ENHANCING URBAN GOVERNANCE EFFICIENCY IN MANAGING GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS

The world bank estimated that there were 45 serious financial crises that erupted throughout the world in the 1980's, but this had increased by almost one and a half times to 65 crises recorded in the 1990's. Furthermore, due to the effects of contagion, a financial crisis in one remote part of the world will probably affect our nation more than it did before. As such, besides taking action on the domestic front, we must continue to press for reforms of the international financial architecture, even though it may no longer be fashionable to do so.

Geo-political developments will also affect the global economy in a more pronounced fashion in the future. Since the end of the cold war, and now with the impetus of the new war on terror, we have begun to witness the unilateral designs of one superpower to dominate the world. The war in Iraq and the harsh polemic directed towards Syria and Iran are instances of this. When you add the other skirmishes taking place in the world - such as the flare up in Aceh and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict - then you have a world full of potential flashpoints that could cause much uncertainty and disruption to the global economy. Natural disasters and other unexpected shocks can also wreak havoc on the economy. The recent phenomenon of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (S.A.R.S.) Affected Asian economies more starkly than the war in Iraq. Planes were grounded and hotel bookings were cancelled, as the fear of S.A.R.S. brought travel and tourism almost to a halt. Thankfully, this virus seems to have been brought under control, but we must be alert to any possible relapse and be ready to deal with any eventuality.

A key aspect of competitiveness relates to the efficiency and effectiveness of the public service delivery system and urban governance. In fact, in the first meeting of the cabinet committee on national competitiveness (of which I am the chairman), this delivery system was identified for further enhancement in our quest to improve national competitiveness. True, the private sector acts as the engine of growth, but this engine cannot run in a vacuum. The speed, efficiency and effectiveness with which the public sector serves the private sector determines the speed, efficiency and effectiveness of our corporations. Besides enhancing our competitiveness, we must improve our urban governance and public service delivery system simply because our citizens demand it. As the nation develops, and as our citizens become more affluent and sophisticated, more and more will be required of the government and civil service. I remember when we had to be absent from the office a good part of a day just to get our driver's license renewed. Now, not only does it take a mere five minutes, we need not go to the road transport department anymore; we can renew it even at the post office.

Furthermore, a conducive business environment is dependent not only on the relevant rules and regulations, but also on the services provided by the public sector. As taxpayers, individual citizens are also constantly looking for high quality services. In this case, how can the government respond to calls for an enhanced public service delivery system?. By no means an exhaustive list, I would like to offer five guiding principles for civil servants to consider in raising their overall efficiency and effectiveness. Corruption itself is symptomatic of a flaw in the delivery system. We must realise that people fall into the trap of corruption when customers seek to circumvent a complicated and cumbersome delivery system. If agencies make their delivery systems transparent and user-friendly, cut the red tape, add checks and balances to the system, and severely punish those who betray the public trust, then we would have already won half the battle against corruption.

Furthermore, the government has chartered new strategies to enhance the nation's resilience and competitiveness. These strategies include a focus on developing the services sector (including financial services, tourism, education, health and others), our foray into new areas such bio-technology, and intense efforts to further diversify our exports and to seek new markets for our goods and services.

GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS AND MALAYSIA COMPETITIVENESS MARKET

The world economy and the financial markets are facing numerous challenges and uncertainties. The global economy has been affected by sharp increases in the price of oil, as well as commodity and food prices. The instability in the financial sector in the United States has affected not only its economy but the European economies as well. Although economic outlook in the Asian region, especially in India and China, remains favourable, inflationary pressures may, to some extent, affect their domestic demand. These global developments would also affect Malaysia.

Notwithstanding this, the Malaysian economy remains strong and resilient. A diversified economy and export market, as well as high international reserves, provides greater flexibility for the economy to face an increasingly challenging external environment. Malaysia’s capital market has achieved remarkable growth over the years and is currently among the largest in the region. Not only has the market grown substantially in size, new innovative product have been introduced on an ongoing basis to meet the demands of domestic and foreign investors.

