Integrating technology for smoother govt processes

KUALA LUMPUR: A concept paper on integrating government services in a single digital platform will be presented at the coming National Economic Action Council (NEAC) meeting in December, says Rafizi Ramli.

The Economy Minister said the GovTech concept paper was a critical step towards integrating technology into government processes, illustrating the commitment to digital transformation and modernisation of the public sector.

“The ministry, the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu) and related government agencies are currently finalising the first concept paper on GovTech.

“This will pave the way forward for the use of GovTech by the government,” he told a press conference at Asia School of Business here yesterday.

Rafizi said the paper would outline strategic initiatives and innovative technology solutions, carried out through GovTech, to improve services provided by the public sector.

“The focus is on leveraging the latest technology to streamline government operations, increase efficiency and provide better services to the public.

“It will be an integrated and unified single window with government services,” he said.

He said the initiative centred on the creation of an interconnected digital system, enabling citizens to access various government services easily and efficiently.

“By leveraging data and analytics, GovTech strives to facilitate more informed, responsive and effective governance,” he said.

Rafizi said the approach involved the strategic use of big data to better understand the people’s concerns, predict trends and make evidence-based decisions.

“This enables more focused and efficient service delivery, alongside adapting to the evolving needs of citizens,” he said.

He said the system would emphasise on improving the public’s customer experience when using the government’s digital platforms.

“It will be just like how private applications are developed,” he said, adding that these were part of the government’s plans in transitioning the country towards technological development and carrying out digital reforms in phases.

GovTech refers to a “whole-ofgovernment” approach in the modernisation of the public sector.

It emphasises three aspects, namely being people-centric; universal access to government services; and the whole-of-government approach to digital government transformation pioneered by the World Bank.

On another matter, Rafizi said the government had decided to build Mampu’s capacity in leading the country’s digital transformation during the previous NEAC meeting.

“This signifies the government’s serious commitment to ensuring Malaysia is not only ready to face the digital era, but is also at the forefront of technological innovation,” he added.

He said the implementation of the Central Database System (Padu) was also one of the strategies towards carrying out GovTech.

He added that while several of the government’s initiatives seemingly worked in isolation, it was within the overall framework towards GovTech.

“We cannot be talking about it (GovTech) if we do not have a very good centralised data system.

“That is why among the first decisions we made was to establish a centralised database,” he added.

Separately, Rafizi said the first cohort of the Executive Digital Leadership (EDL) Programme comprised 55 participants, with 35 from the public sector and the rest from the private sector.

“I have been made to understand that the coming cohorts will see participation from the leadership of the public service in neighbouring countries,” he said.

He added that the EDL aimed to prepare the public and private sector leadership in tandem with other technological developments.

“This is so the transition in our digital and technology will be managed efficiently,” he said.

Rafizi also thanked the Public Service Department for allowing its selected middle to senior level officers to participate full-time in the three-month programme.

The EDL Programme is conducted in strategic collaboration between the Economy Ministry through its agency, MyDIGITAL Corporation, Asia School of Business and MIT Sloan Management.