Len Talif (seated centre) and senior government officials posing for a group photo with the KIK groups participating in the convention at Penview Convention Centre.
KUCHING (Sept 13): Creativity and innovativeness must be instilled in all civil servants to enhance service delivery to the people, said Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Urban Development Datuk Len Talif Salleh.
He added that practising continuous innovation and creativity will ensure an organisation is able to keep up with the latest trends and stay relevant to meet the demands of the industries, as well as prioritising environmental sustainability.
“Each innovation or creative creation, whether it’s a system or a product, will be able to reduce costs and time of a certain process to further improve service delivery,” he said when launching the ministry-level Innovative and Creative Group (KIK) Convention at Penview Convention Centre at Sejingkat here yesterday.
The deputy minister said the advancement of economies and globalisation has highlighted the importance for policies introduced to contain elements of innovation and creativity for effective implementation.
Among the notable innovations developed by government agencies are the LASIS electronic project and its mobile system – a collaboration between Land and Survey Department, Sains Sarawak and Sarawak Services and Modernisation Unit – that was awarded during a 2022 Esri User Conference in the United States.
As for Sarawak Forest Department, Len Talif said the agency had implemented various application systems and service automation that included a licensing portal, a revenue log system and an investigation paper tracking system.
Many of the innovations had also safeguarded the integrity of their personnel by minimising incidences of corruption and power abuse, he pointed out.
Thus, the organisation of the convention yesterday was in line with the aspirations of the state government to encourage creativity and innovation among civil servants, Len Talif remarked.
Among the objectives of holding the convention until Sept 14 is to identity innovative projects to be submitted for the final round of the Sarawak Civil Service Innovation Convention Awards (SCSICA).
It also serves as a platform for civil servants to enhance their competency in producing innovative products for service delivery excellence.
The convention is participated by 22 KIK groups, comprising 13 teams from Land and Survey Department Sarawak, five from Sarawak Forestry Corporation, two from Sarawak Forest Department and two from Sarawak Timber Industry Development Corporation.