CHAPTER 7 :

CONTEMPORARY POLICY
ISSUES IN MALAYSIA
LEARNING OUTCOMES :
At the end of the chapter students should be able to discuss on
any current policy issues in Malaysia. At the same time,
identifying the limitations of public policy (in theoretical part)
that may lead to a policy issue.
INTRODUCTION
Policy change refers to incremental shifts in existing structures, or new
and innovative policies (Bennett and Howlett 1992).

Policy reform is ‘the process of improving the performance of existing

systems and of assuring their efficient and equitable response to future
changes’ (Berman 1995: 27)

Malaysia have gone through some significant changes of its

administrative system after the 14th General Election. This may include
some policy being changed or reformed by the respective authorities.

In this chapter, we will see what are the actions taken by the government
to improvise some of the existing policies to suit the people’s needs
THE LIMITATIONS OF PUBLIC POLICY (DYE, 1992)
Some societal problems are incapable of solutions because the in which
they are defined. Thus, they may never be resolved by public policy.

Expectations of the policy is beyond the capabilities of governments, thus

may lead to policy failure. Policies that solve the problems of one group in
society may create problems for other groups.

Societal problems may have multiple causes and a specific policy may not
be able to eradicate the problem. The solution to some problems may
require policies that are more costly than the problem.

The political system is not structured for completely rational decision

making. Thus, government is incapable to formulate a rational public
policy
CURRENT PROGRESS/CHANGES ON POLICY MAKING IN MALAYSIA (UNDER
THE NEW GOVERNMENT)
COMMITTEE OF EMINENT PERSON (CEP)
The CEP was set up by the prime minister on May 12 with the objective of
advising the government on socio-economic and financial matters.

This is one of the new and innovative initiatives of the current government in
order to assist with policy decision making of the country.

Over the course of the 100-days, the council met with over 350 individuals
from more than 200 organisations, as well as many other stakeholders.

After the formation of a full cabinet, the CEP had also worked in consultation
with the relevant ministries to obtain their input and feedback, wherever
necessary.
 CEP : 100 DAY RECOMMENDATION
Three key themes shaped the council’s recommendations and it revolved
around the need to improve governance, the well-being of the people and the
need to ensure that the economy was inclusive and sustainable.

The first part of the council’s recommendation dealt with governance issues
and institutional reforms where it looked into:

1. Areas of parliamentary reforms

2. Judiciary appointments
3. The concentration of executive powers
4. Abolition of oppressive legislation
5. Government agencies reform
6. Human rights laws
7. Communications and media
The recommendations include measures to strengthen the independence of
Malaysia’s core institutions and enhance their respective governance framework with
the objective to put an end to the era of widespread corruption and abuse of power
that has plagued the country.

The CEP also looked into ways to address multi-dimensional poverty and imbalances
in the society and ways to improve programmes and policies that are key to ensuring
the well-being of the people.

The recommendations, among others, focused on issues related to poverty,

inequality, and measures to reduce the cost of living such as housing affordability,
fuel subsidy, social protection, the former 1Malaysia People's Aid (BRIM) and toll.

The recommendations also looked into the Bumiputera Agenda, which the committee
said cannot be seen in isolation as it is part of the national agenda. It is not in
contradiction to the national agenda of inclusivity and economic well-being for all
Malaysians.
One of the key recommendations by the CEP on how to grow an economy that is
inclusive and sustainable is to include the development of a new framework for
investment incentives with the aim to reverse the structural decline of the economy.

This requires replacing irrelevant existing incentives with new ones that are outcome-
based and promote sustainable and inclusive growth.

The council had also looked into matters involving fiscal management of the nation,
focusing on the importance of a responsible, effective and sustainable fiscal policy.

The fiscal reforms aimed to strengthen fiscal discipline and accountability, especially in
debt management.

The report proposed ways to increase revenue, as well as, redesign the tax policy to
ensure that it was progressive, fair and balanced.

It also looked at ways to optimise expenditures, with emphasis on efficiency and

reducing leakages.
 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES RELATED TO ECONOMIC AND DEVELOPMENT
POLICIES ISSUE 1: NEP Will Be Reviewed
Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali said that the New
Economic Policy (NEP) will be reviewed by the Government to ensure that it fulfils
the needs of the people and the direction of socio-economic development of
Malaysia.

The review of the NEP, an affirmative action policy that was crafted in the
aftermath of the May 13 riots in 1969, would be carried out in line with the
aspirations of a New Malaysia in ensuring sustainable economic growth and a fair
distribution.

The NEM (New Economic Model) will also be reviewed to ascertain if they are still
relevant in ensuring sustainable economic development and distributive justice.
This is to ensure that all Government efforts will truly bring benefit or a positive
impact to the people without any leakages, misappropriation and abuse of power.
ISSUE 2: Changes In National Housing Policy To Be Unveiled In
September 2018
Changes in the National Housing Policy expected to be announced in
September 2018. The Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida
Kamaruddin said the National Housing Policy, which will facilitate home
ownership for Malaysians, will be introduced.

“The government’s goal is to make it easier for people to own homes”

The new policy will simplify legislation and the borrowing process to
help people own homes. To formulate the new policy, the ministry had
held meetings with Bank Negara, the finance ministry, the Employees
Provident Fund, banks, developers’ associations and consumer bodies
Six agencies will come under the ministry namely PR1MA, Syarikat
Perumahan Negara Bhd, RumahWIP, UDA, 1Malaysia Public Housing and
Perumahan Penjawat Awam Malaysia (PPA1M). At present, these projects
are managed by different ministries and agencies.

