‘Prioritise Strengthening Governance, Accountability and Compliance’ – KSN

PUTRAJAYA: The strengthening of governance, accountability and compliance must continue to be prioritised to ensure that any weaknesses or instances of non-compliance can be identified and addressed at an early stage, thereby reducing the risk of corruption and abuse of power.

Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, said government officers appointed as Board Members must play an active role and not merely attend meetings.

“Board Members need to be courageous in speaking up, presenting professional views and evaluating every proposal thoroughly.

Also present were the Attorney General, Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar; the Director General of the Public Service Department, Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Haji Abdul Aziz; and the Deputy Chief Commissioner (Prevention) of the MACC, Datuk Azmi Kamaruzaman.

Elaborating further, Shamsul Azri said that every view, reprimand or concern raised by government officers during board meetings must also be clearly recorded in the minutes.

He said such records are important as an official reference, besides ensuring that the stance and views of the officers can be identified should any questions arise regarding the decisions made.

In addition, he also suggested that the 36 research findings related to governance, integrity and anti-corruption across various key sectors of the country, presented through the Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Research Conference from 2022 to 2025, be brought to the Special Task Force on Agency Reform (STAR) meeting.

He proposed that the research findings be circulated to all government agencies to serve as reference sources in formulating policies and strategies related to governance, integrity and corruption prevention.

According to him, the research findings can help identify weaknesses and areas for improvement, thereby strengthening the government’s continuous efforts in corruption prevention, governance and integrity.

Sinar Harian