SINTOK, 3 August 2026: Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, stressed that civil service reform is no longer an option but a necessity to ensure that the government’s delivery system remains efficient, upholds integrity, meets the expectations of the people and enhances the country’s competitiveness.
He said this when delivering the keynote address at the ILTIZAM 2026 Convention: Driving Efficiency, Accountability and Public Service Reform at the Mu’adzam Shah Hall, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), today.
According to him, every civil servant must embrace the concept of absolute accountability (mas’ul) by recognising that every decision, delay, abuse of power and action taken will be subject to scrutiny and accountability. He added that leadership founded on integrity is the cornerstone of building a public service that earns the trust of the people.
“Continuous reform and improvement in public service delivery is not an option, but a necessity that we must uphold.
“Every rule, requirement and procedure must always be tested with one simple question: does it truly make things easier for the people or does it merely add to their burden?” he said.
Shamsul Azri said that the implementation of the ILTIZAM Government Service Efficiency Act 2025 serves as an important legal instrument to reduce bureaucratic red tape and strengthen the efficiency of government service delivery, in line with the Public Service Reform Agenda (ARPA).
He said that, to date, 439 Bureaucratic Red Tape Reform (RKB) projects have been successfully completed since 2024, resulting in an estimated compliance cost savings amounting to RM2.95 billion for the public and the business community.
He also revealed that these reform achievements had contributed to Malaysia’s improved performance in the World Competitiveness Ranking (WCR) 2026, with the country climbing eight places to 15th position among 70 global economies, while the government efficiency indicator rose to 14th place and the Bureaucracy indicator was ranked sixth globally.
According to him, the Regulatory Burden indicator, which was newly introduced in the WCR 2026 report, also placed Malaysia in a strong position, ranking 11th in the world.
He said these achievements demonstrate that efforts to strengthen governance can enhance investor confidence and reinforce the country’s competitiveness on the global stage.
Commenting on the country’s digitalisation agenda, he said that the launch of the Malaysia Digital 2030 (MD2030): Towards an AI Nation marks a new chapter enabling the public sector to emerge as a leader in digital transformation by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in an ethical, responsible and high-impact manner.
“Public services can no longer merely be users of technology. Instead, it must possess strong digital literacy, master future-ready skills and harness data to formulate more accurate policies, accelerate service delivery and improve the well-being of the people,” he said.
He stressed that the true measure of a government’s success does not lie solely in reports or statistics, but in the extent to which its policies have succeeded in easing the burden on the people and enhancing business competitiveness.
In this regard, he called on all civil servants to have the courage to reform outdated procedures, strengthen a culture of innovation and prioritise outcomes over processes to ensure that every government policy delivers meaningful benefits to the people.
Concluding his keynote speech, Tan Sri Shamsul Azri emphasised that the success of public sector reform requires a comprehensive commitment from all stakeholders to build a delivery system that is more efficient, responsive, integrity-driven and trusted, thereby elevating Malaysia’s standing as a competitive nation on the global stage.
He also launched the ILTIZAM logo and the Public Service Performance Index (I-PPA), presented the Copyright Notification Certificates for the ILTIZAM and I-PPA logos, witnessed the exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between INTAN and UUM as strategic partners of the convention, and launched the UUM Sustainable Campus initiative.
Also present were the Director-General of Public Service, Tan Sri Dr. Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz; Secretary-General of the Ministry of Higher Education, Datuk Ts. Dr. Aminuddin Hassim; Secretaries-General of ministries; Chairman of the UUM Board of Directors, Tan Sri Dr. Mazlan Yusoff; Vice-Chancellor of UUM, Prof. Dr. Ahmad Martadha Mohamed; vice-chancellors and rectors of Malaysian public and private universities, as well as senior officials from the ministries, UUM and related agencies.
