KUCHING (March 8): Curbing corruption becomes one of the crucial elements in the government as well as the private sector, said Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Integrity and Ombudsman) Datuk Talib Zulpilip.
Speaking at the Regional Corridor Development Authority (Recoda) Integrity Day today, the Jepak assemblyman spoke on the need to combat corruption, saying: “The stronger the culture of integrity, the lower the incidence of corruption.”
This, he added, will lead to the improvement on the level of development.
“Corruption in the public sector will impair the ability of the government to serve the rakyat and impede the development of the nation,” he said.
At the event, he said each individual has duties and responsibilities to develop the nation through integrity and good governance. adding that the process of cultivating integrity as well as good governance requires continuous and time-consuming effort.
He said efforts to spread integrity values among the community will continue to be strengthened and that this had shown a positive response among the general public.
“Practice the culture of integrity, obey rules and laws, avoid corruption and carry out your duties in a transparent, efficient and effective manner.
“Together we make the practice of high integrity a way of life and carry out our duties responsibly,” he said.
In conjunction with the Recoda Integrity Day event held at its headquarters here today, Recoda held a pre-launch ceremony for its Organisational Anti-Corruption Plan (OACP) (2021-2025).
The OACP is a mandatory initiative for all public institutions to develop their internal policy document that addresses governance, integrity and anti-corruption issues.
Speaking at the event, Recoda chief executive officer Datu Ismawi Ismuni said the document was made as the result of in-depth discussions involving department heads and officers of all levels at Recoda’s OACP (2021-2025) workshop held from December 21 to 23 last year.
He said the workshop was held to identify weaknesses and potential leaks in Recoda’s administration and management related to governance, integrity and anti-corruption.
“This book serves as Recoda’s internal policy and serves as a guideline in implementing the plan over a five -year period to ensure that there are no weaknesses and leakages in Recoda’s governance on an ongoing basis.
“In addition, the Recoda Organizational Anti -Corruption Plan also aims to ensure a culture of high integrity is inculcated among Recoda staff members,” he added.
At the event, Ismawi and Recoda staff members participated in a collective Corruption Free Pledge (Ikrar Bebas Rasuah), where they pledged to combat corruption and ensure their work is aligned with best practices and principles of good governance.
The pledge was witnessed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Sarawak director Mohd Zaki Hassan. – Source: The Borneo Post