GMGA 1013 INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC ADMINSTRATION

DISCUSSION

Public administration may be defined as the management of all the activities and
operations of the three branches of the government at the Central, State and Local levels.
According to L.D. White, it consists of all those operations having for their purpose the
fulfilment or enforcement of public policy. For Marx, administration can be defined as
determined action taken in pursuit of a conscious purpose. It is the systematic ordering of affairs
and the calculated use of resources aimed at making those happen which one wants to happen.

In Malaysia, there are politicians and the important positions in government sector that
can be taken to illustrate about public administration. Other than that, the system also could
describe or could give the overview with regards to the public administration in Malaysia. First is
Tun Haji Abdul Razak bin Dato’ Haji Hussein. He was the second Prime Minister of Malaysia,
from 1970 to 1976. Tun Abdul Razak is also renowned for launching the New Economic Policy
(NEP) in 1971. For his contributions in the area of national and rural development, he was
known as the Father of Development.

Then, the other politician is Tun Hussein bin Dato’ Onn Jaafar who was the third Prime
Minister of Malaysia. He served as Prime Minister from 1976 till 1981 and he was fondly called
as "Bapa Perpaduan" or Father of Unity. Tun Hussein is renowned for stressing on the issue of
unity through policies aimed at rectifying economic imbalances between the communities.

After that, another example is Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad who is known as Father of
Modernization. He was the fourth Prime Minister of Malaysia from 1981 till 2002. Dr. Mahathir
introduced the concept of Privatization Policy. He has launched the 'National Industrial Policy'
aimed at orientating Malaysia's economic activities into exports of industrial goods to reduce the
economic dependence on commodities.

Other than that, Tun Haji Abdullah bin Ahmad Badawi was fifth Prime Minister of
Malaysia. He was called as Father of Human Capital Development. The most famous concept
introduced of Islam Hadhari as a resurgence in strengthening the nation's struggle.

Next is Dato’ Sri Najib bin Tun Abdul Razak who is the sixth Prime Minister of
Malaysia. He is the Finance Minister of Malaysia since 2008 until now. Since becoming the

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Prime Minister of Malaysia in 2009, he has made various reforms from various aspects such as
people well-being or products under the name of 1 Malaysia, human rights and security of the
nation, administration, economy and finance, technology and innovation, politics, world
recognition to Malaysia under the administration, and education.

Other illustration to show about public administration in Malaysia is the constitutional

monarchy system. It is a government established under a constitutional system that recognizes
the king as the head of state and constitutional as the nation highest law. The constitutional
monarchy is understood as part of the administrative system where the federal constitution is the
highest constitution in Malaysia.

Besides, Yang di-Pertuan Agong also is the example of public administration in

Malaysia. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the King of Malaysia is the official tittle of the Head of
State. The current Yang di-Pertuan Agong in Malaysia is Tuanku Muhammad V or his real name
is Tuanku Muhammad Faris Petra Ibni Sultan Ismail Petra who is the Sultan of Kelantan.

Then, we focus on Yang di-Pertua Dewan Rakyat. He is the speaker and the one who
chairs in Dewan Rakyat and one of his functions is to receive or reject question presented by
assemblyman during the assembly being held. Other than that, he also can take disciplinary
action towards any member that does not comply discipline and assembly rules.

After that, other illustration that could be seen is on the part of the Cabinet in Malaysia.
The definition of Cabinet is a form of government and nowadays, most countries apply this
government system. Actually, Cabinet government is government governed by batch of people
that get majority support in election and sit for chair in Parliament or legislative assembly.

Another part of public administration is Dewan Rakyat where it is an institution for all
representatives to make a discussion, debate and discuss on administrative weaknesses, ways of
coping and proposal on government policy. A party that wins general election and majority seats
will form the state. Prime minister is chosen from political party leader which won most seats in
Dewan Rakyat.

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Plus, the other part is about Auditor General Audit. According to Article 105 0f Federal
Constitution, Auditor General is appointed by Yang Di-Pertuan Agung on the advice of the
Prime Minister after the consultation with Ruler Council. He is not subject to the power of Public
Service Commision (SPA) and his main role is to audit all the federal and states accounts and
make reports on it. The current Auditor General Audit is Ybhg. Tan Sri Dr. Madinah binti.
Mohamad.

Lastly, to illustrate about public administration in Malaysia is about Audit General

Report. According to Article 106 and 107 of Federal Constitution, it mentioned that the Auditor
General is obliged to audit the financial management which related to the government bodies or
anything that relates with the federal government and report it to Yang Di-Pertuan Agung in
getting his permission. So the audit reports are permissible to be presented in the Parliament.

As conclusion, there are so many institutions and also positions in government sector that
show what is public administration in Malaysia actually. Therefore, if we want to increase the
quality of public administration generally, the performance management reforms have to be
synchronized and equally matched with the political will to execute them. Other things that can
be listed out are that the Malaysian government need to sorts out its fundamental and systemic
flaws. Only then with all the regulations, circulars, policies, and legislations take full effect
independently. With the fundamentals in place, it will then be possible for Malaysia to continue
its past accomplishments of top quality performance management standards at all levels of its
public administration.

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REFERENCES

1. Who is Hussein Onn? Everything You Need to Know. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23,
2017, from https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/hussein-onn-5929.php
2. The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. (2013, October 03). Tun Haji Abdul Razak bin
Hussein. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Tun-
Haji-Abdul-Razak-bin-Hussein
3. Who is Hussein Onn? Everything You Need to Know. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23,
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sepanjang-empat-tahun-pentadbirannya-1.145440
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Oleh Aziz - https://www.bharian.com.my/node/270306
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abdullah-ahmad-badawi/biography-tun-abdullah-amad-badawi
9. Marx. (n.d.) What is Public administration. (n.d.) Retrieved October 21, 2017, from
http://managementstudyguide.com/what-is-public-administration.htm
10. L.D. White. (n.d.) What is Public Administration. (n.d.) Retrieved October 21. 2017,
from http://managementstudyguide.com/what-is-public-administration.htm
11. Legal Research Board. (2013) Federal Constitution. (As At 10th July 2013) International
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12. Profil Ketua Audit Negara (n.d.) Retrived 15th October 2017, from
https://www.audit.gov.my/index.php/ketua-audit-negara/profil
13. Section 5 of Audit Act 1957 (n.d.) Retrieved October 15 2017, from
https://www.audit.gov.my/

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