KUCHING: The Sarawak Land and Survey Department Innovation and Integrity Day (HIITS) is a platform to propel the state’s innovation to the world stage. “Ever since it was first introduced in 2008, we have produced 139 innovation projects which gained national and global recognition,” said department director Sr Zaidi Mahdi in his address to delegates during the department’s Innovation and Integrity Day at a hotel here yesterday.
“One notable project is Sarapeg which was introduced in 2011 and won the Excellence Award during International Convention on QC Circles, Taiwan in 2013,” he added as the Sarapeg device was invented to mark boundaries using Radio Frequency Identification technology (RFID), settling land disputes. “It also raked in the Gold Award during the International Conference on Quality, Tokyo in 2014 along with the Public Service Innovation Award (PSIA) 2019 during Malaysia Technology Expo 2019.
“In addition to that, Sarapeg also clinched the Receiver of IFIA (International Federation of Investors Association) Best Invention Medal 2019.” Zaidi revealed that the last award meant a lot to the organisation as they were competing against other companies from the public sector which he viewed as no mean feat. “This year we will be introducing 13 more innovation projects.”
He also maintained that integrity remains the key pillar in HIITS. “Integrity involves human capital, work procedure and system along with data and legislative framework. “Meanwhile, innovation is a spark of a creative idea towards the improvement of service. Both have to be in line and complement each other.” On the launch of Land and Survey Information System (Lasis) mobile application, Zaidi revealed that the department highlighted aspects such as planning, measuring, evaluating, administration and land management. “Lasis is a renowned system which garnered international acclaims in Amsterdam, Netherlands and San Diego, USA.
“With the improvements made in the system, we will be participating in the Geospatial World Excellence Award in Amsterdam which is held April next year.” Zaidi reflected that in the 35 years since Lasis’s inception, there would be various transformations and enhancements made in line with the changing technology. “Lasis has been upgraded in terms of quality where a lot of new features are added to complement the existing features. “This is a testament of the department’s commitment in terms of information sharing and improvement of civil service,” he added.
