TOPIC:

DISCUSS THE IMPORTANCE OF ADMINISTRATIVE

REFORM CARRIED OUT BY THE MALAYSIAN GOVERNMENT

1. Malaysia administrative system is basically divided into three levels, the federal government,
state government and local governments. Federal Administration of the Ministry that has
specific functions and is chaired by the minister alone has the power to make decisions at
the national level. The Ministry may also suggest to the minister to make laws and policies
that should be followed on all levels.
2. Most ministries were created under the federal government is based on providing social
services and enforcement. Example ministries that provide social services such as the
Ministry of Health, Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development, Ministry of
Social Welfare, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Transport and others. While examples of
the ministry's enforcement activities are the Ministry of Home Affairs where the Royal
Malaysian Police, National Anti-Drug Agency, The Prison Department and Civil Defense
Department is underneath. In addition, the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Domestic Trade,
Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and
Environment also carries out enforcement activities.
3. The ministry also established to determine the development of the program and give support
to agencies under the ministry at the state level. Among the ministries involved are the
Prime Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Rural and
Regional Development. Examples of agencies that created the ministry were as FAMA,
MARDI, RISDA, JAKIM, LKIM, INTAN, MAMPU, ICU, EPU and MIDA.
4. The state government is also responsible for determining the types of programs and policies
that are appropriate to their local government. The plans include the development of the
country and the provision of infrastructure related to the welfare of the citizen.
5. Local government is a government that has its own autonomy where the financial resources
of the area are gazette as a local authority area. Although local government is under the
jurisdiction of the state government, but the administration is under the control of the federal
government through the Local Government Division, Ministry of Housing and Local
Government. The local government is working to provide municipal services in designated
areas such as hygiene am, picking up trash, general health, provide public toilets, food
preparation and complex market. Local governments also have the power to sue and be

sued, enter into contracts, own property, collect taxes and rent, enjoy financial autonomy
and make by-laws related.

WEAKNESES OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION SYSTEMS IN

MALAYSIA
6. If viewed from the aspects mentioned about the three types of administration that is rated
above, there are many problems related to overlapping jurisdictions and functions. Although
basically viewed as complementary to each other but the difference of opinions and political
views is inevitable, particularly for states ruled by the government from the opposition. This
can be seen through the unbalanced distribution of the allocation for each state, as well as
the application of laws or policies adopted.
7. The concept of administrative reform means different things to different people.
Administrative reform is defined as "is positive efforts to bring about changes to government
administrative system towards a more efficient and effective public service". This also can
be determined as is an effort to introduce a purposeful change upon the administrative
system at all level of government.
8. The symptoms of administrative incapacity will be arrived if there are not many skilled and
experience people can be sending to rural areas to develop those areas even though the
need is greater. Also if the skilled and experience administrators always being changed their
workplace without complete certain assignment or projects, this will be effect the efficiency
of the delivery system. When the bribe, corruption becomes a practice in administrating
development project and programs, the reform is needed to be change.
9. According to Abdullah Sanusi, 1987, three conditions that necessary before any successful
administrative reform projects can take place:
10. It should focus on changes to processes and procedures in any administrative components.
11. It should focus on changes to the attitude of administrators, managers and the staff at large.
12. It should focus on changes to government programs and action policies.

PUBLIC ADMIN REFORM

13.According to some weakness in the public administration system in Malaysia
such as the above discussion, this paper proposes some reform to be taken to
enable all duplication of functions and the lack irreparable been improve.

14. Some items that to be considered in administrative reform which is can be implemented.
First, try to do improvement of public sector productivity that can be done from total quality
management (TQM). Secondly, eliminate bad practices such as bribery, corruption and
wastage. This can be reduces by minimize the red tapes and unnecessary practices or
routines. The delegation of power to other officer also can be help to eliminate these bad
practices.
15. Other practices that can be considered in administrative reform are:
16. Adoption of a more merit based performance appraisal system, such as in Key Performance
Index or KPI.
17. Encourage innovation and creativity at the work place.
18. Adoption of a simple and understand administrative processes.
19. Priority in responsibility and accountability.
20. Privatization of profitable services.
21. In conclusion, although Malaysia has many layers in administration but the good delivery
system to the citizen still can be achieved by making changes according to current needs.
The needs and hopes of the people are constantly changing, therefore, the government
should be prepared to make changes to achieve the objectives and set targets for customer
satisfaction.

22. .

