Good governance involves active public participation, and citizens today are more educated and equipped, demanding more from the government but trusting it less, the Raja Muda of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah said today.
"They demand a progressive and representative form of government. They want to be part of decision-making that affects their lives and livelihood," he said in his keynote address at the international conference on "The Challenges of Democratisation and Good Governance in the Malaysian Public Sector" organised by Universiti Malaya.
Raja Nazrin noted that society today was more interested in achieving results than merely obeying rules."
They welcome and appreciate a government that is approachable and consultative; one that guides rather than one that directs," he said.
Therefore, he said it was only logical that the call for good governance should and must go hand-in-hand with the call for greater democratisation, as both were intertwined.
He said democracy provided the various constituencies the avenue to voice their views on the way they wanted to be governed.
"It is government by consent. The democratisation process must also recognise the important role of non-governmental organisations," he said.
"Their participation should be encouraged to the extent that they assist the institutions of power to function better."
Raja Nazrin described good governance as the process by which public goals were achieved in an efficient, effective and ethical manner.
He also said the eradication of red tape and bureaucratic procedures will help stave off high economic costs and inhibit opportunity for illicit payments.
"The amount of regulation, permits and licences must be reduced. By using the Internet, for example, there should be complete transparency for all permits and licences retained. Tendering processes need to be made more competitive and transparent."
He said whistle-blowers should also be protected against retaliation from those complained about.
He also noted that good governance entailed accountability by those in authority.
"While public officials should be accorded sufficient power to deliver good governance, there must be effective restraints on the arbitrary exercise of that power so that the general interest and not special interests are served," he said.
"The importance of judicial independence and the formal separation of powers among different branches of government cannot be over-emphasised."
Raja Nazrin said that although Malaysia has survived and prospered in the last 50 years, largely due to political resolve, pragmatism and effective implementation of policies, it did not mean we have closed in on the type of governance that is needed for the future.
Comment:
YTM Raja Nazrin,
I personally was waiting and hoping against all hopes that someday a wise man will surface and tell the people of Malaysia not to be demoralized.
I believe I speak on behalf of all Malaysians and congratulate you Sir on your wisdom and foresight.
For too long we have been oppressed and are unable to speak and be part of decision making that will indeed affect our lives and livelihood. We are under threat and silenced by the infamous ISA, OSA and the like and we do not have any avenue to voice our grievances.
By the grace of God, finally, we have right thinking people like you and the Rulers who have finally come out and have voiced what we wanted to say too.
We are certainly not waiting for an opening to create anarchy but are merely trying to be heard. If we do try to speak out against inefficiency, incompetence and above all, rampant corruption, we will be labelled as being seditious.
YTM, I am not a Malay Muslim but I personally know of a Malay family in a kampong in Negeri Sembilan who actually believe that the government is helping them and when I try to explain to them, they advice me not to say anything negative about the government. Their sentiments are echoed by others in the kampong too. All I was trying to do is to tell them the TRUTH. It never crossed my mind to incite or instigate anyone. All they have is the mainstream media to rely on and they absorb the propaganda as the gospel truth.
We Malaysians are proud to have men like you Sir who speak of JUSTICE for all. I can only hope that all what you said will be disseminated to the rural folks without censorship. Not one word of yours should be 'doctored' and if what you said reaches the rural folks who are basically a simple lot indoctrinated by false propaganda, this will be a wake-up call to them to be a part of our nation building. As poor as they may be, they are human being too Sir.
There was an allocation for the rural areas to be upgraded - small projects, reparing roads, leaking pipes and drains. After many months, I went back to the kampong and found that there was nothing done. Roads were still badly in need of repairs, pipes were leaking. That was about a month ago.
I humbly write this to you YTM Raja Nazrin. This is an appeal from all Malaysians who I am sure are with you in cleaning up this country of inefficient, incompetent and corrupt officials. The result is disunity and hatred among the races because of inefficent, incompetent and corrupt officials who I believe do not want a UNITED Malaysia for reasons best known to them.
Please save us all YRH. We see a light which is getting brighter by the day with people like you Sir, the Rulers and YM RPK.
God bless.
anon
