PUTRAJAYA: The Special Task Force on Agency Reform (STAR), formed to improve various outdated and problematic government services, has already identified several initiatives to be rolled out immediately.
The task force would begin with, among others, finding solutions to address the issues of dilapidated schools as well as overcrowding at government hospitals nationwide.
It has also identified issues related to the marketability of Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET) graduates involving collaborations with the private sector as well as the implementation of a cashless payment system for government services.
STAR is headed by Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali, and also include secretaries-general and directors-general from all agencies.
The task force will be assisted by a think tank and technical team, comprising public service officers selected to formulate ideas and study the issues or problems affecting the people.
Speaking to Berita Harian, Mohd Zuki said the task force will observe, evaluate and provide analyses of projects or programme ideas based on the principles of 'Malaysia Madani', namely with an emphasis on lower cost and high impact as well as what can be done in the short, medium and long-term.
The issue of dilapidated schools and overcrowded public health facilities nationwide are longstanding issues affecting the people, who have been clamouring for the government to provide better infrastructure and quality services.
The Education Ministry recently identified more than 380 dilapidated schools nationwide, including in Sabah and Sarawak, which need immediate maintenance.
The issue of overcrowded Emergency and Trauma Departments (ETD) in government hospitals has also irked the public, prompting the Health Ministry to recently come up with seven specific measures to overcome the problem.
The measures included conducting internal audits and reviewing the effectiveness of existing initiatives within the ministry.
The initiative to implement cashless payment systems for all government services as a measure to tackle corruption was highlighted in June 2021, with a targeted rollout date of 2022.
The TVET issue, meanwhile, is in line with the government's aim of empowering TVET education to produce a skilled workforce which can serve as a catalyst to drawing foreign investment to Malaysia.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, while tabling the 2023 Budget recently, said STAR's establishment was geared towards improving government services, which are still plagued by an outdated work culture, unreasonable regulations and time-consuming procedures.
Elaborating on STAR's role, Mohd Zuki said the task force will gather project ideas based on various inputs obtained from multiple sources, especially by analysing the people's needs and cutting red tape.
"We will also review the improvement of the project or programme implementation process via re-engineering the work process to speed things up, reducing bureaucracy, formulating inter-agency or private collaborations and optimising resources.
"This is being done with the aim of spurring the public service to do the best for the people without being curtailed by ministerial or agency borders.
"As announced by the prime minister, the government will allocate funds for ministerial pilot projects which can improve the level of government services under STAR. Successful ministries will receive full allocations to implement the projects on a nationwide scale," he said.
STAR is directly answerable to the prime minister, while the Performance Enhancement Coordination Unit (PACU) and the Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC) are joint secretariats.