ABSTRACT
Malaysia has devoted almost continuous attention to improving administrative performance since its independence in 1957. In terms of performance, the Malaysian bureaucracy is generally rated high, even as a star, among developing countries (although this is not the most demanding comparison group). However, of late, Malaysia’s deficiencies have attracted increased concern. Besides the palpably rising citizen expectations of administrative performance (and hence intolerance of deficiencies), the growing perception that the country is losing its edge in the more competitive global economy has significantly added fuel to this concern – not surprising in a country where continued economic growth is seen as key to both regime security and sociopolitical order. Sensing the need, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi (who took over from Mahathir Mohamad in October 2002) made improving administrative performance and fighting corruption key pillars of his highly successful 2004 election campaign. But there have followed widespread perceptions of tardiness in delivering on these promises.
