Ex-health D-G: Trust between citizens and govt crucial for effective governance

KUCHING: Building trust between citizens and the government is essential for effective governance and meaningful public engagement, says Tan Sri Datuk Seri Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah.

The former health director-general said it is also important to emphasise the role of each citizen and sector in contributing to Malaysia’s Health and National Security for a more sustainable development.

He said this in a Facebook post after delivering a talk on the salient lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic at the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) Sarawak Campus in Samarahan on Thursday (Sept 5).

During the talk, he also shared insights and highlighted the Whole-of-Government (WOG), and Whole-of-Society (WOS) approaches towards national security. “Undoubtedly, health security is national security.”

He added the talk underscored the necessity of moving beyond traditional, siloed approaches to good governance and partnerships, advocating for a more integrated and coordinated effort that encompasses not only government agencies but also non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations (CSOs) and private sectors.

“This broad inclusivity aims to harness the collective expertise, resources, and capabilities to tackle health security issues and optimise the resources to gain the desired impact and good outcomes at reasonable cost.

“We should also consider extending to the regional platform perhaps via Asean,” he said.