The Malaysian economy continues to record sustained growth. Strong economic fundamentals, as well as increased domestic demand, have resulted in the gross domestic product (GDP) achieving a growth of 7.1% during the first quarter of this year, and 6.3% for the second quarter of 2008. GDP growth for the first half of this year was, therefore, 6.7%. Although the nation will be somewhat affected by global developments, the Government is confident that Malaysia’s economy will continue to remain stable with a GDP growth of 5.7% this year.

To further strengthen the Malaysian capital market and to facilitate domestic intermediaries, such as principal corporate advisors, to expand their international business, the Government proposes that tax exemption be given on fees received by domestic intermediaries, which successfully list foreign companies and foreign investment products in Bursa Malaysia. This measure will also enable domestic investors to acquire shares of foreign companies listed in the local exchange.

To improve the country’s resilience and competitiveness, it is important to instill a culture of excellence and high performance at all levels of the work force, both in the private and public sectors. Towards this end, the implementation of Key Performance Indicators was introduced in the civil service and under the GLC Transformation Programme, with emphasis on performance-based wages at all levels of the workforce.

THE ROLE OF URBAN PLANNER IN EFFICIENT URBAN GOVERNANCE

One of the reasons why the concept of "governance" or "urban governance" was entering the lexicon was that the context within which local government operated had become much broader and more complex. This was happening both in the north and the south. In an important article on France (where a Law of Decentralization was first passed in 1981), Patrick le Gals argues for a shift in nomenclature from "the government of cities to urban governance". To le Gals, while the term "local government" was associated with a formal description of powers and responsibilities of urban authorities, local politics and the way in which French cities were administered were changing rapidly. "The term 'governance'" he argued, "suggests …functions and actions of government, but without the idea of uniformity, rationality, or standardization. The term 'urban governance' implies a greater diversity in the organization of services, a greater flexibility, a variety of actors, even a transformation of the forms that local democracy might assume, and taking into account citizens and consumers, and the complexity of new forms of citizenship" (Le Gals 1995, 60).

The decentralisation of governmental functions has been a major theme of the past decade or so in many parts of the world. At the same time, there has been a broadening of the understanding of governance away from simply what governments do to include civil society and the private sector. There has also been a shift away from the direct provision of services by government to more indirect approaches in partnership with the private sector, NGOs and community organisations. An urban planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning for the purpose of maximizing the effectiveness and efficiency of a community's land use and infrastructure. They formulate plans for the development and management of urban and suburban areas, typically analyzing land use compatibility as well as economic, environmental and social trends. In developing their plan for a community (whether commercial, residential, agricultural, natural or recreational), urban planners must also consider a wide array of issues such as sustainability, air pollution, traffic congestion, crime, land values, legislation and zoning codes.

Urban planners are usually hired by developers, private property owners, private planning firms and local/regional governments to assist in the large-scale planning of communal and commercial developments, as well as public facilities and transportation systems. Urban planners in the public role often assist the public and serve as valued technical advisors in the myriad web of the community's political environment. Related disciplines include regional, city, environmental, transportation, housing and community planning.Urban planners promote the best use of a community’s land and resources for residential, commercial, institutional, and recreational purposes. They address environmental, economic, and social health issues of a community as it grows and changes. They may formulate plans relating to the construction of new school buildings, public housing, or other kinds of infrastructure. Planners also may help to make decisions about developing resources and protecting ecologically sensitive regions. Some planners are involved in environmental issues including pollution control, wetland preservation, forest conservation, and the location of new landfills. Planners also may help to draft legislation on environmental, social, and economic issues, such as planning a new park, sheltering the homeless, or making the region more attractive to businesses.

