URBAN GOVERNANCE IN MALAYSIA PERSPECTIVE

Introduction

There are many definitions of governance. The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific or ESCAP for one defines governance as a process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented or alternatively not implemented. ESCAP’s definition focuses on the associated formal and informal structures as well as the actors involved in arriving at and implementing a decision. It is a definition that can be applied at several different levels such as international governance, national governance, local governance and corporate governance. Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad states that “when we talk of governance, we speak of the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority to manage a nation’s affairs.”. It is a very practical definition and we need to understand that while there is a tendency to view the definition of governance in its generic form, in its operational dimension, the process of governance depends to a large extent upon the prevailing values of a society.

Definition of Urban Governance

True to what has been defined as governance at the national level, local governance can be described as the process by which decisions taken at the local level are seen to reflect or are closely congruent to the needs of the local community. Institutions such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through the promotion of its urban governance initiative (TUGI) project see this process as requiring a framework that mandates accountability, transparency and participation.

Governance at the Local Level

In the Malaysian context, the driver for governance at the local level continues to be local government. Malaysia adopts a nominative representation system at local government and not an elective one. Council members are appointed from the ruling party that holds power in the locality, namely the State Government. Given this form of representation Malaysia, therefore, takes the exception stand in relation to the Habitat II Declaration on the issue of local elections. Malaysia’s response has been to strengthen local government representation by the inclusion of individuals with specific expertise or experience in areas such as the environment and consumerism and representatives of other relevant interest groups to sit as local government councillors.

The Local Government Act 1976 – Act 171

This framework for local governance is provided through the Local Government Act 1976. The Act empowers local governments to take the lead role for local governance in Malaysia. Act 171 applies only to Peninsular Malaysia. The states of Sabah and Sarawak have similar legislation to cover local governments in the two states which is The Local Government Ordinance 1961 (Sabah) and The Local Authorities Ordinance 1996 (Sarawak).Various provisions within the Act clearly support the local governance process. Let me cite a few to illustrate this:

a. Although local government is nominative and not elective, Act 171 does provide the local community a link to the elected representative albeit at the higher state authority level. Section 9 of the Act empowers the State Authority to issue directions of a general character to the local authority on the policy to be followed by the local authority in exercising its powers. This is particularly true for matters that appear to the State Authority to affect the interests of the local authority. At the same time the same section of the Act stipulates that the local authority is to furnish all relevant accounts, returns and other information on its property and activities to the State Authority.

This provision provides a safety valve for the local community where intervention by the State Authority can avert any undesirable impact of local government action upon the local community. In addition, the requirement for local government to keep the State Authority informed of its activities and commitments acts as a control against abuse and deviation of the powers and jurisdiction of the local authority. Essentially both these stipulations operate on the accountability dimension of governance. This accountability factor will also cover situations where the local authority carries out activities in partnership with other groups or assigns a third party to undertake services.

b. Section 10 of the Act provides for the State Authority to appoint councillors, the majority of whom shall be persons resident in the local authority area. They must have wide experience in local government affairs or have achieved high standing within a particular profession or the commercial sector who in the view of the State Authority are capable of representing the interests of the local community. This provision again serves to strengthen the interest of the local community by ensuring that their representatives serving in the local authorities are from local residents who understand the needs of the local community. The stipulation on the suitability and qualifications of councillors ensures that the needs and requirements of the local community are well articulated. This provision addresses the participatory dimension of governance even though by proxy.

c. Section 23 of the Act provides for meetings of local authorities to be open to the public as well as representatives of the mass media. This is a governance-friendly provision on the transparency dimension. Public meetings of the local authority allow local residents to know what plans and activities are being designed and implemented for the relevant local government area. At the very least they will be able to obtain such information through media reports. Access to such information will enable local residents to provide feedback and make representations on possible areas of concern to sections of the community that are affected by a particular action of the local authority or its agents. In addition Section 27 of the Act provides for the minutes of the proceedings of the local authority to be kept and be open for inspection by any rate-payer in the local authority area. Again this strengthens the transparency component of governance.

d. Section 26 of the Act provides that all decisions of the local authority at its meetings are decided by majority vote. In this regard Section 24 sets the necessary quorum for the transaction of council business at its meetings to ensure sufficient representation of members before decisions are made. Majority decisions by councillors acting on behalf of the local community would at least contribute towards the most preferred option or course of action. This hopefully also translates into the choice of the majority of residents in the local community. It seems an imperfect alternative to the direct participation requirement of governance but it provides a minimum safeguard in that whatever decisions arrived at by the local authority are at least based on the views of the majority.

