Resilient Governance in the Age of Populism: Strengthening Public Administration Integrity Through Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64423/arpa.v33i1.69Keywords:
bureaucratic integrity, public sector reform, Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA)Abstract
On July 27, 2023, the Prime Minister of Malaysia announced the Madani Economy initiative, aimed at making the country economically competitive by promoting balanced, inclusive, and value-driven growth. To respond to these goals, the government marked public sector reform as a critical strategy and aimed to promote trust in the government through effective governance and agility in service delivery. Therefore, the government has proposed the Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA), which will be implemented starting December 1, 2024, and will enhance service delivery with an improved structure of the public service. The SSPA introduces comprehensive improvements in performance assessment and talent development, with particular emphasis on productivity enhancement and value integration. The SSPA is established based on five (5) quick-win initiatives that aim to increase the productivity of civil servants by promoting values and adopting technology. This study examines the role of the SSPA in enforcing key values of public service in terms of accountability, professionalism, and fairness in a changing political environment and how they continue to provide the best services to the people. The main aim of these efforts is to sustain public services’ apolitical quality. The study is based on information found on official government websites, information collected with the participation of civil servants in different parts of the country during stakeholder consultations, and a review of major policy and strategy documents. The results suggest that the enhancement of bureaucratic integrity in terms of better governance and value promotion in public service is a key issue in addressing today’s challenges. Finally, improving bureaucratic integrity is a mandatory step towards improving governance, institutional trust, and the long-term confidence of the population, especially in light of the complexity of the interactions between populism and public administration.
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