SEPTEMBER 2025
Sarawak Civil Service To Train Officers At Henley Business School
LONDON, 23 Sept: The Premier of Sarawak, Datuk Patinggi Abang Haji Johari Tun Abang Haji Openg said his visit today to the Henley Business School near here would pave the way for collaboration between the Sarawak Government and the institution in the areas of training and capacity building for the state's public service.
The visit to the campus that is part of Reading University was also a walk down memory lane for the Premier who used to be a student at the school way back in 1984.
The Premier arrived at the British capital last night for a two-day working visit that started with a visit to the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) earlier in the day.
The Premier said it had been a strong formative experience for him that helped shaped his outlook on leadership and service.
Therefore, drawing from this experience, he said Sarawak civil service would do well to train officers at the school to develop their leadership qualities in the face of this new age of technological advancement and affirmative action against climate change.
"This is a new approach to train our officers, especially those from the mid level so they are capable of keeping abreast with current changes," he said.
The Sarawak civil service would initially send three officers every year for training at the school and the number would be increased from time to time.
He suggested the training would be based on two forms of collaboration: a special program tailored to Sarawak's needs, and open learning which would allow officers to gain experience alongside international participants.
Reminiscing his days at the school he said he stayed in a dormitory and learned many things, particularly on the concepts of change and strategy.
“Back then, I studied information technology using punch cards, but today we only need to use a smartphone,” he added.
Among those accompanying the Premier were State Secretary, Datuk Amar Mohammad Abu Bakar Marzuki, Deputy Minister of Education and Innovation, Dr. Annuar Rapa’ee, State Attorney-General, Dato Sri Saferi bin Ali and Chief Political Secretary to the Premier, Dato Fazaruddin Abdul Rahman.