These provisions of the Local Government Act 1976 highlight the fact that where local governments continue to play the central role in local governance as in the case of Malaysia, they do so in a manner that supports the core dimensions of governance. In this regard the Government is currently amending the existing local government legislation to include provisions that will address issues of consultation and participation in a significant way. This development obviously arises from the recognition that the local resident community, the local business community and voluntary groups that operate within the local government area are ready for a more active role in plans and decisions that affect them.

Impact on Role of Local Authority

The first will be in terms of the role of local authorities as they are perceived today. As stated earlier, currently local governance is seen to fall almost entirely within the domain of local government authorities. The legal and administrative mandates as expressed through the Local Government Act 1976 and also the Town and Country Planning Act 1976 puts the local authority firmly in the driving seat in governing matters affecting the local community. Today, partnerships and collaboration with the local community depend wholly upon the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the local government leadership. The challenge for local government in promoting local governance is to make partnership, consultation and participation its mainstay and modus operandi. This is not to say that local authorities are not partnering or consulting in carrying out their operations currently. Local governance calls for a different type and far higher level of partnership and consultation.

This will be a major departure for local governments because it will mean an entirely new way of doing business for them. If such a partnership and participatory framework becomes mandated in the future, then local government authorities will have to refocus and reorganize their activities to support such a framework. The local government authority as an administrative entity will have to transform by designing its activities around the participatory process, monitoring decision-making, evaluating implementation of decisions, identifying funding for activities and generally facilitating community projects and initiatives. This calls for both mindset and organizational change within the local government entity itself where management of internally-driven programmes and projects will give way to the management of external mechanisms that involve stakeholders, partners and customers. These role players will bring to bear their own multi-cultural perspectives in pursuing their agendas.

From the information and knowledge empowerment point of view, the knowledge and information stock within local authorities must be able to aid the participatory process by developing datasets that can be accessed by the community to enable informed decision-making by all related parties. As we can see, if local governance takes full flight, then the current perception of local authorities as being primarily involved in providing or delivering urban services will undergo a sea change.

EFFICIENCY IN URBAN GOVERNANCE THROUGH INNOVATION AND PARTNERSHIPS

The rapid urbanization, globalization, information and communications revolution and the increasing complexity of our societies are reshaping the roles and functions of our local governments. Increasingly local governments are no longer confined to their traditional roles of providing sanitation and waste disposal services. There is the pressing need for local governments to further expand their roles and functions to include economic and social development.However, as local governments in many countries lack the budget, expertise and resources to embank on these increased roles and functions, there is a need to form partnerships to satisfy the increasing demands of the people. As such partnership with the private sector or NGO’s or another public sector organisation seems to be the best alternative to enhance economic and social developments in local governments.

In Malaysia, the adoption of the Malaysia Incorporated Policy in the 80’s has inspired many local governments to form joint-venture partnerships with private sector or NGO’s in housing and the provision of urban services. These partnerships have improved the quality of life and standard of living of its people, besides addressing social problems like poverty and squatters. These partnerships have also generated much needed revenue to the local government that can be used to further improve its services. Malaysia enjoys a three-tiered system of government comprising the Federal Administration, State and Local Government level of administration. At its apex, is a constitutional monarchy. Its parliamentary democracy allows the citizenry to participate in national elections since its independence attained in August, 1957. The founding fathers of this country saw it fit to put in place a Constitution which guarantees and safeguards ethnic, social, religious, and cultural rights and fundamental liberties given the diverse multi ethnic background of the populace.

Following Independence, Malaysia’s economic landscape transformed from a largely agriculture export-based economy to a manufacturing hub for Asia by the 80’s. Further to that dream, Malaysia’s aspiration to become a fully developed country by year 2020 presupposes the nurturing of an excellent civil force of public employees of commendable attitude to bring about a more efficient delivery system. Steps are already afoot to transform public employees into k-workers who are customer-focused, results and performance driven, responsive, accountable and innovative. Human capital development and human resource training for capability and capacity building can be seen as complementing the Malaysian government’s conscious efforts towards an E-government.

Likewise, the exploitation of smart partnerships and strategic alliances between local governments (G to G); between local governments and non-governmental organizations/service clubs are attributes of successful partnerships for basic services such as water, education, electricity, health and transport. Throughout these partnerships opportunities are made available for sharing knowledge, best practices, technologies, information exchange and networking for more smart partnerships. Innovative thinking on the part of the Malaysian government has fast tracked the forging of partnerships with the private sector in the disposal of wastes and sewerage treatment.

