Village Leaders Must Be Digitally Literate To Strengthen JKKK Governance
SERIAN: Village leadership is required to move in line with digitalisation trends while strengthening governance to ensure that rural development is implemented in a more effective and sustainable manner.
Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development (MEITD) as well as Tarat Assemblyman Dato Sri Roland Sagah Wee Inn said that village chiefs need to be technologically literate including in the use of computers and smartphones to ensure that rural communities are not left behind.
According to him, the world is now increasingly driven by technology and data, thus the ability to manage information systematically has become an essential requirement in planning village development.
“The world is now moving towards full digitalisation.
We must not allow ourselves and our communities to be left behind as all matters today involve technology and data,” he said.
He made the statement when officiating the Talk Programme on Strengthening the Management of Village Development and Security Committees (JKKK), organised by the Association of Community Leaders and Chiefs of the Bidayuh community in Serian Division, held at Dewan Panggah, Sarawak Government Administration Centre Serian Division, on Monday.
In the meantime, he emphasised that well organised data management including records of projects, expenditure and village development progress is essential to enhance transparency and the effectiveness of policy implementation at the grassroots level.
He also reminded community leaders to use new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) responsibly for the benefit of the community.
In terms of development, Dato Sri Roland Sagah urged that all projects be planned in an orderly manner and deliver direct benefits to the people including in the Native Customary Rights (NCR) land management.
At the same time, he underscored the responsibility of village heads to disseminate the knowledge and information acquired from seminars or workshops to the local community.
“All knowledge acquired should not end here but should instead be disseminated to the community so that all parties may benefit,” he stated.
The programme featured a series of sharing sessions including a village excellence presentation by Donny Nuong of Pesang, Siburan, a talk on marriage and divorce by Sarawak Bumiputera Court Judge Francis Johen and a discussion on current issues and leadership integrity by Serian District Officer Inting Nyami.
Also present were Deputy Minister for Food Industry, Commodity and Regional Development and Kedup Assemblyman Datuk Martin Ben, Bukit Semuja Assemblyman John Ilus, Tebedu Assemblyman Dr Simon Sinang Bada, Political Secretary to the Sarawak Premier Damen Rejek, Deputy Resident of Serian Division Abdul Khalid Manap and Temenggong Henry Bujang Sendan. -UKASnews
