Officials From C'wealth Nations Glean Insight On Good Governance

KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 (Bernama) -- A group of 26 senior officials from seven Commonwealth countries were exposed to Malaysia's experience in relation to good governance and integrity initiatives in a programme organised by the Malaysian Institute of Integrity (IIM) which ended Friday. Participants of the initiative which came under the banner of 'Commonwealth Asia Regional Programme' came from Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. During the five-day workshop, they attended, among others, briefing sessions conducted by the Malaysia Palm Oil Board, Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (Mampu), Employees Provident Fund, national oil company Petronas and Special Task Force to Facilitate Business (Pemudah). IIM had partnered with the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation and the Economic Planning Unit under the Prime Minister's Department in organising the programme themed 'Advancing Good Governance: Learning from Successful Experiences and Good Practices in Malaysia'. "The workshop was an excellent platform for IIM and Malaysia's public sector and corporate players to share insights on the country's experience in good management practices and reforms with other Commonwealth members," IIM president Dr Mohd Tap Salleh said when closing the programme today. Dr Mohd Tap told Bernama later that the programme would be turned into an annual affair as he expressed hope that it would attract more participants from all over the world. Fazla Abbas, a participant from the Maldives, said she had learnt a lot about Malaysia's government sector and transformation programmes during the programme. "I'll share the knowledge that I've gained here with my colleagues, including by doing some presentation next week," said Fazla, an assistant director at the office of the Maldivian president. Malaysian participant Jamilah Hanafi, who is with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, said she had the opportunity to interact with foreign participants and learn about their working culture. -- BERNAMA