Currently, almost all state governments in the world have opened their doors for public participation in their policies. This is done so that later the resulting policies can reflect the will of the people for the fate of their own nation. That's the current global trend described by Dr. Halimah Abdul Manaf in the Guest Lecture with the theme "Initiative Assessment of Public Participation in Malaysia Local Government System” in Building B, FIA UB, 2nd Floor. In particular, the Department of Public Administration, FIA UB, invited Dr. Halimah who is also a Public Policy expert from Universiti Utara Malaysia to share about the implementation of public participation in local government in Malaysia.
Halimah said that in the currently developing democratic system, public participation is a must in public policy. He believes that people now have broader insights. "So that the community can play a more active role in determining the direction of their area going forward and not just complaining or demonstrating on the streets," he said.
Furthermore, the Assistant Dean I of FIA UB, Dr. MR Khairul Muluk, in his speech expressed his appreciation for the holding of this event. According to him, we need to learn about this public participation from Malaysia as a developed country. “In this activity we can learn from our neighboring countries. But actually our two countries can learn from each other, so we can grow together," he said.
At the end of his remarks, Muluk took the time to present one of his books entitled "Contesting Public Participation in Regional Government" to Halimah. "Hopefully this can be material for study for students there," he added. (ALA/FIA)
