Empirical Assessment of Good Governance in the Public Sector of Malaysia

To improve the trust of citizens and delivery of services, employing good governance principles in the public sector is very crucial. Despite efforts to improve service delivery, criticisms and complains toward public services remain evident. This study aims to assess the status of good governance practices in the public sector of Malaysia. Primary data were collected from the responses of 109 department heads under 24 federal ministries to a survey questionnaire. Respondent perception of good governance practices was measured using a seven-point Likert scale and analyzed by descriptive statistics and path measurement modeling. Standard diagnostic tests were also conducted to check the reliability of the data and model. Results indicated that nine factors were significant in the measurement of good governance practices. However, very few people in the public sector of Malaysia practice fraud control, which is at the lowest intensity. Among the service groups, the engineer group practiced good governance at the highest level, whereas the health service group practiced good governance at the lowest level. Therefore, still there are scopes available to improve good governance systems to become more reliable and efficient public sector in Malaysia. Findings of the study will help policy makers improve the efficiency of the public sector of Malaysia and other countries.

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ASSESSMENT OF THE GOVERNANCE PRACTICES IN PUBLIC SECTOR: CASE STUDIES OF MALAYSIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Journal of Governance and Integrity ◽

10.15282/jgi.2.2.2019.5472 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 45-52

Author(s):

Siti Zabedah Saidin ◽

Mu’azu Saidu Badara ◽

Aidi Ahmi

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Case Studies ◽

Good Governance ◽

Annual Reports ◽

Primary Data ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Case Study Analysis ◽

The Public ◽

Governance Practices

The objective of this study is to discover the good governance practices in the public sector entities by assessing ten good governance dimensions following the international best governance practices guidelines. This study is based on a case study analysis of six public sector entities using a content analysis of the annual report. From the case studies analysis, it shows that all the dimensions in the international public sector governance best practices are being practiced by the federal statutory bodies in Malaysia. Though this paper provides some useful insights into governance practices among public sector entities, it is limited to case studies on six federal statutory bodies and the non-financial information in the annual reports only. This study might give more impact if primary data were used through focus group discussions and interviews with key governance players in the public sector.

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Public Accountability System: Empirical Assessment of Public Sector of Malaysia

10.31235/osf.io/x5dtf ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jamaliah Said ◽

Md. Mahmudul Alam ◽

Mohamad Azizal bin Abd Aziz

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Asset Management ◽

Assessment System ◽

Primary Data ◽

The Public ◽

System P ◽

Final Sample ◽

The Status ◽

Auditor General ◽

Strongly Agree

As the recent Auditor General‟s report discovered some corruptions, weakness, and lack of control in asset management in the public sector of Malaysia, this study is an attempt to assess the status of current practices of accountability in public sector of Malaysia. This study collected primary data based on a set of questionnaire survey that was distributed by email using the Google Doc application among the head of department of 682 departments and agencies under 24 federal ministries including the Prime Minister Department in Malaysia. Finally, based on the email responses, the final sample of the study is 109 respondents. The data were collected based on the opinion about ten factors of accountability practices in the department or agency by using seven-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The data are analysed under descriptive statistics and factor analysis. Further, the reliability of the data is tested by using Cronbach alpha test, and the validity of data is tested by checking the normality of data through Shapiro Wilk test and graphically. Overall, 87.3% of the respondents mentioned that overall they practice accountability in their department. However, the priority of these ten factors of accountability differs among the services schemes. The accountability in the administrative & diplomatic, education, and medical & health is below the overall average accountability. The accountability in the financial and information system schemes is also not strong enough. Therefore the public sector in Malaysia needs to be transformed into becoming a reliable and efficient sector by ensuring proper accountability and its proper assessment system.

