IfG.CC - The Institute for eGovernment

"Its in the pipeline and we are hoping to achieve something within this year," said the acting director of the e-Government National Centre (EGNC).

Hjh Mariah Hj Mohd Taha disclosed this to The Brunei Times yesterday during the three-day International Conference on e-Government and Administrative Simplification, co. organised by the Prime Minister's Office and OECD Korea Policy Centre.

Citing the ratio of the civil service community to the current population at 1:8, which could be regarded as quite high in the region, His Royal Highness said the civil service should formulate and carry out continuous assessments focusing on the quality of service and whether it has fulfilled people's demands.

It is the responsibility of every civil servant to deliver quality services through an administration that is just, clean and efficient, processes that have been made easier, as well as counter services which require employees to be courteous and friendly to customers, said Sa Bali Abas during the prize presentation ceremony of an essay writing competition at the Civil Service Institute.

The TechExpo was officiated by His Royal Highness Prince Hj Al-Muhtadee Billah, the Crown Prince and Senior Minister at the Prime Minister's Office.

His Royal Highness visited the E-Government booth and was welcomed by Adi Shamsul Hj Sabli, Director of the E-Government National Centre.

The booth, which carries the theme 'Citizen Centric', displays a variety of services that can be used by the citizens, businesses and government.

This observation was made by Hj Azhar bin Hj Ahmad, the Deputy Permanent Secretary (IT & E-Government) at the Prime Minister's Office, during the second session of the THiNKBIG Technology Forum at the Empire Hotel & Country Club yesterday.

Sharing his thoughts during an open discussion on 'e-Government: Connecting with the Citizens', Hj Azhar said: "His Majesty has consented to the implementation of the e-Government since 2000 with a budget allocation of $1 billion. However, its usage so far is still unsatisfactory.

The officials from the Civil Service Institute and the Prime Minister's Office are expected to learn about effectively developing a curriculum on electronic learning for its ongoing human resource development programmes, said Koo Hong-Seok, counsellor at the Korean Embassy in Brunei.

The participation from government agencies competing for the award has been overwhelming. Is this a sign that the civil service is ready to transform into the New Public Management (NPM) style? Although we have observed changes, these are still way below public expectation considering that 13 years have lapsed since the introduction of the award scheme.

This was stated by the Director of the Civil Service Institute of the Prime Minister's Office, Hj Junaidi bin Hj Omar at a Human Resources Compendium yesterday, organised to set out a human resources compendium of best practices in Brunei Darussalam.

This was highlighted by Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Yusoff bin Haji Ismail, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, who was speaking during the commemoration of the Civil Service Day in Tutong District. It was held at the hall of the official residence of the Tutong district officer.

Under the eRegistry, the "business processes" of Company Registry, Business Names Registry and Trade Marks Registry will be carried out electronically. The new system will also see the computerisation of other services that are currently done manually.

It was aimed at providing them with an insight into the best practices for implementing e-Government around the world and their latest developments.

Organised in collaboration with partners Quint Wellington Redwood, Versa PAC Sdn Bhd and iCo-op.netPte Ltd, the event was also held by Computer Associates International to enhance participants' awareness on the topic with its focuses on cooperation and a case study.

The e-Custom System, which is organised by the Royal Customs and Excise Department, is one of the IT projects of the Ministry of Finance under the implementation of e-Government projects.

A contract signing ceremony for four e-MIPR projects between the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources and three local IT companies, ITIS Wescot Technology Sdn BM, e-Suria Mentari Systems Sdn Bhd and AV Electronics Sdn Bhd was held.

Almost seven (or 67 per cent) in every 10 of the nearly 1,500 respondents said that the risks associated with access to sensitive personal details by non-authorised persons and cyber crimes may affect their willingness to use e-government services in Brunei.

"Since we are in this era where Information Technology (IT) is almost a must, we will spread Jawi education with the help of e-Government," the bureau acting director, Hjh Aminah Hj Momin told The Brunei Times.

"The use of the technology is an advantage for the next generation to learn about Jawi, one of Brunei's vital heritage," she said.

The implementation of this e-Government project at the cost of $25,889,493.80 is expected to be completed in 21 months.

Discussions were held on the need for cooperation, and to raise professionalism and commitment among the agencies. This is in order to manage issues related to the materialisation of an e-government.