Talk gives civil servants motivational push
SOURCE: borneo bulletin

Minister of Home Affairs delivering his lecture.

The government cannot at all and should not let go of its task and functions to lead and regulate. These are the absolute task and functions of a country towards its people and residents.

Minister of Home Affairs Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman said this yesterday at the International Convention Centre (ICC) during a lecture organised by the Civil Service Department in conjunction with the 18th Civil Service Day celebration.

The minister said, "In that aspect, the public sector plays a role to ensure the success of the functions of the government which has a broad scope."

Entitled 'Pada Hemat Saya...' or 'In My Opinion...', the lecture was attended by 1,000 officers and staff from Divisions II, III, IV and V, who have already served His Majesty's Government for five to seven years.

Permanent secretaries, deputy permanent secretaries, heads of departments and senior government officers also turned up for the talk.

The minister later shared his experience of serving in the government since the early 70s up until today as a Cabinet Minister.

  
LEFT & RIGHT: Civil servants at the lecture.

"Brunei is said to have a relatively large number of civil servants (not including the Royal Brunei Police Force and Royal Brunei Armed Forces) compared to the small number of residents and its geographically small area," the minister said.

The rate of 11-12 people managed by one civil servant is small compared to other developed and developing countries.

However, this is not absolute, portraying a negative image to our civil service.

"On a positive aspect, the large number of civil servants is part of the vital factors in contributing towards excellence for the nation and government."

He said, the functions of the government in governing are not limited to managing, preparing and providing services, but also include guiding, coordinating and regulating.

Towards the end of the lecture, the minister concluded that the appointments made in the civil service were in line with Islamic teachings to aid the ruler in certain affairs, allocated by appointment of jobs.

"Islamic teachings determined the duties of the ruler, including appointing eligible persons to become officers. Therefore, the civil service community consists of those eligible to be appointed into the jobs available in order to carry out government duties and governance.

"It is right for civil servants to view the services, duties, responsibilities, efforts and work practices as a trust which is to help the ruler in the nation's affairs," added the minister.

The event was organised as part of an ongoing array of activities in conjunction with the 18th Civil Service Day celebrations, which will take place throughout the year until the next Civil Service Day celebration scheduled for later this year.

Among the objectives of the event was to motivate civil servants to become more productive in ensuring the excellence of civil services.