While the pricing threshold has yet to be agreed on, both the public and
private sector have agreed about dividing the country into different
regions in order to establish clarity in pricing.

The rise in small offices home offices (SoHos) which come with residential
element has made it necessary to have new laws governing such projects
to protect buyers as well as establish clear cut guidelines governing such
developments.
ISSUE 3: Centre holds consultation on green development
policy
KUCHING: The Centre for Environment, Technology and Development
Malaysia (Cetdem) held a consultation briefing yesterday to seek input from
various departments and agencies to produce a comprehensive green
development policy.

Cetdem chairman Gurmit Singh said the workshop ‘Water in Malaysia: The
Holistic Sustainable Path’ was previously held in Sabah (Aug 14), Penang
(June), and Selangor (April).

“The input from these briefings will be used to finalise the plan, which is
expected to be published and disbursed to relevant agencies and parliament
members in December this year,” Gurmit Singh told The Borneo Post
yesterday.
 He said the input will be on governmental aspects as well as physical aspects,
such as water supply and water pollution. Volunteers will also be roped in to
monitor the implementation of the plans at state level.

He added the objectives include ensuring sustainable development-related

information will be accessible to a wider spectrum of people and organisations.
ISSUE 4: PM: Government to review National Automotive
Policy
The government will review the country’s automotive policy to ensure Proton
remains competitive in the local market. The Prime Minister said the study
would focus on issues relating to the development of the local automotive
industry and the new proposed national car project.

The study will also include discussions on how to prosper the development of
local companies, research and development activities and move to improve
export activities.
 CONTEMPORARY ISSUES RELATED TO SOCIAL POLICIES
ISSUE 1 : Committee To Review National Education Policy
The Education Minister Maszlee Malik said that the education ministry will
set up a committee to review the national education policy. The members of
the committee would comprise academicians, politicians, religious experts as
well as representatives of NGOs.

The committee is tasked with reviewing the national education philosophy

and policy, including improving the educational curriculum and system, from
preschool right up to the university level.

The ministry is aiming at the education that encompass civic awareness as

well as empower science. and technology
 The minister is making the statement in the Dewan Rakyat when replying
to a question from Ahmad Faizal Azumu (PH-Tambun) on the direction of
national education.

Responding to a supplementary question on the measures taken to

encourage the use of the English language, without neglecting Bahasa
Malaysia, especially among the rural community, he said the ministry
would increase the number of English language specialist teachers in the
rural areas.

Other measures included raising the skills of existing English language

teachers, inviting retired and graduate teachers to be involved in the
efforts to boost the use of the language, and taking in trained teachers
from overseas for the purpose.
ISSUE 2 : Malaysia's Welfare Policy To Move Away From Mere
Handouts
Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan
Azizah said that Malaysia's approach towards social welfare programmes will
change from merely giving handouts to creating opportunities for the needy to
become self-reliant

The ministry's policy on welfare is guided by the notion of productive welfare.

Rather than focusing on aid programmes, the ministry is moving towards

national policies that empower communities in need and provide the needy
with tools to become valuable contributors to the nation and economy. The
focus of the ministry is to help the needy to get on their feet, to stand on their
own and become self-reliant
ISSUE 3 : Malaysia Eyes Proper Policy For Foreign Workers
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said that the government is eyeing to put in
place a proper policy for foreign workers.

This, the prime minister said, would help address questionable

manners with which they were being brought into the country.
"Actually we're studying to try and find a proper policy for foreign
workers ... they are many wrong things being done (with regard to their
recruitment),".

Mahathir cited the example of a company being given the right to bring
in foreign workers without undergoing a proper tender process, and
making a lot of money along the way.
ISSUE 4 : Malaysia Launches First Food-epi To Curb Rising Ncds,
Obesity
Malaysia has launched its first Food-Environment Policy Index (Food-EPI) aimed at curbing
the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and obesity in the country.

Health deputy director-general Datuk Dr Azman Abu Bakar said the Food-EPI will be used as a
tool to benchmark the government's progress in creating healthy food environment against
international best practices. Thus, awareness on healthy eating must start early and spread
among children at the school level.

While the introduction of effective preventive policies in ensuring healthier food

environment is important, the awareness on healthy food consumption needs to be
emphasised from the young age. A healthy lifestyle plays a major role in creating healthy food
environment.

NCDs and obesity are escalating, especially among children. Thus, with this policy, the issue
can be tackled. The discussion is not on the type of food for the society but also the industry.
(As such) The policies need to be implemented effectively at all sectors
 CONCLUSION
In Malaysia, socioeconomic and development policy has been the
underlying policy since independence and the emphasis has been on
benefit to the people’s livelihoods.

Socioeconomic and development policy have to focus on approach,

should be intensive and inclusive in content in order to give positive
impact to the people.

The transformation of communities serves as the main hurdle in the

socio-economic development efforts of developing nations like
Malaysia, hence policy-making should be focusing on the needs of the
people
 SUGGESTED TUTORIAL QUESTIONS
Question 1: As a student, is there any improvement you wish
to see in the education sector? (10 marks)

Question 2: Discuss on some possible policy that could be

implemented to
*Increase employability of youths in the rural area
*Empower senior citizen after retirement
*Reduce accidents in childcare facilities (10 marks)