PUTRAJAYA: The Integrity, Governance and Anti-Corruption Award (AIGA) serves as the best platform for organisations to evaluate the extent to which their efforts and initiatives to strengthen integrity have achieved their objectives, said Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.
He said the award was not merely recognition but emphasised that integrity was deeply understood, embraced and practised by every employee, leading to the creation of individuals of integrity who are free from corruption.
"In this context, AIGA emerges as an important vehicle supporting the aspirations of the Public Service Reform Agenda (ARPA), serving as a mechanism for assessment, recognition and a catalyst for cultivating integrity and good governance.
"If ARPA is the roadmap for reform, then AIGA is the milestone indicating how far those reforms have succeeded. Both move in tandem, reinforcing our determination to make Malaysia's public service world-class, with integrity as its foundation," he said in his address at the Majlis Amanat Perdana Integriti Nasional (MAPIN) and AIGA 2025 event here today.
Also present were Communications Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohamad Fauzi Md Isa and Bernama Chief Executive Officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin.
Shamsul Azri said the organisation of AIGA by the Malaysian Institute of Integrity reflects the government's commitment to strengthening the national ecosystem of integrity, governance and anti-corruption.
For AIGA 2025, he said, the number of participating organisations increased by 31% compared with 2023, involving 131 public agencies and 71 private agencies that underwent a series of evaluations by a special panel comprising eminent figures from both the public and corporate sectors.
He said the AIGA evaluation sessions took place from March to Oct 9, with 19 organisations receiving Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards this year.
Shamsul Azri said the Special Agency Reform Task Force Meeting on Sept 22 also approved the implementation of the Integrity and Governance Management System (SPINE) as a new initiative to strengthen integrity and governance in the public sector.
"It is an initiative to enhance integrity, governance and anti-corruption efforts, developed as an alternative to the Anti-Bribery Management System - more flexible, cost-effective and suited to the capacity of agencies at all levels," he said.
He added that the implementation of SPINE and the organisation of AIGA will be significant contributors to the success of the National Integrity Culture Strategy and the government's ongoing efforts to combat corruption.
Shamsul Azri also announced that the AIGA Platinum Award will now be known as the Prime Minister's Award, aimed at encouraging more organisations to participate in future editions of the programme. – Bernama