Urban planners examine proposed community facilities, such as schools, to be sure that these facilities will meet the needs of a growing or changing population. They keep abreast of economic and legal issues involved in zoning codes, building codes, and environmental regulations and ensure that builders and developers follow these codes and regulations. Planners also deal with land-use issues created by population movements. For example, as suburban growth and economic development create more jobs outside cities, the need for public transportation that gets workers to those jobs increases. In response, planners develop and model possible transportation systems and explain them to planning boards and the general public.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE vs PUBLIC GOVERNANCE IN THE CONTEXT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

WHAT IS CORPORATE GOVERNANCE?

Corporate governance has succeeded in attracting a good deal of public interest because of its apparent importance for the economic health of corporations and society in general. However, the concept of corporate governance is poorly defined because it potentially covers a large number of distinct economic phenomenon. As a result different people have come up with different definitions that basically reflect their special interest in the field.

Corporate governance is a field in economics that investigates how to secure/motivate efficient management of corporations by the use of incentive mechanisms, such as contracts, organizational designs and legislation. This is often limited to the question of improving financial performance, for example, how the corporate owners can secure/motivate that the corporate managers will deliver a competitive rate of return.

Corporate governance is the system by which business corporations are directed and controlled. The corporate governance structure specifies the distribution of rights and responsibilities among different participants in the corporation, such as, the board, managers, shareholders and other stakeholders, and spells out the rules and procedures for making decisions on corporate affairs. By doing this, it also provides the structure through which the company objectives are set, and the means of attaining those objectives and monitoring performance.

WHAT IS PUBLIC GOVERNANCE?

Good, effective public governance helps to strengthen democracy and human rights, promote economic prosperity and social cohesion, reduce poverty, enhance environmental protection and the sustainable use of natural resources, and deepen confidence in government and public administration.

Government exists to serve the needs of the public. Governance exists to ensure those needs are served efficiently, effectively and fairly. It accomplishes that goal by providing clear processes and structures for all aspects of executive management such as decision-making, strategic alignment, managerial control, supervision and accountability. Governance has been a hot topic in corporate boardrooms for nearly a decade — and it's gotten even hotter due to recent corporate scandals like Enron. Citizens and regulators are calling for higher levels of transparency and accountability in all areas of business. And they're making those same demands of government, which has always been held to high standards for governance and accountability. In a recent study, the World Bank found a strong relationship between good governance and good government performance.

E-GOVERNMENT vs E-GOVERNANCE

E-GOVERNMENT

Similar to the dramatic changes in e-commerce, countries in the Regions have begun to recognize the emergence of e-government -"the ability to obtain government services through nontraditional electronic means, enabling access to government information and to completion of government transaction on an anywhere, any time basis and in conformance with equal access requirement."- offers potential to reshape the public sector and build relationships between citizens and the government.

At the same time, concerns have already been expressed about the gap between the technology haves and have-nots, and more popularly known as "the digital divide." In order to ensure that countries avoid creating a digital divide and create conditions to ensure that growth of the knowledge economy contributes to carrying out a democratic process of efficient, equitable and sustainable development, expanded dialogue and new patterns of cooperation among public, private ad civil society organizations are needed.

The multiple roles of government, at all levels, must be recognized and understood by all if it is to play an effective role in this partnership involving access to information and the role of information and communication technology.

Roles of Government:

· Uses information and information/communication technology provided by the private sector for public administration,

· Produces public information to which citizens must have access,

· Has the authority to establish marketplace rules and establish regulatory structures that ensure that everyone participates and benefits form growth of the knowledge economy.

There is an inextricable relationship between government's role as a user of information and communication technology and its capacity to formulated public policy for the knowledge economy. Governments that learn how to use these technologies to operate more efficiently and improve public services are more likely to effectively stimulate and contribute to the knowledge economy public policy debate.Online delivery of services benefits both government and its constituents, as it lowers costs and make services more accessible.

One of the most promising aspects of e-government is its ability to bring citizens closer to their governments. While the technology to facilitate this connection is widely available, many government sites have not taken full advantage of its benefits in Latin American and Caribbean Countries.Enabling conversation between citizens and government is not the only way to bring citizens and government closer together. Making government more easily accessible is another component of this endeavor. There are few features that make this possible. One of them is the ability to search a particular web site. Another is to offer life broadcast of important speeches through the web. Another way is by enabling citizens to cater available information to their particular interest.

