Dialogue gives voice to all
KUALA LUMPUR
THE Women, Family and Community Development Ministry (KPWKM) will be basing its future direction on the aspirations of all target groups under its pur view in gearing up towards 2050.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim, said, with this, a 2050 National Transformation (TN50) dialogue session for about 1,000 participants, themed “Inclusive Society, Our Aspiration”
was organised on Thursday to get the views from eight target groups.
The dialogue, organised in a casual manner to encourage a relaxed atmosphere, was held at the Industrial Training and Rehabilitation Centre in Bangi.
Rohani said the first dialogue session was to kick-start a series of other dialogue sessions between the ministry and target groups, including the disabled, women, children, senior citizens, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the hardcore poor, and families and victims of natural disasters.
The participants gave their input during the session with the assistance of a moderator and sub-moderators to manage the crowd.
“It has set the tone for the upcoming sessions for fruitful discussions with the rakyat. In the future, we also plan to organise similar sessions with the Youth and Sports Ministry for target groups that are relevant for both ministries,” she said.
During the event, KPWKM had the opportunity to build a closer rapport with all the participants.
Rohani said prior to the event, she hoped to get more input from target groups, especially those pertaining to issues that are related to children, the homeless and senior citizens.
She said the dialogue session gave an opportunity for all to voice their views, including NGOs currently working with the target groups.
It also involved councils under the ministry, including those for the disabled, women, children and senior citizens.
“We also gathered input from our officers as they are familiar with social issues and matters under the purview of the ministry,” she said.
Rohani said the dialogue session had allowed her to truly feel the pulse of the rakyat.
“The children’s group, for those aged 18 and below, did not have many opportunities to voice out their views to influence the decision-making process. We need to get their point of view to further realise their aspirations,” she said.
Rohani said this was because they would be the ones who would chart the course of the future and be at the forefront in leading this country in the decades to come.
“For the first session, we invited children’s representatives from all states,” she said.
Besides that, Rohani said it was important to let the homeless speak because they were the marginalised group.
“We wouldn’t know much about them until we mingle with them and let their voices be heard,” she said.
She added that it was also important for the senior citizens to provide their input as they might not only speak for themselves, but for the benefit of the future as well.
“The senior citizens, with their experience and wisdom, have envisioned on how the future might be, thus we value their feedback,” she said.
Rohani said the input by the participants would improve the ministry’s delivery of service and policy planning.
She said, among areas that were discussed included administration, daily life, learning and job opportunities, experience, global aspirations and positive values.
She said the participants’ input would be reviewed by the Social Institute of Malaysia.
She added that it would then be given to the Civil Ser vice Deliver y Unit, the Economic Planning Unit and the Prime Minister’s Department.
“Some of the feedback can be used to make adjustments in our programmes. We might not wait until 2050 to plan for changes,” she said.
Rohani said the ministry was also amending laws involving the target groups that have been overtaken by events.
Besides that, an inter-ministry dialogue session had already been conducted.
On May 16, 60 officers from the ministry, including civil servants from Grade 41 to 44, had given their views in the session themed “New Vision in Service Delivery”
The second series will involve those from Grade 48 to 54, and the third series will be for the Implementer Group I and II.
Rohani said, under TN50, there were various ways for feedback to be gathered, including getting input during roadshows, town hall sessions, online surveys, discussions with groups and specialist mentors, as well as during activities with TN50 icons.
“Under TN50, input will be gathered from all walks of life in various dialogue sessions via inter-ministry, and through the bottom-up approach,” she said.
She added that for those who missed the dialogue sessions, they could give their input on the ministry’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
The gathering of input for TN50 is scheduled to be between this year and 2019.