Public Policy has been generally defined as a system of courses of action, regulatory measures, laws, guiding principles relating to any issue of public concern promulgated by any Government entity/department or any of its rightful representatives, for the beneficial interest of the society at large.[1]
In Malaysia, public policies are formulated vis-a-vis the political and social structure of the nation and the future demand and needs of the nation as a whole while taking into consideration of the diversified ethnicity of the nation and the close proximity of the social and political systems of the nation.[2]
Generally public policies in Malaysia are developed mainly through three channels:
(i) Political;
(ii) Administrative;and
(iii) Integration.
The process of public policy making in Malaysia involved the following stages:-
(i) identification of an issue of public concern;
(ii) planning and formulation of suitable policy;
(iii) legitimization of the policy;
(iv) implementation of the policy; and
(v) evaluation of the policy.
Over the decades, the Malaysian government has formulated and implemented various public policies in attempt to bring about instrumental socio-economic development in the country. For instance, the Privatization Policy, National Welfare Policy, Malaysian Industrial Policy, National Agricultural Policy, National Education Policy.
[1] Kilpatrick, Dean, “Definitions of Public Policy and Law” accessed on 6 January 2018
[2]https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/public-policies-and-laws-at-work-a-malaysian-perspective-48836