Benefits of E-Government integration

· Lower costs as well as improved efficiency and quality of service.

· More effective linkages between citizens and government.

· Improve efficiency of government workers.

· Facilitate transparency and accountability

E-GOVERNANCE

E-governance is beyond the scope of e-government. While e-government is defined as a mere delivery of government services and information to the public using electronic means, e-governance allows direct participation of constituents in government activities. Blake Harris summarizes the e-governance as the following; E-governance is not just about government web site and e-mail. It is not just about service delivery over the Internet. It is not just about digital access to government information or electronic payments. It will change how citizens relate to governments as much as it changes how citizens relate to each other. It will bring forth new concepts of citizenship, both in terms of needs and responsibilities. E-governance will allow citizens to communicate with government, participate in the governments' policy-making and citizens to communicate each other. The e-governance will truly allow citizens to participate in the government decision-making process, reflect their true needs and welfare by utilizing e-government as a tool.

Introduction of e-governance is a key to make information technology (IT) relevant to ordinary citizens in Latin America and Caribbean countries where a large numbers of population are poor and a digital divide is a significant problem. E-governance will allow ordinary people to constantly interface with the government in both local and central level on various matters. The Bank's involvement in modernization of the government thus is not limited to provide the most advanced Information Communication and Technology to the government so that government can provide its information and service more effectively and efficiently to the citizens. The Bank makes sure that the government will allow all the citizens to access to information or services (any citizens should not be excluded), to articulate their needs and to participate in formulating policy and regulation that will improve their social welfare and well being. The ability of Central government to understand all needs from ordinary local citizens is limited. Therefore, the participation of citizens in local level is extremely important (link with creative community initiative). The true e-governance should be attained by interface of citizens both with central and local government.

SOURCES : Inter-American Development Bank, 2008

DEFINITION OF GOVERNANCE IN PERSPECTIVE OF URBAN PLANNING

The exercise of political, economic and administrative authority in the management of a country’s affairs at all levels. Governance comprises the complex mechanisms, processes, and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, mediate their differences, and exercise their legal rights and obligations. Good governance is among other things participatory, transparent and accountable. It is also effective and equitable and it promotes the rule of law. Good governance assures that political, social and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society and that the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in decision-making over the allocation of development resources.

Governance includes the state, but transcends it by taking in the private sector and civil society. The state creates a conducive political and legal environment. The private sector generates jobs and income. The civil society facilitates political and social interaction – mobilizing groups to participate in economic, social and political activities. Because each has its weaknesses and strengths, a major objective of our support for good governance is to promote constructive interaction among all three. The regularized ways of ordering human societies at all levels of organization from family units to entire societies. Good governance occurs when societal norms and practices empower and encourage people to take increasingly greater control over their own development in a manner that does not impinge upon the accepted rights of others. UNDP Internet Conference Forum on "Public Private Interface in Urban Environmental Management"

Governance refers to the process whereby elements in society wield power and authority, and influence and enact policies and decisions concerning public life, and economic and social development. Governance is a broader notion than government. Governance involves interaction between these formal institutions and those of civil society. The Governance Working Group of the International Institute of Administrative Sciences 1996.

There is no alternative to working together and using collective power to create a better world. Governance is the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and private, manage their common affairs. It is a continuing process through which conflicting or diverse interests may be accommodated and co- operative action may be taken. It includes formal institutions and regimes empowered to enforce compliance, as well as informal arrangements that people and institutions either have agreed to or perceive to be in their interest.

