CHAPTER 4:

CATEGORIES AND
TYPES OF PUBLIC
POLICY IN MALAYSIA

P R E P A R E D B Y:

MOHD ROZAIMY BIN RIDZUAN

LECTURER
UITM RAUB CAMPUS

MOHD IDHAM BIN MOHD YUSOF

SENIOR LECTURER
UITM SEREMBAN CAMPUS
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Upon the completion of this chapter, students should be able
to:

• List down and explain several types of public policy

(Constituent, regulatory, distributive, redistributive)
• Describe on the types of public policy in the Malaysian
sphere.
• Discuss on merits and demerits of each types of public
policy
 INTRODUCTION
• There are several types of public policy which are
patronage, regulatory, redistributive and monetary
policies.
• Joseph Stewart et al. (2008) highlighted several types of
public policy, namely regulatory, distributive and
redistributive policies.
• Meanwhile, Meier (1987) had identified 4 types of
public policies namely constituent, regulatory,
distributive and redistributive policies.
• We will be discussing on the 4 types of public policies
as per Meier’s
CONSTITUENT POLICY
• Constituent policy involves the composition or make up
of government.
• It concerns with the establishment of government
structure, with the establishment of rules (procedures) for
the conduct of government, of rules that distribute or
divide power and jurisdictions (James E. Anderson, 2011).
• Constituent policy also includes such matters as personnel
practices and budgetary actions (James E. Anderson,
2011).
• It can be divided into two elements which are structural
and procedural constituents.
 CONSTITUENT POLICY
• A Structural Constituent Policy creates government structure.
For instance, the creation of the Department of Homeland
Security. This new department pulled together functions from 22
units in other executive departments. The idea is to enable the
department to act in a more unified and effective manner to
protect the nation’s internal security against terrorist attacks
(James E. Anderson, 2011).

• A Procedural Constituent Policy outlines the steps in a process:

Courtroom procedures, procedures for the government to take
people’s land and homes, and procedures for which the
government bans a particular drug from being sold on the market
(Carter A. Wilson, 2016).
EXAMPLES
Structural Policy
• The establishment of The Global Infrastructure Anti-
Corruption Centre (GIACC)
• The establishment of Central Asset Management
Corporation (CAMcorp). They are responsible for the
management of seized and forfeited assets.

Procedural Policy:
• The compulsory acquisition of land. Land acquisition
process under the Land Acquisition Act 1960 (“LAA”).
MERITS

Protect national Conflict

interest/safety avoidance

It provides a
Employment guideline for both
Opportunities government and
citizens.
 Time consuming: an
Costly in-depth analysis is
needed

Demerits

Not stable and it would People not fully

be facing changes- understand the
depends on who is the procedures
government of the day.
 REGULATORY POLICY
• This policy set guidelines for the actions and practices of private
individuals, firms, or businesses (Carter A. Wilson)
• Regulatory policy is about achieving government's objectives
through the use of regulations, laws, and other instruments to
deliver better economic and social outcomes and thus enhance
the life of citizens and business (OECD, 2016).
• According to James E. Anderson (2011), regulatory policy
imposes restrictions or limitations on the behavior of
individuals and groups.
• In other words, the government formulates regulatory policy for
the purpose of controlling the conduct of certain behavior that can
bring harm to the society.
 REGULATORY POLICY
• There are two types of regulatory policies: competitive and protective.
• Competitive Regulatory Policy generally regulates entry into markets and may also
regulate prices.
• For instance, the role of state public utility commissions in regulating the price of
electricity. Electric companies operate as a monopoly. They can charge whatever the
market of consumers of electric services is able to bear. The commissions were
established to regulate the prices of electricity-generating monopolies in order to
protect the public interest.
• The Protective Regulatory Policy protects the public from a perceived harm. It
often requires a change in behavior brought about by invoking rewards or penalties.
Examples of regulatory agencies are the Environmental Protection Agency, the
Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Occupational Safety ad Health
Administration, and the Federal Aviation Administration. All these agencies protect
the public from pollution, hazardous products, workplace dangers, and unsafe
airplanes.
 EXAMPLES
Regulatory Policy:
• A) Occupational Safety And Health Act 1994 (OSHA 1994).
• Enforced by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH).