23. The Government formulated and launched the New Economic Policy (NEP) with the twin
objectives of eradicating poverty regardless of race and eliminating the identification of race
with economic functions. The Government set itself twenty years to bridge the disparity. The
decade, therefore, began with resolve and hope. The NEP was public sector-driven. New
instruments of government were created: Urban Development Authority (UDA), State
Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), State Agriculture Development Corporation
(SADC), Pahang Tenggara Development Authority (DARA) and other regional authorities,
and many more. Existing ones were redesigned and revamped such as Majlis Amanah
Rakyat (MARA), Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM), Malaysian Industrial Development Authority

(MIDA), and Malaysian Industrial Development Fund (MIDF). With the development of these
authorities and public enterprises, the Government thus entered the private sector domain.
They were mostly headed and staffed by civil servants, many not used to the less rigid ways
and profit-driven motives of the private sector. It was a new role for the Government and its
employees that managed the enterprises towards achieving the NEP objectives.

24. Aside from public enterprises, the Seventies were also devoted to the implementation of
massive education and training programmes involving civil servants, university teachers,
research staff and school leavers on a scale unprecedented in the history of the Malaysian
civil service. This programme had twin objectives: to increase the capability of the civil
service and to increase the number of qualified or trained Bumiputras in the Government
service. The Public Service Department, Ministry of Education, State Governments and their
educational foundations, MARA, Petronas and the universities, all participated actively in
this human resource development process.
25. The Government also expanded the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) in
the early seventies. This was not only through enlarging its size and courses offered, but,
according to its Director at the time, all activities related to training were reviewed and
updated including course content, programme designs, and periods for training.
26. Its role was meant to be not only as a training institution but also as a change agent within
the context of the development administration. INTAN began producing a large number of
trainees from its varied programmes from Diplomas in Public Administration to in-service
courses. The system of public services continued to be strengthened during the midseventies when Dr. Mahathir Mohamad held a new position in the Government. One of his
first initiatives was the establishment of a new administrative arm to spearhead government
modernisation- the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Manpower Planning Unit
(MAMPU) located in the Prime Ministers Department. Early reforms targeted administrative
improvements in agencies whose clientele were the public at large, such as government
hospitals, Departments of Road Transport, Immigration and Registration. MAMPU devised
an orderly and efficient system at these counters with the participation of the agencies
involved and support of central agencies and ministries concerned. The waiting room was
made client-friendly with ample seating capacity and an electronic number system for
people waiting to be served. Studies revealed that waiting time and actual time taken for
service completion reduced significantly with this new system. The most popular measure
for the public was the introduction of a one-stop agency where bills could be settled at one

place, usually the Post Office. From the late seventies onwards, government agency service
counters developed into systematic, efficient, professional and orderly systems. Besides the
counter system, MAMPU also initiated and streamlined measures to enhance the quality of
work of individual staff and organisations. These included desk files, work procedure
manuals, work action files and quality management. Routine organisational issues
developed into more complex ones. It was at this time that the Government, on the
recommendation of MAMPU, introduced the individual Excellent Performance Award which
provided motivation and incentives to staff, encouraged competition, and thereby increased
productivity of the individual in the workplace and the agency as a whole. The reward itself
was simple, consisting normally of a certificate or plaque and an extra week of leave. This
would be entered into the persons Service Record to support possible promotion in the
future. The Excellent Performance Award was without doubt, the single most motivating
factor for enhancing productivity.
27. It was a forerunner to other recognition awards in the coming decades for the performance
of individuals and agencies in public service reform and innovation.The salary scheme of the
public service was again revised towards the end of the decade. The most significant
revision apart from the standard salary up-scaling, was the extension of the pension scheme
to beneficiaries of a retiree after his/her death: to his/her widow for life, and to his/her
children until the age of eighteen years or twenty-one in the case of children attending
college. The new pension scheme required an improvement to the administrative machinery
of the Pension Division in the Public Service Department. The Division had long been
criticised by pensioners for delays in providing their first pension and even subsequent ones.
A review of the process was therefore carried out. Under the revised procedure, as long as
pension papers were in order and submitted according to the specified time schedule, the
pensioner was assured of receiving the first pension within two months of retirement.
Normally pensioners receive their gratuities on the day they retire; this can sustain them far
longer than the said two months. Other aspects of the delivery system have been improved
from time to time such as payments through banks instead of warrants, and special
procedures for the sick and ailing. There have been hardly any complaints about delays
even though the number of pensioners and dependants has shown a marked increase since
the expansion of the scheme. Towards the end of the seventies the Government decided to
establish a Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) whose functions are similar to those of an
Ombudsman. The PCB is placed under the highest office in the land, the Prime Ministers
Department, with its Steering Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary himself and

members including the heads of the Public Service Department, Attorney General
Chambers, the Police, the Treasury and the Anti-Corruption Agency. The high authority of
this committee means speedy handling of any disciplinary action or provision of any
additional resources required that may arise from the investigation.

CONCLUSION