The Local Agenda 21 Petaling Jaya - a three year project on Lake and River Rehabilitation Programme initiated in 2002, jointly undertaken by The Municipal Council of Petaling Jaya, the Global Environment Centre (GEC) and Malaysian Anglers Association. Funded by the UNDP – GEC Small Grant Fund, this project focuses on rehabilitating and sustaining the management of lakes within Kelana Jaya. As a result of innovative thinking and smart partnership, these lakes which were formerly waste dumpsites, have been transformed into public parks, walkways, leisure and recreation spots for the local community to engage in healthy outdoor family activities. In view of global concerns regarding environment, Malaysia shares the views of those developed nations regarding ecologically sustainable development. The impact of global warming is a clear and potent threat. It is noteworthy that as senior local government policy-makers and practitioners, we are duty bound in our commitment to continually plan initiatives and provide better local government services and delivery through innovation and partnerships so as to confer lasting benefits on the local communities.

HAJI ZUL'S FAMILY GATHERING FOR 'BUKA PUASA' - BREAK FASTING AT SUBANG BESTARI

Today my family have been invited to come to my sister in-law, Zulaili and his husband Ahmad Fuad for buka puasa at their new house in Subang Bestari, U5 Shah Alam. Zulzahrin and Zulhilmi with their families also invited. On Saturday break fasting my wife had prepared Chicken Rice and Sunday break fasting Zulhaimi and his wife prepared siamese dishes. My wife, Zullali and Ezyriati had also baked cookies for hari raya.

AHMAD FUAD, ZULAILI AND MELATI

(HOST)

MELATI, ZULLAILI, ZULAZMIR AND ZUL'AINI ( MY WIFE)

MY WIFE AND MY SON, ZULAZMIR

FAMILY DINNER

MY CHILDREN AND THEIR COUSINS

22nd SEPTEMBER 2008 - ZULAZMIR'S BIRTHDAY 3 YEARS OLD

Today is Muhammad Zulazmir celebrate his 3 years old birthday. We called him "Bob" because he loves the cartoon character "Bob the Builder". We give him a present of tractor remote controll. He like it so much. Due to Ramadan, we celebrated his birthday yesterday after 'buka puasa'. Coincident my parent, my sister, Hanizah and her familiy came to my house for 'buka puasa'. Early Saturday morning after Solat Suboh, my wife and my sister baked hari raya cookies, Pineapple Tat. Photos Muhammad Zulazmir birthday party yesterday.

PARETO EFFICIENCY

Thank to Mr Fazz who always comment my published post in order to improve my phd research. I do not know who you are because you do not give any background in your biodata. Who ever you are, your comments make a new idea in my research. Thank you. I found the Pareto Efficiency in economic books. Vilfredo Federico Damaso Pareto (1848–1923), was an Italian sociologist, economist, and philosopher. He made several important contributions, particularly in the study of income distribution and in the analysis of individuals' choices. He introduced the concept of Pareto efficiency and helped develop the field of microeconomics.

What my understanding Pareto Efficiency is concerned with the optimal production and distribution or these scarce resources. Efficiency is concerned with the optimal production and distribution or these scarce resources.General term in economics describing how well a system is performing, in generating the maximum desired output for given inputs with available technology. Efficiency is improved if more output is generated without changing inputs, or in other words, the amount of "friction" or "waste" is reduced. Economic efficiency is used to refer to a number of related concepts. A system can be called economically efficient if :

• No one can be made better off without making someone else worse off;
• More output cannot be obtained without increasing the amount of inputs; and
• Production proceeds at the lowest possible per-unit cost

There are different types of efficiency

1. Productive Efficiency.

This occurs when the maximum number of goods and services are produced with a given amount of inputs. This will occur on the production possibility frontier. On the curve it is impossible to produce more goods without producing less services. Productive efficiency will also occur at the lowest point on the firms average costs curve

2. Allocative efficiency

This occurs when goods and services are distributed according to consumer preferences. An economy could be productively efficient but produce goods people don’t need this would be allocative inefficient.A2: Allocative efficiency occurs when the price of the good = the MC of production

3. X -Inefficiency

This occurs when firms do not have incentives to cut costs, for example a monopoly which makes supernormal profits may have little incentive to get rid of surplus labour. Therefore a firms average cost may be higher than necessary

4. Efficiencies of Scale

This occurs when the firms produces on the lowest point of its Long run average cost and therefore benefits fully from economies of scale

5. Dynamic Efficiency

This refers to efficiency over time for example a Ford factory in 1920 would be very efficient for the time period but would now be inefficient by comparison therefore it is necessary for firms to constantly introduce new technology and reduce costs over time

6. Social Efficiency

This occurs when externalities are taken into consideration and the social cost of production (SMC) = the social benefit (SMB)

7. Technical Efficiency

Optimum combination of factor inputs to produce a good: related to productive efficiency.