• B) Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672)
• Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, WP Putrajaya, Pahang, Johor, Melaka, Negeri
Sembilan, Perlis dan Kedah
• 1 SEPTEMBER 2015
• Fine RM 1000
• MHLG

• Rear Seat Belt Policy

• Consumer Protection
Able to solve people’s People obey and conform
problem promptly the policy

Merits
Keep the public safe
from a wide range of Help to solve the problem
dangers: community of market failure
safety and sound
environment
 Conflict might
The issue of occur between two
enforcement or more parties.
Demerits
The issue of
The use of standardization
coercive power among states
 DISTRIBUTIVE POLICY
• This policy appear to allocate benefits or resources to the larger
population. A good example is the interstate highway system. The
highways are found in every state and are used by most people.
• Those who do not use them still benefit from them indirectly because
most goods such as foods, clothing, automobiles, furniture etc are
distributed by way of interstate highway (Carter A. Wilson, 2013).
• This policy do not impose costs upon any specific group. Rather, the
costs are paid by public treasury, which means tax payers generally.
• Distributive policies usually involve using public funds to assist
particular groups, communities or industries (Anderson, 2015)
DISTRIBUTIVE POLICY
• According to Robert B. Denhardt and Janet V. Denhardt (2009),
distributive policy is the most common form of government policy,
uses general tax revenues to provide benefits to individuals or
groups, often by means of grants or subsidies.

• The federal government provides direct grants to state and local

government for a variety of purposes. Besides that, the
government often creates public goods that all citizens can enjoy.
In some cases such as national defense, the good is provided to all
while city, state or national park, it is anticipated that some citizens
will use the benefits and others will not.
 EXAMPLES
• A) Grants received by Local Government: Annual Equalization
Grant, Road Maintenance Grant, Launching Grant, Development
Grant etc.
B) Pan Borneo Highway Sarawak:
• Total road length: 1060 KM
• Construction period for phase 1: 2016-2021
• Estimated Construction Cost: RM 16.488 B (phase 1).
• Toll Free

• General tax reduction

• Malaysian Educational Policies
MERITS

Those who do
not use them
Low level of
still benefit
conflict
from them
indirectly

Create Improve
winners and society’s
no specific standard of
losers. living
 Demerits

Less effective The issue of

during priority and
economic citizens’
downturn preferences

Wastage of The issue of

people’s money equality of
if the project development
delayed/cancelle throughout the
d country
REDISTRIBUTIVE POLICY
• This policy involves the process of redistribution of wealth and resources to the
citizens by managing economy effectively and efficiently.
• This policy is more likely to benefit one group of people (poor) at the expense of
other groups through the relocation of wealth.
• According to Robert B. Denhardt and Janet V. Denhardt (2009), Redistributive
policies take taxes from certain groups and give them to another group.
• Redistributive policy deals with income stabilization, which help to support those
who are unemployed or retired, social welfare where the government provides
either direct payments to individuals or supporting state and local efforts for the
indigent (poor people), or health care program such as Medicaid and
Medicare.
• This can be clearly seen in the case of progressive taxation. Income tax is the
example of progressive taxation in which the person who earn high income
needed to pay more income tax as compared to low income earners.
• On rare occasions, redistribution is from the less-well-off to the better-off,
example: Capital Gains Proposals.
 REDISTRIBUTIVE POLICY
• The policy involve deliberate efforts by the government to shift the
allocation of wealth, income, property, or rights among broad classes or
groups of the population (i.e haves and haves-nots, proletariat and
bourgeoisie) (Anderson, 2015).
• Some people believed that this policy refers to Robin Hood policies
because, allegedly, they take from the rich and give to the poor. One
example of redistributive policy is welfare payments for low income,
single women with children.
• Affirmative action is one example of a redistributive policy, as this policy
is perceived to shift privileges from advantaged to disadvantaged groups.
• Redistribution can also take place on a global scale such as foreign aid
being provided to impoverished countries. i.e. food aid to Somalia (Miller
and McTavish, 2014).
MERITS
 Difficult to enact
because they involve
the relocation of
resources. Those in
power rarely yield
the resources
willingly

Deterrent to wealth
Create culture of people working or
dependency Demerits investing in new
opportunities

