Sarawak first state government to receive Special Integrity Award

KUCHING (Oct 10): The Sarawak government has become the first state government to receive the Special Integrity Award in recognition of its commitment and continuous efforts to promote integrity within the community in Sarawak.

According to State Secretary Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki, the award serves as recognition of the state government’s dedication and commitment towards fostering a collective and continuous culture of integrity, involving the public sector, community leadership, and the wider community.

“This inaugural award given to Sarawak is also the first of its kind presented to states in Malaysia,” he said in his speech at the Majlis Amanat Perdana Integriti (MAP-I) 2024, held at the Sarawak Islamic Complex here today.

Mohamad Abu Bakar received the award on behalf of the state government from Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar.

The award presentation was witnessed by Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg.

On a related matter, to further efforts in ensuring that agencies within the Sarawak government are committed to fostering integrity and implementing best governance practices to combat corruption within organisations, Mohamad Abu Bakar said that the Sarawak Integrity and Ombudsman Unit (Unions) has been mandated as the secretariat for a pilot project to develop the MS ISO 37001:2016 Anti-Bribery Management System (ABMS).

As part of this pilot project, six agencies in the Sarawak public service have been selected to receive certification.

“Therefore, this afternoon, we will witness the presentation of certificates to the six pilot agencies that have successfully passed the second stage of the audit, which is the compliance audit certified by Sirim Malaysia.

“Through collaboration with Unions and the Malaysian Institute of Integrity, the Community Leadership Integrity Model Level 1 was also launched in 2023 and has been further strengthened to reach Level 2.

“This particularly involves understanding the roles and responsibilities of community leaders and village chiefs in addressing various integrity issues within the community, as well as the laws of integrity and effective decision-making processes,” he added.

The six agencies include the Sarawak Premier’s Department (JPS), the Sarawak Islamic Religious Department (Jais), the Sarawak Forestry Department (JHS), the Regional Corridor Development Authority (Recoda), the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC), and the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Sarawak (MTCP).

The certificates were presented by Sirim Berhad Group chief people officer Adi Afuan Zainudin.