CAPAM Moves To Set Up Commonwealth Centre Of Excellence

By Jason Tan PUTRAJAYA (Malaysia), Oct 20 (Bernama) -- The Public-Private Partnership Unit (UKAS) under the Malaysian Prime Minister's Department and the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) on Sunday signed an exchange of letters paving the way for the setting up of the Public-Private Partnership Commonwealth Centre of Excellence (PPP CoE) in Malaysia. The signing marked a significant milestone between UKAS and CAPAM, signalling the interests of both parties to commence discussions on establishing the centre. Newly-elected CAPAM president Dr Ali Hamsa noted that there were similar PPP models in Australia, Canada and Singapore. "With the establishment of the new centre in Malaysia, we hope there will be more such models in the Commonwealth countries," the Chief Secretary to the Government told reporters after attending the signing ceremony held in conjunction with the three-day CAPAM 2014 biennial conference which began here Sunday. The signing was witnessed by Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who opened the conference. "While the signing marks a big step towards the formation of the PPP CoE in Malaysia, it aims to introduce programmes such as the government transformation programme and economic transformation programme that will engage participation of the private and public sectors," Ali said. He added that the centre would adopt the best practices from the world, and hoped to transfer its know-how overseas in the future. Malaysia has more than 30 years of experience in PPP and has implemented over 600 PPP projects with a total capital expenditure of RM182 billion. About 1,500 delegates from 53 countries are attending the three-day conference, which started Sunday at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre. The conference is organised in collaboration with the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) and the Commonwealth Secretariat, and carries the theme of 'Public Service Transformation: A New Conversation'. In conjunction with the conference, an inaugural Commonwealth Media Forum co-hosted by the Office of the Chief Secretary to the Government and the Malaysian National News Agency, Bernama, will be held on Tuesday. --BERNAMA