The issue of
redistributing the
wealth/resources to
the needy
EXAMPLES
• Social Assistance- BR1M, BB1M
• Progressive Taxation- Income Tax
• National Social Welfare Policy- Social Welfare Department (SWD)
has a financial assistance scheme for the poor older persons especially
those without next of Kin. The scheme is called Aid for Older Persons
(BOT) in which a monthly allowance of RM 200.00 per person will be
given upon approval. The department also could consider other
assistance such as artificial / orthopedic appliances and spectacles.
• Skim Kumpulan Wang Simpanan Pekerja (KWSP) untuk suri
rumah
RM 40 1st Phase (August 2018), RM 40 + 10 (SOCSO) (2019), 2 %
from husband’s contribution starting in 2020.
ADDITIONAL TYPES OF
PUBLIC POLICY
• Foreign and Defense Policy
• Monetary policy
• Patronage policy
FOREIGN AND DEFENCE POLICY
• Foreign and Defence policies are about maintaining national defense,
securing the country’s borders, responding to international threats
against the nation and its people, promoting the country’s national
interest, advancing its economic position, and pursuing relations with
other nations: building trust, enhancing cooperation, forging alliances,
and building coalitions.
• Malaysia renounces the use of threat and application of force as a
means of settling international conflict and advocates and practice the
peaceful resolution of disputes.
• The primary objective of the National Defence Policy is to protect and
defend national interests which form the foundations of Malaysia’s
sovereignty, territorial integrity and economic prosperity.
• The National Defence Policy illustrates this through the adoption of a
defence strategy based on bilateral and multilateral defence
diplomacy achieved through regional and international cooperation.
MONETARY POLICY
• The fourth type of public policy is monetary
policy.
• Monetary policy is formulated by the government
to control the supply of money and controlling
interest rate (Abdul Rauf and Rozalli, 2010).
• Monetary policy is useful to curb the problem of
inflation and recession in a country.
PATRONAGE POLICY
• This is a form of policy in which the government deploys
incentives for individuals or corporations as a reward.
• The government believed that if there is no incentive
provided to the citizen, they will refuse to accept changes
or suggestion made by the government.
• This policy motivates people or corporation to change
rather than giving punishment for non-compliance.
• There are three sub-types of patronage policy which are
subsidies, contract and licenses.
FEATURES OF PUBLIC POLICY BY
HOGWOOD AND GUNN (1984).
• The process of policy making involves several sub processes
and may extend over a considerable period of time.
• The process of policy making involves intra- and inter-
organizational relationship with a key role of public agencies
• Public policy involves many participants (policy makers, public,
interest groups, the experts and media)
• It has to deal with many constraints such as technology,
resources, assumptions and reactions of interest groups.
• It is also ill-structured in so far as objectives are ill-defined and
vague.
 IMPORTANCE OF PUBLIC POLICY (PRABIR KUMAR DE,
2012).

• 1. the sum of all government activities that influence the life of the
citizens either directly or indirectly
• 2. the study of public policy enables us to understand the causes
and consequences of policy decisions and improve our knowledge
about the society
• 3. enables policy makers to improve their understanding of the
linkages among the socio-economics force, political processes and
public policy
• 4. Public policy as an activity and area of study continues to hold
relevance as long as one finds the process of governance
CONCLUSION
• The discussion of typologies will provide the reader with a
notion of the scope, diversity, and different purpose of public
policies.
• Besides that, this topic will prove much more useful in
distinguishing several public policies.
• This topic also will differentiate policies in the basis of their
effects on society and the relationship among those involved in
their formation.
• In sum, Distributive Policy is the distribution of new resources,
Redistributive Policy is changing the distribution of existing
resources, Regulatory policy is regulating activities and
Constituent Policy is establishing or reorganizing institutions.
SUGGESTED TUTORIAL
QUESTIONS
Question 1
Briefly explain distributive, redistributive, competitive regulatory, and protective regulatory policies. Provide an
example of each. (10 marks)

Question 2
Explain FOUR (4) drawbacks of Redistributive Policy (10 marks)

Question 3
Elaborate on FOUR (4) features of Public Policy (10 marks)

Question 4
Briefly explain FOUR (4) importance of Public Policy (10 marks)
SUGGESTED TUTORIAL
ACTIVITIES

Identify any public

policies in Malaysia and
categorise it accordingly