SIBU: Civil servants, especially educators, need to be open and ready to accept change for better progress.

Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department (Native Law and Customs), Datuk Jefferson Jamit Unyat said educators are catalysts and ‘game changers’ for the future of our country.

He said that using conventional approaches to solve problems or formulate policies will no longer be effective in the current era of artificial intelligence (AI).

“History has proven that educators are effective and undeniable agents of change in the development and advancement of national education,” he said when officiating the Outstanding Service Award (APC) ceremony here on Saturday.

Datuk Jefferson, who is also the Bukit Goram Assemblyman, also invited educators to appreciate the responsibility given as a trust that must be carried out well.

He said that the Ministry of Education Malaysia is in dire need of professional, progressive, creative, innovative, skilled, and holistically wise employees to jointly make all government education policies a success.

“Therefore, I would like to call on all school officials and staff to continue to provide effective, accountable, integrity-based, trustworthy and progressive services in line with the rapid transformation of technological advancements and the current sustainable digital era,” he said.

He also quoted the words of the famous American civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jr, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

At the end of his speech, he wanted the APC recipients to maintain the pace of excellence and commitment that has been shown so far and support the government’s efforts towards educational excellence in Kapit District.

A total of 124 APC recipients who showed excellent performance throughout the year 2024 were celebrated at the ceremony. -UKASnews