Stronger Collaboration, Policy Innovation Key To ASEAN’s Future-Ready Public Service – PSD DG

PETALING JAYA, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- Stronger cross-country collaboration and policy innovation are crucial to ensure ASEAN’s public service remains relevant and effective amid global uncertainties, said Public Service Department (PSD) director-general Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz.

He said no nation can progress in isolation as the world faces transboundary challenges such as climate change, geopolitical tensions, technological disruptions and global health crises.

“To solve them, we must be willing to rethink governance, collaborate and innovate on solutions. The future of ASEAN’s public service lies in working together, innovating policies and developing leaders who can adapt to change.

“It is crucial for ASEAN to strengthen strategies in developing a resilient and agile workforce. By combining talent, purpose and digital capabilities, we can continue serving citizens with professionalism, integrity and compassion, even amid major disruptions,” he said in his closing speech at the ASEAN Conference on Future-Ready Public Service here today.

Wan Ahmad Dahlan said civil servants form the backbone of national institutions, and their values, skills and dedication will determine the success of efforts to build a future-ready public service.

He emphasised the need for continuous capacity-building, future skills development and the cultivation of ethical, empathetic and values-driven leaders.

Wan Ahmad Dahlan said technology, if harnessed wisely, serves as a powerful enabler of transformation, with digitalisation driving more efficient, transparent and inclusive public services across the region.

He noted that the one-day conference achieved many milestones, especially in five priority areas — enhancing public sector workforce competencies and standards; building institutional capacities; transformative leadership; strengthening ASEAN Resource Centres; and public sector reform and modernisation.

“Each country presented the approaches used in their public services that could be applied in Malaysia. They also learned a lot from Malaysia, particularly on how we have positioned artificial intelligence (AI) and digitalisation as key national priorities for the future.

“This mutual understanding among ASEAN members reflects a very strong spirit of solidarity, where we complement one another — not by focusing on each other’s weaknesses, but by learning from one another’s strengths to improve our respective public services,” he told reporters later.

Wan Ahmad Dahlan also confirmed that delegates agreed to adopt the Declaration on Future-Ready Public Service, which will be passed to the Technical Working Group for implementation.

-- BERNAMA