In conclusion, an economic system is more efficient if it can provide more goods and services for society without using more resources. Market economies are generally believed to be more efficient than other known alternatives. The first fundamental welfare theorem provides some basis for this belief, as it states that any perfectly competitive market equilibrium is efficient (but only if no market imperfections exist).

DEFINITION OF EFFICIENCY...

I try to find a general definition of efficiency in order to understand efficiency in the context of urban planning and my phd research. A week I spend my time in UKM's Library PTSL, I found a good and easy to understand the definition of efficiency. These 5 dictionaries will assist me in my research. The definitions of efficiency are:

The Random House Unabridged Dictionary
a. The state or quality of being efficient; competency in performance.

b. Accomplishment of or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort: The assembly line increased industry's efficiency.

c. The ratio of the work done or energy developed by a machine, engine, etc., to the energy supplied to it, usually expressed as a percentage.

American Heritage Dictionary
a. The quality or property of being efficient.

b. The degree to which this quality is exercised: The program was implemented with great efficiency and speed.

c. The ratio of the effective or useful output to the total input in any system.

d. The ratio of the energy delivered by a machine to the energy supplied for its operation.

WordNet - Princeton University
a. The ratio of the output to the input of any system

b. Skillfulness in avoiding wasted time and effort; "she did the work with great efficiency

The American Heritage Science Dictionary
a. The ratio of the energy delivered (or work done) by a machine to the energy needed (or work required) in operating the machine. The efficiency of any machine is always less than one due to forces such as friction that use up energy unproductively.

b. The ratio of the effective or useful output to the total input in any system.

American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary
a. The production of the desired effects or results with minimum waste of time, effort, or skill.

b. A measure of effectiveness; specifically, the useful work output divided by the energy input in any system.

THE PLACE WHERE I SPEND MY TIME.....

If I'm not in UKM's Library- PTSL...I prefer spend my time sit in my 8' x 10' room - source of my inspiration and ideas. My children also like to do their homework in this place even they have their own room. Photos show how my room look like with the collection my personal books, seminar paper and reference materials. I don't know, how this room will look like after 3rd year my PHD research in UKM.

FAMILY GATHERING 'BUKA PUASA' - BREAKING FASTING DINNER AT DESA SAUJANA

Last saturday 13th September 2008, all my nieces, nephews, in-laws and mother in-law came to my house for 'buka puasa' and baked cookies raya.

ZULAZMIN RECOVERED FROM DEHYDRATION...

My youngest 10 month old son, Muhammad Zulazmin has admitted to Az-Zahrah Islamic Medical Centre, Bandar Baru Bangi from 9-12 September 2008 due to his frequent diarrhea and vomiting since Monday 8 September 2008. Dr Md Nazim Az-Zahrah's paediatrition said that Zulazmin inability to drink and eat adequately is the other potential cause of dehydration. Whether it is the lack of availability of water or the lack of strength to drink adequate amounts, this, coupled with routine or extraordinary water losses, can compound the degree of dehydration. 4 days Zulazmin in hospital I discovered that dehydration is often a clinical diagnosis. Aside from diagnosing the reason for dehydration, the healthcare provider's examination of the patient will assess the level of dehydration.

Initial evaluations may include blood tests is to assess potential electrolyte abnormalities (especially sodium levels) associated with the dehydration. Tests may or may not be done on the patient depending upon the underlying cause of dehydration, the severity of illness, and the healthcare provider's assessment of their needs. For infants like Zulazmin may have additional evaluations done, including checking for a soft spot on the skull (sunken fontanelle), assessing the suck mechanism, muscle tone, or loss of sweat in the armpits and groin. All are signs of potential significant dehydration.

