emulated in all state ministries, he added.
He said internal audit units will monitor the performance and activities of state ministries, with the matter decided at a meeting of the Sabah Anti-Corruption Committee this year.
Efforts to digitise public services are being stepped up to curb both graft and the spread of Covid-19, he said.
From November 3 last year to December 5, 2020, the Sabah government came up with 106 smart apps, including 54 government-to-government apps, 10 government-to-business apps and 25 government-to-citizen apps.
“This is to allow the government’s clients to be able to access public services at anytime, anywhere, through any smart devices,” said Safar.
“The digitisation process will also improve the government management system, and the services rendered will be more transparent, accountable, efficient and effective, as well as globally competitive.”
Present at the event’s launch were state Federal Secretary Datuk Samsuni Mohd Nor, state civil service director Datuk Datu Rosmadi Datu Sulai and state MACC director Karunanithy Y. Subbiah. – The Vibes, December 9, 2020
