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.