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Assessment of Accountability Practices in the Public Sector of Malaysia

10.31235/osf.io/5djfu ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jamaliah Said ◽

Md. Mahmudul Alam ◽

Razana Juhaida Johari

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Financial Management ◽

Primary Data ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Public Sector Employees ◽

General Average ◽

Data Validity ◽

Accountability Practices ◽

Survey Approach

Ensuring accountability in the public sector is a very crucial issue as it could lead to failures in governance, fraud, inefficacy, corruption as well as weak financial management. This study evaluated the state of present accountability practices among public sector employees from various Malaysian service schemes. Primary data were collected, using a questionnaire survey approach with 194 heads of departments in the Malaysian federal ministries. Data was collected in accordance with the perspective of 12 factors in accountability practices, using a five-point Likert scale. Factor analysis and descriptive statistics were utilized for data analysis. In addition, data reliability was checked by Cronbach’s alpha test; data normality was examined by Skewness and Kurtosis tests, and data validity was tested by using Kaiser-Meyer Olkin test and Barlett’s test. The findings show that 94.9% of the participants reported that they practised accountability within their departments. Nevertheless, the priority for these accountability factors varied according to the service schemes. In general, the perceived accountability practice was the highest within the group of the administrative scheme and the lowest among the employees under the accounting scheme. Moreover, the perceived accountability practice of the audit scheme was below the general average level. This findings of the study would help policy makers to take necessary steps to improve the practices of accountability in the public sector for creating a more dependable and efficient public sector in Malaysia.

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A Review of Economic Status and Public Sector Financial Management Reforms in Kenya

Journal of Economics and Public Finance ◽

10.22158/jepf.v1n1p47 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 47

Author(s):

Micah Odhiambo Nyamita ◽

Elijah Wanamboe Wekesa

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Financial Management ◽

Good Governance ◽

Economic Status ◽

National Policy ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

Public Financial Management

Practical concerns relating to successful public financial management ultimately determines whether or not there is good governance at all public sector institutions. Although there is growing literature on national public financial management in general, the researchers feel that less attention has been focused on the financial management reforms in Kenya. This paper, therefore, reviewed literature on public sector financial management reforms in Kenya, starting with the current economic status in Kenya. The exceptionality of this paper was the use of a significant body of literature focusing on 15 articles concerning the public sector financial management reforms and economic status in Kenya. The findings could assist in creating awareness on the main themes of public sector financial management reforms within the Kenyan public sector and help the national policy makers to develop measures of enhancing performance within the sector.

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An Empirical Assessment of Employee Integrity in the Public Sector of Malaysia

10.31235/osf.io/a96xq ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Md. Mahmudul Alam ◽

Razana Juhaida Johari ◽

Jamaliah Said

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Financial Management ◽

Critical Issue ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Primary Data ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

General Average ◽

Data Validity ◽

The Right

Purpose - Integrity is a critical issue as it could lead to failures in governance, fraud, inefficacy, corruption, as well as weak financial management particularly in the public sector. At present, the public sector is a matter of global concern due the constant cases of failures in governance, fraud, inefficacy, and corruption. As such, this sector has been pressurized to provide justification of the sources and usages of public resources and to improve their service performance as the public has the right to monitor the public sector management’s transparency and efficacy. This study evaluates the state of present integrity practices among public sector employees from various Malaysian service schemes.Design/methodology/approach – Primary data were collected using a questionnaire survey approach with 194 heads of departments in the Malaysian federal ministries. The collection of data was according to the perspective of 13 factors in integrity practices using a five-point Likert scale. Factor analysis and descriptive statistics were utilized for data analysis. In addition, data reliability was checked by Cronbach’s alpha test, data normality was examined by Skewness and Kurtosis tests, and data validity was tested by using Kaiser-Meyer Olkin test and Barlett’s test.Findings - The findings show that 92.6% of the participants reported that they practised integrity within their departments. Nevertheless, the priority for these integrity factors varies according to the service schemes. In general, the departments of finance, audits, and administration had an above average integrity practice level however the practice of the accounting scheme is below the general average level.Practical/Policy implications - This findings of the study will help policy makers to take necessary steps to improve the practices of integrity in the public sector in order to create a more dependable and efficient public sector in Malaysia.Originality/value – This is an original study based on primary data that assesses the performance of practicing integrity in the public sector of Malaysia.