Examples of governance at the local level include a neighbourhood co- operative formed to install and maintain a standing water pipe, a town council operating a waste recycling scheme, a multi- urban body developing an integrated transport plan together with user groups, a stock exchange regulating itself with national government oversight, and a regional initiative of state agencies, industrial groups, and residents to control deforestation. At the global level, governance has been viewed primarily as intergovernmental relationships, but it must now be understood as also involving non- governmental organizations (NGOs), citizens' movements, multinational corporations, and the global capital market. Interacting with these are global mass media of dramatically enlarged influence.The Commission on Global Governance

Governance is the written and unwritten policies, procedures, and decisionmaking units that control resource allocation within and among institutions. New forms of governance allow individual organizations to contribute their strengths and talents, to discharge their collective responsibilities and to preserve and enhance the distinctiveness of their organizations and institutions.

The progress of a country depends in no small measure on the quality of its governance. While a democratic government may lay the foundation for good governance, a vigilant and active citizenry is essential to is sustenance. Nowhere is this need more evident that in the management of public sectors services for which citizens depend largely on their government. The quality of governance is enhanced when government as a whole and public agencies in particular become open to new ideas and responsive to citizens. Responsiveness in turn is improved when citizens are well informed and collectively seek better performance from these agencies. Policy Affairs Centre

"Governance" is the art of public leadership. There are three distinct dimensions of governance:

• the form of political regime;

• the process by which authority is exercised in the management of a country’s economic and social resources; and

• the capacity of governments to design, formulate, and implement policies and discharge functions.

The criteria that constitute good governance have been drawn from these three dimensions, and include: '

• legitimacy of government (degree of "democratization"),

• accountability of political and official elements of government (media freedom, transparency of decision-making, accountability mechanisms),

• competence of governments to formulate policies and deliver services,

• respect for human rights and rule of law (individual and group rights and security, framework for economic and social activity, participation).
  Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development

21st October 2008 - 1st NAPREC CONFERENCE

Since 2002, INSPEN has been the Coordinator for funds in real estate research known as National Real Estate Research Coordinator (NAPREC). As a coordinator, INSPEN coordinates and manage the funds for research on real estate on behalf of the Government. Objectives of the NAPREC Grant.

• To promote research projects of high priority in real estate.

• To promote research that addresses the needs of Malaysian real estate industry.

• To encourage joint efforts among real estate research institutions.

• To foster R&D links between public and private sectors.

• To enhance the nation's global competitiveness trough internationalisation of real estate research.

NAPREC fund is for real estate research projects.

20th October 2008 - WORKSHOP ON THE WRITING OF THESIS - UKM STYLE

19th OCTOBER 2008...HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUHAMMAD ZULAZMIN

Today is my son Muhammad Zulazmin 1st year birthday

THE TOOL OF URBAN GOVERNANCE EFFICENCY

Land use control mechanism is a tool to guide and control land use development activities mainly in town planning process. In Malaysia, The Town and Country Planning Act 1976 (Act 172) states that there must be a development plan system to act as a mechanism to control land use. The development plan system consists of a District Local Plan (DLP) which has the functions of planning, controlling and guiding land development at the district level. Studies done in DLP consists all the sectors in land development including housing. Thus, all parties in land development process, especially the developers must refer to DLP as to refer on land availability for future housing development. However, the effectiveness of the information on land availability stated in the DLP has always being questioned. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to study and improve the effectiveness of DLP in stating the level of land availability for housing development in urban area. A study is done based on literature study on the importance of housing in an urban system and reviews on the factors relating to housing in DLP. The Malaysia Government's strategy for promoting sustainable development identifies an important role for the town and country planning system. The system is to be a key instrument in delivering land use and development objectives that are compatible with the aims of sustainable development. The recent amendment to the planning legislation indicates the concern for better environmental management both at development plan level and development control. For development control purposes, the local planning authority is empowered to grant planning permissions subject to conditions related to resource conservation and measures which enhance environmental quality of the development.

17th OCTOBER 2008 - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MUHAMMAD ZULAZMAN

Today is my second son, Muhammad Zulazman celebrate his 8th birthday. Happy Birthday to Abang Man from Ayah, Ibu, Abang Lan, Kakak ALin, Adik Amir and Adik Amin. We all love you..

15th OCTOBER 2008 - LESTARI SPECIAL FORUM

SUSTAINABILITY AND HUMAN WELL-BEING : CAN WE MEET THE CHALLENGE?

Distinguished Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Boston, USAFounder President, ATREECo-founder, CISED

Today I have attended a special forum on SUSTAINABILITY AND HUMAN WELL-BEING : CAN WE MEET THE CHALLENGE? organised by LESTARI, Akademi Sains UKM and ICSU Asia Pacific. The forum delivered by Prof Dr. Kamal Bawa from University of Massachusetts Boston USA. The forum focus on is humanity’s quest for sustainability will be the dominant theme of the twenty first century. The major challenges to this quest are the inter-related problems of environmental degradation and poverty, exacerbated now with climate change. Progress on technological, social and economic fronts would be necessary to meet these challenges. However, existing institutions in much of the developing world do not have the capacity to respond to complex environmental and social challenges. New institutions are required to cope with poverty, environment, and sustainability. Such institutions should be problem driven with explicit goals of addressing environmental degradation, poverty alleviation and social change. Moreover these institutions should transcend traditional disciplinary boundaries to generate new ideas and technologies, and link new findings with changes in policy and governance. I will provide some examples of such institutions and their innovative sustainability programs and discuss ways to make further progress in meeting environmental, social, and economic challenges of our time.

Kamal Bawa, an evolutionary ecologist and a conservation biologist, obtained his doctoral degree form Panjab University, India. He has held Bullard and Cabot Fellowships at Harvard University, and has also been named a Guggenheim Fellow as well as a Pew Scholar in Conservation and the Environment. Currently, a Distinguished Professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, Kamal Bawa, has published more than 160 papers, and edited eight books, monographs or special issues of journals. He is the editor-in-chief of Conservation and Society, an interdisciplinary journal in conservation, and also serves on the editorial boards of several other journals. He has served on many national and international advisory panels. He has been the President of the Association for Tropical Biology., and is a member of the board of several foundations. Kamal Bawa is the founder-president of the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), a non-governmental organisation devoted to research, policy analysis, and education in India.He is also a founder-trustee of the Center for Interdisciplinary studies in Environment and Development, Bangalore, India.

14TH OCTOBER 2008 - POSTGRADUATE QOLLIQIUM

Today I have attended postgraduate qolliqium organised by Faculty of Social Science and Humanities (FSSK), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). 3 paper presented by one PHD student and two master students. Their research basically at the stage of data analysis. Below the list of papers presented :

a. THE URBAN SIAMESE COMMUNITY : A STUDY OF CULTURAL IDENTITY MAINTAINANCE AND TRANSMISSION IN AN URBAN SETTING OF MALAYSIA by Suphatmet Yunyasit, Phd Student Candidate from Programme of Antrophology and Sociology, FSSK .

b. ORANG ASLI RESETTLEMENT PROGRAMME AS DEVELOPMENT AGENDA FOR ORANG ASLI COMMUNITY - CASE STUDY DALA, GERIK PERAK by Norashikin Mohd Saad, Master Student Candidate from Programme of Development Science, FSSK

c. ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL SUITABILITY BASED ON GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) - CASE STUDY STRATEGIC PLANNING ZONE SENTUL-MANJALARA KUALA LUMPUR by Mohd Yusof Ibrahim, Master Student Candidate from Programme of Geography, FSSK.

Unfortunely, only 4 lecturers and 4 students attended??????

GOVERNING OUR CITIES: WILL PEOPLE POWER WORK

UN-Habitat launched the Global Campaign on Urban Governance in 1999 to support the implementation of the Habitat Agenda goal of “sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world.” The campaign’s goal is to contribute to the eradication of poverty through improved urban governance. It aims to increase the capacity of local governments and other stakeholders to practice good urban governance and to raise awareness of and advocate for good urban governance around the world. The campaign focuses attention on the needs of the excluded urban poor. It promotes the involvement of women in decision-making at all levels, recognizing that women are one of the biggest levers for positive change in society. In so doing, the campaign will make a significant contribution to implementing the Habitat Agenda and the United Nations’ action strategy for halving extreme poverty by 2015.

