Newly appointed State Secretary aims to revitalise civil service

The Star

Datuk Asman Shah Abd Rahman took over as the 25th State Secretary of Johor on July 1.    The career officer has been in the Johor Civil Service (JCS) for almost 30 years and served in at least 10 state departments and agencies, his last post being Deputy State Secretary.   In an exclusive interview with StarMetro, he shares his hopes and plans as the state’s top civil servant, replacing Tan Sri Dr Azmi Rohani.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00Johor's new state secretary is setting ambitious goals to transform the state's civil

00:07service and boost investment opportunities.

00:11In his first exclusive interview since taking office, Datuk Asman Shah Abdul Rahman shares

00:16his vision for modernizing Johor's administration.

00:20The 58-year-old career officer, who has served in Johor's civil service for nearly three

00:24decades, took over as the state's 25th state secretary in July this year.

00:30His appointment came as a surprise even to himself.

00:33I never expected that.

00:34But sometimes people say it's risky from Allah.

00:39When I accept, when I do the WAF, I need to deliver whatever I want.

00:47Towards the region, to Tuan Agung, Tuan Ku Agung, and to the Chief Minister, the Rakyat itself.

00:54With Johor emerging as a major investment hub through the Johor-Singapore Special Economic

01:00Zone, Asman is focused on reducing bureaucratic red tape and enhancing service delivery.

01:06The region always advise us that under the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone, the civil

01:16service must transform themselves.

01:17Not only themselves, and also their mindset, and for them to gain more knowledge, and there

01:26to think outside the box and implement a thing differently, because we must work differently

01:34to achieve a different outcome.

01:35Okay.

01:36As a leader, I must also work together with the Feral JCS as a colleague, not as a boss, but

01:47as a colleague, we must champion whatever the vision of the region and the Duliang Mahamula,

01:56yang di-Pertuan Agung, to make sure that Johor stand up as good as Singapore, because our benchmark

02:08is just our neighbour. It's just our neighbour to achieve the same standard as Singapore.

02:15The State Secretary is also investing in his officer's skills, recently sending three civil

02:20servants to Harvard Kennedy School for negotiation training, supported by Johor Regent Tunku Ismail

02:27Sultan Ibrahim.

02:28I think the most important thing is that we must have a clear vision. And Duliang Amat

02:35Mulia, the region is very brilliant. It's always give me the right vision, the right way

02:45how to make something delivered. And the region always advise me that whatever I do never

02:55than people. And please set a good foundation for everything. I always make the region together

03:05with the Ministry Minister to update the region the past one week, what we have done, and the

03:12future one week, what we're going to implement. And we always get his consent, his blessing

03:19to do everything.

03:20And he's a person who is actively giving ideas? Yes, very actively. He guided us, give direction,

03:29even though share his vision for the betterment of the state and also the community.

03:37In his first 100 days, Asman is implementing Project Glory, a comprehensive review of the state's

03:43administration to align with the Maju Johor 2030 agenda.

03:48I will share it after 100 days.

03:50Oh, but you have a plan?

03:52I have the plan already, but it's not firm yet. I still make a few adjustment towards that.

03:59And this will cover what aspect of the state?

04:02Every single thing about the transformation of the JCS, the civil service, transformation about the JLC, and the

04:12statutory body, and also for the betterment of the bangsa Johor.

04:17Oh, okay.

04:18Looking ahead, the state is preparing for Visit Johor 2026 with infrastructure upgrades and new

04:25tourism products in the pipeline.

04:40Drawing from his experience across more than 10 state departments, including roles as Mersing District

04:45Officer and Pasir Gudang Mayor, Asman emphasizes discipline and punctuality.

04:51From day one, because I'm being trained in Japan.

04:56So, timing is very important to me.

05:00We cannot buy time.

05:02You can buy anything with money, but you cannot buy time with money.

05:07That's why I always say to my staff that time is so important, then don't waste it.

05:15Because we cannot pay people's time with money.

05:21by noting that I am really focused.

05:26By diferentemotion we want companies to be involved, becauseítulo 건축dopsis

05:29are great here.

05:30Okay, guys, for example, if we need to see our number of what we bought,

05:32it's a $1,000 incomprehensible.

05:33By its name, people want to have a lot of leadership .

05:35What we need to do with that?

05:37And then we need to establish a lot of editing and a horsepower ability.

05:40Of course, when we are knocking on the scale of struggle,

05:42so what I've touched on our work,

05:44what to do next or two, when you are looking at them,

05:46you'll be excited about the strength of business.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended