(From right) Nor Hisham performs the gimmick to officiate at the opening ceremony for BiGIAR 2024, as Tiong and others look on.
KUCHING (June 11): Integrity is not only about the actions being undertaken, as it is also about it being a principle that must be upheld in every aspect of work.
This was highlighted by the Fire and Rescue Department (Bomba) director-general, Dato Nor Hisham Mohammad, in his speech for the opening ceremony of the ‘Governance, Integrity, and Anti-Corruption Talk’ (BiGIAR) 2024 at the Islamic Information Centre (IIC) here today.
Adding on, Nor Hisham called for all reports and information related to integrity to be channelled into the Bomba Integrity E-Complaint System.
“Do not worry, our department strictly adheres to the Whistleblower Policy and the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 (Act 711), and upholds the Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS) ISO 37001:2016,” he said, giving his assurance that all complaints received would be handled professionally and in the strictest confidentiality.
On the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) 2024-2028, which was launched on May 7 this year and set to replace the National Anti-Corruption Plan (NACP) 2019-2023, Nor Hisham said the Bomba would need to refine their current policies so as to align with the latest strategy.
“At the same time, the Public Service Corruption Level Study needs close attention, where the results through the ‘Risk Area Assessment’ approach by agencies according to sectors such as procurement, administration, licensing and enforcement by the MACC, also need to be scrutinised.”
According to him, the rapid and complex advancements of information technology (IT) today also requires every agency to be more alert and sensitive in managing the potential and risks of corruption identified within their respective organisations.
“Therefore, the public service must move forward more quickly by examining and implementing digitisation initiatives with the integration of the ‘Internet of Things’ (IoT), ‘Big Data’, and AI (artificial intelligence), as part of the governance services’ transformation.
“Each of us also needs to embrace the principle of ‘Innovation Aspiration’ in the transformation of public service and governance to make it more efficient and easily accessible, and also to cut down bureaucratic antics.
“Thus, the focal point in each agency, namely the Integrity Unit, is that it needs to be proactive in upholding preventive actions, and such effort needs to be continuous,” he said.
Organised by the Bomba Integrity Unit in collaboration with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Sarawak Office and the Sarawak Ombudsman (UNIONS), BiGIAR 2024 involved 353 firefighters.
Also present was Bomba Sarawak deputy director Tiong Ling Hii.