{"id":3643,"date":"2013-02-05T11:12:32","date_gmt":"2013-02-05T03:12:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/?p=3643"},"modified":"2013-02-05T11:12:32","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T03:12:32","slug":"limitation-of-states-powers-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therocket.com.my\/en\/limitation-of-states-powers-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Limitation of state\u2019s powers"},"content":{"rendered":"

In 2008 Malaysians made the unprecedented political change of electing a record five Pakatan Rakyat state governments. However for many, the political change has not seems to be translated into their daily lives. This stems from the uneven structure of governing power in which the federal government controls almost every aspect of people\u2019 lives while the states are left with little power. Tricia Yeoh explains about some of the nuances of Malaysia\u2019s federalism and why we need decentralisation and crucially, why PR is the best alternative to achieve it. Report by T.K Tan<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Almost unitary in nature<\/strong><\/p>\n

Officially Malaysia practices federalism with different levels of government having sovereignty over their jurisdiction. In essence according to Tricia, \u201cMalaysia has a very strong federal government that has extensive administrative authority, policy making and control of fiscal resources,\u201d Tricia began.<\/p>\n

On the other hand the states are left with control in land matters, forest resources, religion and local councils.<\/p>\n

What are some examples of the federal government\u2019s (FG) ordering of our lives? Tricia mooted the example the public bus transport.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe FG via Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) in controls the public bus system in all states. Can we expect a Putrajaya-based federal agency which may not even have federal offices in all the states to monitor and decide what are the best routes and number of buses in the states?\u201d<\/p>\n

Another federal dominance in state governance is the appointment of department heads and staffs for the state bureaucracy.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the states are encumbered as their high-level staffs need to be recruited, vetted and approved by the Public Service Department (PSD), a federal agency,\u201d she mentioned.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cIn Selangor the state secretary, state financial and legal officer sits in the exco meeting. They are all hired by PSD. These civil servants come from the same pool of bureaucracy that shares the same scale of remuneration and pension benefits with their federal counterparts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conflict of interest abounds as these civil servants are evaluated by the FG although they serve the state government (SG). Would they not be more inclined to abide by the FG\u2019s wishes and not the SG\u2019s directives?<\/p>\n

\u201cAs an example even though the local councils are under the SG\u2019s jurisdiction, the staffs running them are answerable to the FG.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the local council heads in Selangor have been recalled by the FG recently; it is how the FG exercised power over these state civil servants. The former MPSJ head was recalled by the FG and now serves as the secretary general of the Federal Territories (KL), a promotion for him,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the past there was only one political master to serve, BN, at all levels of government. As a result of the past culture imbibed into them, many older state civil servants were conservative in carrying out their duties, doing it by the book and not much more. It is out of habit as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why decentralisation needed <\/strong><\/p>\n

The question arises as to why we need decentralisation of governance, if the authority, FG or SG, is delivering the services needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe government that is closest to the people would make better and more flexible decisions in solving their local problems arise. It\u2019s about efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a people-centric governance, it is logical and reasonable to expect that the government closest to the people would be able to make the better decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a direct feedback process in place to help the local government solve the problems that arises instead of having to go through the entire chain of feedback to the federal headquarters in Putrajaya.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will the people be more satisfied with decentralisation? \u201cWe need to educate the people to be empowered and take over the local governing functions related to them. When they own it and implement it themselves, they will be satisfied about decentralisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tricia points out that there are certain preconditions that need to exist for decentralisation to work. \u201cWhen local authorities are given more power, they also need more fiscal power to carry out their administrative and development functions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does that mean all the states are ready for full fiscal autonomy? \u201cWe need to look at the level of development of the states. Selangor may contribute more than 20 percent of the total amount of taxes collected by FG; it doesn\u2019t mean that it should receive all that amount collected.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSome states such as Kelantan and Perlis need additional funding from the FG to help out in their physical development.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tricia believes decentralisation of fiscal authority is good for the country as a whole. \u201cGiving more fiscal authority to the states means they will compete amongst themselves for more investments and sources of revenue and improve on their revenue collection efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

However Tricia is sceptical about Malaysia\u2019s readiness for decentralisation in the immediate future. \u201cIt may take 5 to 10 years for the people to take up more self-rule of the local issues and governance. In other countries such as India there is a very strong sense of self-rule and autonomy.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a bottom-up driven demand, it\u2019s hard to galvanise a movement to ask for more decentralisation and power to rule ourselves. We have grown accustomed to an overpowering unitary authority that took care of the issues and problems faced by the people that we have surrendered this attitude of ownership of governance,\u201d she lamented.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis empowerment process means educating Malaysians to take back these basic functions. We can\u2019t rely on the FG to regulate and run our lives as they are getting bloated by the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis process will take time as the Indonesia example shows. There was an entire change in the governing mindset and structure. But look at how Indonesia has benefitted. In essence, we are saying, who knows your problems best and who better to handle them if not the government closest to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making do <\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite almost suffocating interference and extensive control by the FG, Tricia believes PR states have performed reasonably well in circumventing the FG dominance on the states.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Penang, the SG has set up the women development corporation (that deals with women and gender issues), the Penang Institute (an institutionalised way of generating ideas for better governance) and also the Penang Transport Council (looking into the state\u2019s transport woes).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAll these initiatives serve as a way of challenging the FG to adopt best ideas even though the SG can\u2019t interfere into the FG\u2019s functions.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Selangor, it has embarked on rolling out the three year Selangor Blueprint Plan 2011-2013. \u201cThis plan has involved consultation and briefing sessions with the various stakeholders in the state, unprecedented for the state on something this large a scale. There is also the alternative investment statutory body that promotes the state as investment destinations in more creative means.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Some of the other initiatives also include:<\/p>\n