The massive challenge of preparing cities to meet the 21century has prompted the emergence over recent years of a remarkable and radical international consensus. At the heart of this is how all city dwellers, particularly the vast majority with subsistence incomes, no security and very little power, can gain a stake in the future of their cities. Cities cannot be successful – economically, politically or culturally – if the divisions between rich and poor continue to widen, if the poor are disenfranchised and have no rights to their land and if they have no voice or form of self-organisation. The solution to sustainable development in cities is for poor people to be allowed to assert their own rights, and increasingly to organise themselves to provide their own services and infrastructure. Successful systems of urban governance depend on people power.

This consensus is not simply that of a fringe group of radicals, but the analysis that emerged five years ago in Istanbul at the meeting of 171 governments for Habitat II, the City Summit (the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements). The terms "participation" and "partnership" had been used since the 1980s to mean very different things, such as the privatisation of services and the contributions made by poor people to their costs. The type of partnership widely seen today as crucial to good governance and poverty reduction involves poor people participating with government in policy and decision-making as well as contributing to implementation and costs. Often the private sector is also involved. But successful privatisation of services like water also depends on meeting the needs of the poor, and the role of government is to ensure and facilitate this. If they are ignored, fiascos like Bolivia’s Cochabamba water privatisation occur – where protests against steep price hikes by the private consortium led to the government rapidly rescinding the contract. Successful privatisations involve consultation and choice for the poorest citizens, with crosssubsidisation or differential levels of services to keep prices affordable. The proposed extension of the scope of the World Trade Organisation’s GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) may constrain governments’ policy choices in such service provision.

FAREWELL TO HAJI ZULHAIMI...

Today 10th October 2008, my brother in-law Haji Zulhaimi and his family return to Jeddah, after spend 3 weeks Hari raya with us. He is working with Panda, the leading food retailer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as Trainning Manager. Panda is part of the Savola Group, which is one of the largest companies in Saudi Arabia.

HAJI ZULHAIMI AND HIS FAMILY

HAJI ZULHAIMI' FAMILY AND HAJJAH NORBAINI DURING HARI RAYA 2008

ONE BIG HAPPY FAMILY

KAKAK ANIS AND HER GRANDMOTHER

OUR FAMILY AND HAJI ZULHAIMI AT KLIA

HAJJAH EZIYARTI AND HER FAMILY AT KLIA

BYE-BYE...AYAH EMI, MAK EMI, ARIS, ANIS AND ADIK HANNY ...SAFE JOURNEY

AL-FATIHAH....FOR PROF DR. AHRIS YAAKUP

Today 9 October 2008, I received sms from Dr Jalal dan a few friends from Federal Department of Town and Country Planning, Peninsular Malaysia, to inform that Prof Dr Ahris Yaakup Senior Lecturer from Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Faculty of Built Environment (FAB), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, (UTM) has passed away in New Zealand. Allahyarham Prof. Dr. Ahris created a planning support system that can be used by local councils and planning agencies to control and monitor urban development. Allahyarham Prof. Dr. Ahris has written a few articles related to urban planning such as:

• GIS and Decision Support Systems for local authority in Malaysia

• A GIS Approach to Spatial Modeling for Squatter Settlement Planning in Kuala-Lumpur

• Incorporating GIS into sustainable urban and regional planning. The Malaysian case

• Geoinformation Technology and Urban Planning: From Database to Knowledgebase

• A geographic information system (GIS) and multi-criteria analysis for sustainable tourism planning , etc

Even I was not UTM student or his student, I have attended a few seminar and workshops delivered by Prof Dr Ahris. I think he is a urban planning scholar. For him.... "planning methodology has changed over the years as emphasis has shifted from producing plan, which described a state of affairs expected of some future date to one, which acknowledged the continuous and cyclical nature of planning. Thus planning should be based on the identification of needs and goals, the formulation and evaluation of alternative courses of action and monitoring of adopted programmes. By tracing the evolving view of planning, this paper will discuss the likewise evolving concern of the information technology. It can be demonstrated that the development of planning support system run parallel to the database to information followed by the current focus on applied science approach in the 1960s through a focus on the political process in the 1970s to an emphasis on communication in the 1980s."

