BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

CIVIL servants should adopt the concept of zikir when utilising management processes and tools, said the principal consultant of a local management consulting firm.

Dato Paduka Malai Hj Ali Malai Hj Othman from PPP Ilmu Alim claimed strategic planning and scenario building can be more effective with the application of zikir through “supplication, self-introspection, divine realisation, repentance and total reliance on Allah SWT”.

He reiterated that the approach was based on a previous titah of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam.

“The concept of zikir is inculcated into the process of strategic planning and scenario building. This is an approach which should be done by every senior officer entrusted with the task of preparing the action plan for a development project or programme,” said Dato Malai Hj Ali.

He explained that the basic components of the zikir concept constitute the recommendations of Islamic psychology in the pursuit of success in the world and hereafter.

Through the zikir concept, he said the values of Malay Muslim Monarchy (MIB) should be presented as best practice and method in strategic planning, scenario building and policy management as well as monitoring of a government institution.

Despite calling for the application of Islamic practice, Dato Malai Hj Ali reminded civil servants not to abandon conventional methods as guidelines in strategic and management planning.

He was speaking at the ‘Strategic Planning and Scenario Building’ workshop conducted by PPP Ilmu Alim at the Institute of Civil Service (IPA).

The two-day workshop, which ended yesterday, was attended by 40 officers from various government departments and agencies.

Participants were taught the importance of drawing up strategic plans, collecting and analysing data as well as using balanced score cards among others.

In a bid to strengthen the participants’ understanding of MIB, the workshop also offered the study of Syair Perlembagaan Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien as learning material for the process of strategic planning and scenario building.

In the royal poems on the national constitution, Dato Malai Hj Ali explained there were various lessons on the need for discipline in strategic planning and process of formulating policies.

During the workshop, the participants discussed the need for organisations to align their planning in line with the political and social environment in Brunei. They also considered the repercussions of development plans that are not MIB-compliant.

The Brunei Times