ABSTRACT
Development experts believed that a solution to the dysfunctions associated with planned development through a highly centralised governance system was to decentralise the functions of bureaucracy. Viewing governance as only the public bureaucracy’s organisational process and institutional capacity is definitely a major challenge to reform initiatives since all three facets are intertwined. From the macro concern regarding continued growth in the region, interestingly, the focus of recent critiques on matters related to governance has tended to be more downstream. Local governance is not something new but the application of the growth philosophies of East Asia in the context of local governance is sorely missing. Many of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region have unique historical, cultural, economic, political, and social experiences. The Southeast Asian currency crisis illustrated that even with efficient public institutions one cannot always respond effectively to every issue area especially those that are at the international systems level.