Prof Dr Ahris is so passionate about the development of Geographical Information Technology (GIT) as a tool for planning in Malaysia indicates the growing GIT application in planning process. For him Geographical Information Systems (GIS) can be used to assist decision–making, taking into account among other things, the current scenarios of the proposed development, physical constraint and future impacts. ... AL FATIHAH...may god bless you and rest in peace...

EFFICIENCY IN URBAN GOVERNANCE - THE FUTURE OF MALAYSIA'S LOCAL AUTHORITIES

Rapid economic growth, population increase and urbanization that characterize most countries in the Asia-Pacific region impact inevitably on the urban environment. The emergence of new issues and problems poses new challenges to traditional ways of managing urban areas. It entails new approaches, strategies as well as practical and effective answers and solutions from local authorities. Greater globalization of the economy, accelerated advances of information technology, greater demands for accountability of results and the need to foster closer public and private collaboration pose tremendous challenges to national as well as local governments. One of the emerging issues arising is whether Malaysian local authorities, particularly the smaller ones, will have the capacity and capability to assume new roles to meet new challenges. In the future, local authorities must move from a maintenance-oriented administration to being a facilitator, pacesetter and regulator of socioeconomic development in order for them to contribute effectively towards the nation's competitiveness.

With regards to these challenges as well as the capability and need to reform to remain effective, the Tun Dr Mahathir our former Prime Minister commented that: "Given these rapid changes in the world economy, the public service must be prepared to confront new sets of challenges in the 21st Century (...). Continuous efforts must therefore be made to review the public service so as to be in line with the current needs and times. We need to look into new ways and means to improve and enhance the capability of our public service (Mahathir 1995: 12)". As part of the national efforts to reform the public service in meeting the current needs and times, local governments together with other public agencies have been undertaking a number of reform programmes based on a series of strategies. These reform efforts are intended to create excellence in the public service based on the core values of quality, productivity, innovation, integrity, accountability, discipline and professionalism and include:

• The provision of customer oriented services;

• Improvements to systems and procedures;

• Greater use of information technology;

• Strengthening relationships with the private sector;

• Improvements to the organizational structure and human resource management;

• Enhancing accountability and discipline; and

• Enculturation of values and excellence.

As instruments of national development, local governments in Malaysia have changed fundamentally, albeit slowly from a service provider to a facilitator of growth. Besides, local governments have assumed a more developmental role in creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and for citizens to prosper. In the age of rapid urbanization and globalization, the ability to manage change and fast-paced development is an important imperative for local government. This entails continuous capability and capacity-building efforts, reforms, innovations and the willingness to learn from others.

SEMINAR ON PHILOSOPHY AND THEORY OF DEVELOPMENT

This 2nd semester Session 2008/2009, I am joining (sit-in) class of philosophy and theory of development coordinated by Dr Siva and Encik Azmi. I hope I can improve my knowledge on development theory and will give some inputs for my literature review. We have been thaught by Dr Siva and Encik Azmi a few theories related to development. Today 6 October 2008 I have a chance to present my paper on GLOBALISATION FORCES IN RELATION TO DEVELOPMENT. Actually this topic is really much relevant to my phd research and continue to 1st semester 2007/2008 lectured by Assoc. Prof. Dr Hamzah under module Globalisation and Development. However on 26 September 2008 I have met Encik Azmi to discuss further on the content of this topic.The end of the seminar, Dr Siva, Encik Azmi and my classmates give analytical thinking and new information about globalisation. Here my slides presentation.