KUALA LUMPUR: All government agencies in Malaysia have been urged to move away from working in isolation and adopt a more inclusive, collaborative system to strengthen the country's social development efforts.
Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar said that the outdated "exclusive agency" approach must be abandoned, as true strength lies in the ability of all parties to work together in synergy.
"In the face of increasingly complex social challenges, we can no longer operate in silos. We must shift from a culture of exclusive agencies to one of collaborative systems," he said in his opening speech at the Social Synergy Congress 2025 on Tuesday (Aug 5).
The event was also attended by the Human Resources Ministry secretary-general Datuk Azman Mohd Yusof, Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU) of the Prime Minister's Department director-general Datuk Seri Sollehuddin Alyubi Zakaria, and Social Security Organisation (Socso) group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed.
Shamsul Azri emphasised that effective government governance must be built on a strong ethical and cultural foundation, cautioning against administrative processes that become hollow routines devoid of human values.
"Without noble values in governance, processes are merely empty routines, lacking soul and spirit. At the same time, a culture without a system risks leading our efforts astray. Therefore, culture and process must go hand in hand. We must combine the spirit of humanity with systematic efficiency...this is the true space for a better, more meaningful administration," he added.
Citing ICU eKasih statistics, Shamsul Azri revealed that as of Dec 31, 2024, more than 390,000 heads of households had been categorised as poor, including nearly 1,800 classified as hardcore poor.
He expressed confidence that the collaborative approach involving 117 agencies and 862 community leaders nationwide can ensure greater outreach and more effective assistance to those in need.
Meanwhile, Mohammed Azman urged Socso officers to be more proactive by going to the ground to identify and reach out to eligible contributors and their beneficiaries, ensuring the timely delivery of social protection.
He said the Social Synergy Programme, developed by Socso in 2017, was created to eradicate poverty and improve household income by ensuring that no one eligible for assistance, especially within the B40 group, is left behind.
"We want to ensure that when tragedy strikes, the first person to knock on a grieving family's door is not a debt collector, but Socso, bringing social justice and support in times of hardship," he said.
The Social Synergy 2025 Congress, now in its third edition, attracted over 400 participants. This year's theme, "Culture or Process", explored the importance of merging human-centred values with an efficient delivery system to build a more compassionate and capable governance framework. – Bernama
