In his speech, Deputy State Secretary Datuk Misnu Taha said the
blueprint will provide efficient management of records in the state to
enable the preservation of information of lasting interest and values
regardless of the subject or age for retrospective research.“Records
Management and Archives reflect the significant governmental activities
of our state and these have a very broad range of research values,” he
said before launching the workshop themed ‘Towards a Blueprint For
Sarawak’s Records: A Forum and Workshop’ here yesterday.
“They
serve first of all as collective institutional memory of the government
and of its component parts. As such, archives are essential tools of
tracking administrative efficiency and economy by providing easy access
to the government’s past experiences,” he added.
Misnu pointed out
that constitutional memory can also contribute significantly to
economic and social development because it is a unique source of
information on earlier development initiatives and of demographic,
economic and social information useful in planning and development on a
local, regional or national scale.
“Archives also contain vital
documentation of identity, rights, privileges, entitlements and
responsibilities of individuals and organisations,” he elaborated.
Considering
that the State Civil Service is on a journey of transforming to world
class standards, records management practices have to move in tandem
with the transformation journey, he stressed.
“The overall culture
of the civil service towards records must be changed. Our records
management practices must be improved for the better,” he added.
Thus,
he said they must give priority to the importance of Records Management
in the State Civil Service or else lose the state’s corporate memory.
Earlier,
Sarawak State Library Board chairman Tan Sri Datuk Amar Hamid Bugo said
to have wisdom we have to learn from the past or else we will be
ignorant of what is happening around us.
With wisdom and knowing
the past, he said we can live in a better world and therefore we have to
a have a record and pass it on to the future generation as a form of
reference.
He later was presented a book on history and heritage by STF Heritage Development Committee chairman Lim Kian Hock.
Also present at the function was Sarawak State Library chief executive officer Rashidah Bolhassan.
