KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's public service will be transformed through a whole-of-government approach by improving the processes and systems, according to the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).
The focus will be on improving government administration and operational efficiency.
This will see digitalisation being fully leveraged to ensure efficiency while adapting to the new normal, arising from the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the Covid-19 pandemic.
To achieve this, government administration and institutional structure will be improved, public service delivery will be enhanced, and collaboration and coordination will be strengthened.
"The initiatives are expected to elevate transparency and efficiency, thus increasing the quality of public service delivery and improving the livelihood of the people," the 12MP report said.
Structures and functions of ministries and agencies will be reviewed and streamlined to optimise resource allocation. To do this, a special committee will be formed to coordinate and minimise various overlapping structures and functions between ministries and agencies.
The key performance indicators (KPIs) of secretaries-general will also be improved to enhance the effectiveness of programmes and project implementation.
This will see organisational management and digitalisation of services by ministries evaluated through the Malaysian Government Performance Index (MyGPI).
The 12th MP report stressed that collaboration and coordination between the Federal, state and local authorities will be strengthened to eliminate redundancy and ensure consistency.
Local authorities will be encouraged to localise Agenda 2030 by expanding activities and programmes on sustainable development.
They will also be encouraged to leverage the existing MyGovernment portal to improve public service delivery.
Meanwhile, the establishment of the National Digital Economy and 4IR Council will strengthen the digital governance structure and spur digital economic growth while accelerating public sector digitalisation.
According to the 12MP report, more smart partnerships between public and private sectors will be forged to boost the implementation of the Malaysian Digital Economy Blueprint initiatives.
To strengthen open data governance, a national data governance framework will be established to bolster data sharing among private and public sectors.
"In developing the framework, international standards and best practices will be adopted.
"Adopting the International Open Data Charter will ensure Malaysia adheres to the principles of open by default, timely and comprehensive, accessible and machine readable as well as interoperable," the report said.
The National Cloud Hub Policy will also be introduced to ensure successful cloud adoption where the police will enable the introduction of standard processes, consolidate cloud services as well as resolve fragmentation issues.
Leveraging on the latest technology, a government hybrid cloud will be developed by combining both MyGovCloud@PDSA and other cloud services to provide better services in the public sector.
Priority will also be given to enhance quality decision-making and encourage innovation. To do this the Behavioural Insights (BI) approach will be introduced for effective policy formulation and implementation, the report said.
It also said the expansion of the Malaysian Government Central Data Exchange (MyGDX) service will enable the government to optimise data for better decision-making and achieving better outcomes.
To encourage innovation, a national blueprint will be introduced to provide guidelines and strategies. This will ensure a balance between management and technology approaches.
In strengthening the governance ecosystem, the focus will be to uphold integrity, transparency and neutrality at all levels, improve the electoral system, digitalise the judicial system as well as enhance corporate governance.