Since its establishment in 1882, Public Works Department, Sarawak (JKR Sarawak) has been entrusted with the responsibility of constructing and maintaining public infrastructure such as roads, airfields and wharves; buildings; and water treatment plants for the Government.
Over the years, it has gone through a number of restructuring initiatives; evolving from being a mere ‘builder’ to assuming the role of a ‘manager’ of development projects.
In 1997, JKR Sarawak embarked on a new role to meet the expectations of its stakeholders through the ‘Reengineering of JKR’ initiative and followed by its ‘Restructuring towards Corporatisation’ initiative in 2000.
Although these efforts resulted in some internal process changes and reorganisation, it did not culminate into the corporatisation of the department.
And now, with the rise in the population and increasing economic activities in the State, JKR Sarawak faces more challenges in keeping up with the tempo of development.
JKR Sarawak is expected to transform itself into a highly versatile and responsive organisation, which can compete with the private sector and continue to be the preferred service provider for its stakeholders.
One of JKR’s transformation plans is to establish branch offices in different parts of the State to maintain and expand its administration capability; strengthening its organisational structure and capacity in all the Divisions, to improve its effectiveness in asset management.
The transformation plan also aims to enhance its capacity and capability to meet the increasing workload under Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE), National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) and the 10th Malaysian Plan (10MP), with a total budget estimated at about RM13.2 billion.
RAKAN Sarawak recently interviewed JKR Sarawak director Ir. Zuraimi bin Haji Sabki, in order to gain a better understanding about the department’s transformation plans:
RAKAN Sarawak : What are the main factors that drive the transformation of JKR Sarawak?
Ir. Zuraimi bin Haji Sabki (ZS): As the tempo of development in Sarawak increases, JKR Sarawak’s workload also increases, therefore it is important for us to enhance our project implementation capability in order to successfully implement development projects. In order to preserve the State’s infrastructure asset for the enjoyment of present and future generations, we need to enhance our asset management capability and competitiveness in the face of competition from both the public and private sectors. To cope with the challenges mentioned, it necessitates us to strengthen our human resource development.
RAKAN Sarawak : To what extent would this transformation bring positive effects in speeding up the overall physical development in Sarawak?
ZS: JKR Sarawak’s new vision is to be ‘The Premier One-Stop Engineering Agency for the Planning, Development and Maintenance of all Public Infrastructure and Building Facilities in Sarawak’ and its new mission is ‘To Deliver and Maintain Quality Infrastructure and Building Facilities in the Most Cost Effective and Timely Manner though a Highly Competent and Motivated Workforce’. To achieve this, we will be helping the State by being actively involved in the infrastructure planning of the State right from the start, at the district and divisional levels. The whole department has also been restructured and realigned to meet the challenges of its new vision and mission. We have also been concentrating on beefing up on our in-house engineering and architectural design teams to help enhance our project delivery system.
RAKAN Sarawak : In general, how is the JKR transformation process implemented?
ZS: The transformation process started with the ‘gestation phase’ in early 2010, using the ‘bottom up’ approach by organising ‘engagement and dialogue sessions’ with about 70% of the staff throughout the State, to gauge their feelings and opinions. Within one month, 25 dialogue sessions were conducted, followed by three lab sessions to further engage them in the brainstorming process. A number of workshops, such as the management workshop, organizational design workshop and tender management workshop were carried out by a steering committee chaired by the State Secretary YB Tan Sri Datuk Amar Haji Mohamad Morshidi bin Abdul Ghani, to come out with the transformation strategies. The outcome from these sessions became the basis for the formulation for transformation agenda. It was proposed and approved by the State Cabinet in May 2011. The approved outcomes were then communicated to all levels of staff throughout the State and a change management and implementation team was set up. The implementation began in September 2011.
RAKAN Sarawak : What are the visible changes that can be seen from aspects such as the organization structure, administration, human resources and the new role played by JKR?
ZS: The most tangible transformation was a revamp of JKR Sarawak that involved the restructuring of its headquarters’ organisation into four (4) main sectors, namely the Infrastructure sector, Specialist sector, Corporate Affairs sector, and the Asset Management sector. The other changes that occurred on the ground was the setting up of the three (3) Regional Project Management Offices in Kuching, Sibu and Miri respectively to focus on project implementation and realignment of the existing Divisional Offices’ functions to focus on asset management and minor projects. JKR Sarawak has evaluated its staff capacity and capability and has reshuffled or transferred its staff to the various sectors and regional offices. Any shortfall in staff has also been rectified with the recruitment of experienced personnel. New structures of dedicated management units have also been set up that report directly to the director. As for our long-term plan, we are currently running our operations using the Prima Vera Project Management System, which is actually the first of its kind in Malaysia and are now in the process and progress to acquire Central Lab ISO 17025. Other than that, we have also started a pilot scheme as the strategic thrust of the Petra Jaya Initiative (PJI), which is now operating at the Old State Legislative Assembly Complex (Dewan Undangan Negeri Lama). The scheme was formed by an asset management team made up of 16 people, who are dedicated to the task of asset planning for JKR Sarawak.
RAKAN Sarawak : How is the assessment from the public and your clients or stakeholders?
ZS: Generally, we get good feedback and high expectations from our clients and stakeholders, but it may take time for the public to see the positive impact of JKR Sarawak’s transformation.
RAKAN Sarawak : At what stage or phase is the transformation at now (midyear 2012)?
ZS: Most of the ‘physical’ changes are already in place and our re-engineered core processes are in operation, though there are teething problems. Currently, the main thrust of our transformation is effective project management, which is to be complemented by quality management to ensure that we deliver quality products and services.
RAKAN Sarawak : What are the main challenges in implementing the transformation agenda of JKR Sarawak?
ZS: I would have to say that it is the management of changes. People are generally resistant to changes and are very reluctant to move away from their comfort zones. The challenge is to convince them to change for the greater good of the organisation and that each person plays an important role to ensure the success of the organisation. The other challenge for the implementation of a transformation agenda is to have more interaction among the people and training them to communicate well. As we know, transformation is a long process, therefore having consistent, direct and clear communication is important to ensure the success of the project implementations.
RAKAN Sarawak : What are the main achievements that are the pride of JKR Sarawak and the main achievement under NKRAs?
ZS: One of our main achievements was to see the realization of a new JKR Sarawak as a process-based organization with a clear definition and outline of the core processes. It can be identified in three main stages – first is the planning and design process, next is the implementation process and lastly the maintenance process. There is a clear separation of functions, with checks and balances – with the head office handling the planning and design process, the regional offices handling the implementation processes and the divisional offices carrying out the maintenance function. As I travel around the State, it is gratifying to see that the planned changes are in place and the staff are taking up their new roles with great enthusiasm and passion.