Dr Md Nazim mentioned that complications of dehydration may occur because of the dehydration and because of the underlying disease or situation that cause the fluid loss. For infants is dangerous is can cause kidney failure is a common occurrence, although if it is due to dehydration and is treated early, it is often reversible. As dehydration progresses, the volume of fluid in the intravascular space decreases, and blood pressure may fall. This can decrease blood flow to vital organs like the kidneys, and like any organ with a decreased blood flow; it has the potential to fail to do its job. How Zulazmin dehydration treated?As is often the case in medicine, prevention is the important first step in the treatment of dehydration. Fluid replacement is the treatment for dehydration. This may be attempted by replacing fluid by mouth, but if this fails, intravenous fluid (IV) may be required. Should oral rehydration be attempted, frequent small amounts of clear fluids should be used. Alhamdulliah, now Zulazmin fully recovered from dehydration.

Finally thank you to Az-Zahrah Islamic Medical Centre's nurses and Dr Md Nazim for wonderful hospitality. May Allah bless you all. Next follow-up check up will be 19 Spetmber 2008.

ENDNOTE : THE EASY WAY TO ORGANISE REFERENCES

Today I have attended a course of Endnote X1 Application organised by UKM's Library. The lecture on Endnote given by Puan Shazimah Badzri. The application so interesting because millions of researchers, scholarly writers, students, and librarians use EndNote (patent pending) to search online bibliographic databases, organize their references, images and PDFs in any language, and create bibliographies and figure lists instantly. Instead of spending hours typing bibliographies, or using index cards to organize their references, they do it the easy way—by using EndNote! EndNote for Windows and Macintosh is a valuable all-in-one tool that integrates the following tasks into one program:

• Search bibliographic databases on the Internet


• Organize references, images and PDFs


• Construct your paper with built-in manuscript templates


• Watch the bibliography and figure list appear as you write!

Create an unlimited number of libraries of any size: In EndNote, bibliographic data is entered into a record by filling out a simple template that has the proper fields displayed for a given type of reference. There are 46 customizable reference types, covering a variety of materials from Ancient Texts to Web Pages, each with up to 52 fields for entering references and linking to PDF and image files. And you can organize references in any Unicode-supported language.
Group references: Create custom groups, including Smart Groups that update automatically as references are added to a library, for instant access to subsets of references.
Find full text articles automatically: EndNote will locate and download full text for you—no additional steps required! Select one or more references, a group, or your entire library and have EndNote scan for full text available to you. When the full text is found, EndNote downloads and links it to the appropriate reference automatically—while you continue with your work.
Store PDF and other files with your EndNote library: Organize up to 45 files per reference in the "File Attachment" field. Drag and drop files onto a reference for auto-linking and storage with the library references—links never break.
Organize image files: Track images including charts, figures and equations with a caption, keywords and more.
Customize the reference library display: Click-sort column headings, adjust column widths, and choose up to 8 fields to display.
Preview formatted references: Using the Preview pane in the library window, you can preview selected references in over 2,800 bibliographic styles.
Includes hundreds of import filters: There are many sources of bibliographic data that can be used to help you build your EndNote library of references. EndNote includes over 600 import filters for a variety of online database providers (e.g. Ovid, EBSCO). You can create and modify import filters as well. Once you've downloaded the references in a tagged format, choose the appropriate import filter to import the data into your EndNote library.
Link your EndNote records to the Web: Link your references to full-text articles or other material on the Web. You'll find links created automatically when you connect and search online resources within EndNote.
Use Term Lists for consistent data entry: Term Lists store glossaries of keywords, author names, or any other terms that are important to managing your references. As you enter new terms, EndNote suggests terms from these lists to facilitate data entry and to ensure terms are entered consistently. Pre-defined Journal Term Lists are provided for biomedicine, chemistry, and the humanities—complete with common abbreviations of journal names used in bibliographies.
Searching: Use Quick Search in the toolbar to search all fields in an EndNote library, or the Search... command for additional options. You can limit your searches to specific fields such as Author name, Year, or Keywords and select a variety of operators.
Global Editing: Use the Change Text, Change Field, and Move Field commands to modify existing references. These commands can automatically add a term to all or some of your references. These are useful tools for labeling groups of references as well as for fixing common typos or spelling mistakes.
Sorting: Set up multi-level sorts on up to five fields of your choice such as Year, Journal, and Title. Each level can be sorted in ascending or descending order. Column headings in the reference library window provide instant sorts on the displayed fields.
Customize Settings: The settings for customizing your EndNote library display, bibliographic preferences, and other options are organized in one easy-to-access Preferences panel.
Running EndNote on a Network: Use EndNote on a network and share libraries across mixed platforms.

THANK YOU TO STAFF OF UKM'S LIBRARY ESPECIALLY PUAN SHAHZIMAH AND PUAN ASMAH