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Relationship between good governance and integrity system

Humanomics ◽

10.1108/h-02-2016-0008 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 151-171 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Jamaliah Said ◽

Md. Mahmudul Alam ◽

Maizatul Akmar Khalid

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Strategic Planning ◽

Strategic Alliance ◽

Current Practice ◽

Good Governance ◽

Primary Data ◽

Content Type ◽

The Public ◽

Integrity System ◽

The Relationship

Purpose This study aims to measure the relationship between the current practice status of good governance and that of integrity in the public sector of Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach This study collected primary data based on a set of questionnaire surveys among heads of 109 departments and agencies under 24 federal ministries, including the Prime Minister Department in Malaysia. The data were analyzed under descriptive statistics, ordinal regression and structural equation model. Furthermore, standard diagnostic tests were also conducted to check the reliability of the data and models. Findings Among the factors of good governance, practices of strategic planning, audit and fraud control have statistically significant positive relationship with the practices of integrity in the public sector of Malaysia. Moreover, the practices of strategic alliance and fraud control significantly contribute to determine the integrity practices in the public sector of Malaysia. Therefore, the practices of strategic alliance, strategic planning, audit and fraud control must be given significant attention to improve the integrity system. Originality/value This study is an attempt to measure the relationship between the current practice status of good governance and that of integrity in the public sector of Malaysia. The findings of the study will help policymakers improve the reliability and efficiency of the public sector in Malaysia and in other countries.

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Assessment of the Practices of Internal Control System in the Public Sectors of Malaysia

10.31235/osf.io/y4zfa ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jamaliah Said ◽

Mohamad Azizal bin Abd Aziz1 ◽

Md. Mahmudul Alam

Keyword(s):

Control System ◽

Public Sector ◽

Internal Control ◽

Assessment System ◽

Primary Data ◽

The Public ◽

Internal Control System ◽

The Status ◽

Engineering Information ◽

Head Of Department

This study is an attempt to assess the status of current practices of internal control system among different service schemes of public sector in Malaysia. This study collected primary data based on a set of questionnaire survey among the head of department of 109 departments and agencies under 24 federal ministries including the Prime Minister Department in Malaysia. The data were collected based on the opinion about ten factors of internal control practices in the department or agency by using seven-point Likert scale. The data are analysed under descriptive statistics and factor analysis. Further, the reliability of the data is tested by using Cronbach alpha test, and the validity of data is tested by checking the normality of data through Shapiro Wilk test and graphically. Overall, 86.2% of the respondents mentioned that they practice internal control system in their department. However, the priority of these ten factors of internal control differs among the services schemes. Overall the internal control system of the financial schemes group is strong, but their emphasis on the documentation is at the average level only. However, the internal control in the engineering, information system, education and medical & health schemes are below the overall average internal control score. The public sector in Malaysia needs to focuses more on internal control and its proper assessment system to become a reliable and efficient sector.

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FRAUD PADA SEKTOR PEMERINTAH BERDASARKAN FAKTOR KEADILAN KOMPENSASI, SISTEM PENGENDALIAN INTERNAL, DAN ETIKA ORGANISASI PEMERINTAH (Studi Empiris Dinas Pemerintah Provinsi DKI Jakarta)

Jurnal Magister Akuntansi Trisakti ◽

10.25105/jmat.v1i2.4938 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 199

Author(s):

