Brunei Government Officials Should Actively Provide Information

The guest of honour, Permanent Secretary (Media and Cabinet) at the Prime Minister’s Office Hj Mohd Rozan Dato Paduka Hj Yunos, delivers a speech during the certificate presentation for a public speaking course for public relations officers and practitioners held at Dewan Penghayatan, Civil Service Institute. BT/Sanusi Hussin



Ak Md Khairuddin Pg Harun
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Friday, February 6, 2015

MINISTRIES and departments in Brunei should make an effort to interact with the public in relaying accurate information to prevent people from getting false information elsewhere.

Hj Mohd Rozan Dato Paduka Hj Mohd Yunos Permanent Secretary (Media and Cabinet) at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said Public Relations Officers should keep up to date with information in line with current affairs in order to deal with emerging issues.

He said this on the sidelines of a certificate handover ceremony to 23 government officials who completed a public speaking course yesterday at the Civil Services Institute.

Hj Mohd Rozan urged government officials who deal with the public to be more proactive in providing relevant information that is accurate, timely and correct.

He called for quick responses from government officers to prevent the public from relying on false information elsewhere.

“If government officers, including public relations officers, fail in their role in spreading information in correct, accurate, immediate and responsive ways, people might get information that is wrong from other sources,” he said.

Hj Mohd Rozan urged government officials to be more citizen-centric in a bid to strengthen the image of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, who shows credibility to citizens as a caring and responsive monarch.

In the process of communication, government officials should learn to understand the character of the public in order for their message to get across, he said.

“The public has different opinions and views on particular issues due to age, race, education background, environment and so on. Therefore, public relations officers should be able to identify and analyse the situation in an effort to deliver effective messages to the public,” added Hj Mohd Rozan. He hoped the three-day course would enable participants to respond to public enquiries spontaneously.

The course facilitator, Azlan Shah Chulan, who is also the principal consultant of Quantum Tech Consultancy, said the public speaking course aimed to add value to the participants in terms of their interaction skills with the public.

“The officers knew how to speak in public. But what this course aims to do is polish their skills to become more relevant to deal with emerging issues. They should learn how to answer public enquiries in a calm manner.”

The Brunei Times

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