HM’s Directive On Public Service Quality Lauded
By Husin Ismail and Shareen Han

Bandar Seri Begawan - Some Bruneians welcomed and lauded His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam's move to establish a committee to raise the quality of public services in the country.

His Majesty announced the establishment of the Committee of the Provision of Public Service By Government Agencies in this year's National Day titah.

Noriah Hj Jumaat, a nonacademic staff at Universiti Brunei Darussalam, said that it was a good thing to set up a committee because the delivery of Brunei's public services needs improvements, otherwise the quality will remain the same.

"I have previously experienced meeting unfriendly and unhelpful staff at the Immigration Department, and this is not nice because they will leave a bad impression of their services," she told The Brunei Times yesterday.

Noriah said that bad public services will put a dent on Brunei's image if foreign visitors ask for help and the staff does not strive to deliver the best possible services to the public.

"Public services are generally less than satisfactory in Brunei," said personnel from the Royal Brunei Navy, requesting anonymity.

He also lamented the poor services of the Immigration Department, saying that the staff was not hospitable and some of them come in late for work.

"Work starts at 7.30am, but I've seen some of them coming to work at 8am, while some are taking a leave (of absence), without finding anyone to replace or take over their duties and responsibilities," he said.

Norliha Mohammed Din, a member of the choir team for the 23rd National Day celebrations, said that the establishment of the committee will enhance the country's quality of public services.

"I've encountered some bad experiences with public services, but sometimes we need to understand their situation as well, because it is not an easy task and there could be other reasons behind their unsatisfactory' performance," she said.

She said that the initiative to provide customer-oriented services, through the ‘Tekad Pemeduian Orang Ramai’, or the client charter, is useful and will help the public understand the available services in various government agencies.

"Priority, should be given to developing human resources, which will turn improve public services," she added.

Siti Norainah Mustapa said some civil servants do not take advantage of public criticisms as a way to improve the quality of their services.

"They would view it in a negative way when we complained about their services and a lot of excuses are given from their side on the way they deliver their services," she said.

Things can only get better with the formation of the committee to rectify the homecomings in public services, especially providing a proper channel for the public to voice their concerns, Siti added.

Aerniehan Johan, a committee member of the National Day celebrations, also agreed that some government agencies, and even the private sector, have poor services, due to their lack of working experience.

"The most important thing is to take the public complaints in a positive way, or public services in the country will never improve," she said. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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