Sulastri Sulastri

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Control Systems ◽

Internal Control ◽

Good Governance ◽

Sampling Technique ◽

Provincial Government ◽

Primary Data ◽

The Public ◽

The Government ◽

Government Ethics

This study discusses the fraud in the government sector especially Provincial Government of DKI Jakarta by three factors, there are the fairness of compensation, internal control systems, and organization of government ethics. In addition to discussing the factors that influence the occurrence of fraud in the public sector, this study also discusses appropriate strategies in response to the fraud problem. The population in this study is the Province Government of DKI Jakarta, while the sample is Office of the Province Government of DKI Jakarta. Sampling technique with Proportionate Stratified Random Sampling and hypothesis testing using SPSS. The data used in this study is primary data, through questionnaires distributed to civil servants working in the Office of the Province Government of DKI Jakarta. The results showed that there is an influence of all three factors, namely fairness of compensation, internal control systems, and organization of government ethics to fraud in the public sector when tested simultaneously. Where as if partially tested, only the fairness of compensation and internal control systems that have an impact on fraud, while organization of government ethics not. The research recommends to overcome fraud all problems with develop combined strategy of repressive and preventive for every level of organization, to provide effective compensation, and to implement good governance in the organization.

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Assessment of Management Commitment in Malaysian Public Sector

10.31235/osf.io/kfncr ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Razana Juhaida Johari ◽

Md. Mahmudul Alam ◽

Jamaliah Said

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

Financial Management ◽

Critical Issue ◽

Primary Data ◽

Policy Makers ◽

The Public ◽

General Management ◽

Management Commitment ◽

Public Sector Employees ◽

Data Validity

At present, the public sector is a matter of global concern due to the constant cases of failures in governance, fraud, inefficacy, and corruption. Management commitment is a critical issue as lack of it could lead to failures in governance, fraud, inefficacy, corruption as well as weak financial management, particularly in the public sector. This study evaluated the state of present practices of management commitment among public sector employees from various Malaysian service schemes. Primary data were collected using a questionnaire survey approach with 194 heads of departments in the Malaysian federal ministries. The collection of data was in accordance with the perspective of 10 factors in management commitment practices, using a five-point Likert scale. Factor analysis and descriptive statistics were utilized for data analysis. In addition, data reliability was checked by Cronbach’s alpha test, data normality was examined by Skewness and Kurtosis tests, and data validity was tested by using Kaiser-Meyer Olkin test and Barlett’s test. The findings show that 97% of the participants reported that they practised management commitment within their departments. Nevertheless, the priority for these management commitment factors varied according to the service schemes. In general, management commitment practice was the highest within the groups that used the finance scheme and the lowest among the employees who were under the accounting and audit schemes. The result of the study will help policy makers to take necessary steps to improve the practices of management commitment in the public sector in order to create a more dependable and efficient public sector in Malaysia.

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Comparing The Principalship of Madrasah and Sekolah in The Decentralization Era

International Conference of Moslem Society ◽

10.24090/icms.2016.1823 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

pp. 24-35

Author(s):

Saefudin A Safi'i

Keyword(s):

Public Sector ◽

School Leadership ◽

Policy Development ◽

Central Government ◽

Good Governance ◽

Ground Level ◽

New Order ◽

The Public ◽

Centralized Management ◽

Decentralization Policy

The downfall of the New Order Regime in 1998 brought about significant change to Indonesia’s public sector. Law number 22 of 1999, further refined by Law 32 of 2004, provide legal bases for district governments to administer the public sector. The central government also introduces the notion of good governance through the promulgation of various regulations. For Madrasah however, decentralization policy failed to provide clear legal bases as to how it relates to district government. Law 32 of 2004 verse 10 article 3 retains the centralized management by the Ministry of Religious Affairs. This however does not exclude Madrasah from public demand of implementing the principle of good governance. This study analyses the dynamics of principal-ship both in the Sekolah and the Madrasah in the era of decentralization. By comparing two research sites, this study sought to create better understanding about the context by which the organization climate of two different schools are shaped, and how principals and teachers perceives the notion of school leadership in the light of most recent policy development. To do this, interviews were undertaken and questionnaire-based data collection was also conducted. The study found that in the ground level implementation of decentralization policy, Sekolah developed more rigorous leadership compared to that in the Madrasah. This research recommends the adoption of stronger regulation regarding principal-ship of Madrasahs in order to create an environment that is more in tune with the spirit of public service reforms.

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