Silo mentality, secrecy continue to hamper govt digital transformation, says report

 The World Bank says collaboration across ministries remains uneven, and barriers to data sharing continue, despite reforms such as the Data Sharing Act 2025.

Marco Larizza at the launch of the World Bank’s report in Putrajaya today, with digital ministry secretary-general Fabian Bigar, chief secretary Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar and World Bank country manager for Malaysia, Judith Green.

PUTRAJAYA:

Malaysia’s digital transformation is being hampered by siloed planning and a culture of secrecy despite significant progress in strengthening the government’s digital foundations, according to a report launched today.

The report, titled “Building Malaysia’s Future Government: Unlocking Public Sector Productivity with GovTech”, said collaboration across ministries remained uneven, with many agencies continuing to develop digital initiatives independently rather than as part of a whole-of-government approach.

It also found that barriers to data sharing persisted, despite recent reforms such as the Data Sharing Act 2025.

World Bank lead public sector specialist Marco Larizza said the problem was not a lack of funding.

“They prepare their plans in silos. They don’t take into account collaboration with other ministries,” he said when presenting the report, adding that stronger leadership, clearer expectations, and better collaboration mechanisms were needed to bridge the gaps.

He said technical incompatibility, legal restrictions, unclear guidelines, and a lack of trust remained among the biggest obstacles to sharing data across government agencies.

While describing the Data Sharing Act 2025 as “an important milestone”, he noted that exemptions covering certain categories of data and parts of government limited its effectiveness.

Larizza also called for a shift in how the government approached transparency.

“The world is making transparency the norm, and secrecy the exception. In Malaysia, it’s still the other way around. Transparency is the exception and secrecy the norm when it comes to data,” he said.

The report, jointly produced by the World Bank and the digital ministry with support from the public service department, gathered responses from more than 16,500 civil servants across 28 ministries to assess Malaysia’s public sector digital transformation. - FMT