Ombudsman in Malaysia: An Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) in promoting good governance principles

Izyan Farhana Zulkarnain; Siti Suraya Abd Razak; Wan Fatimah Hanun Wan Mohamad Saferdin; Ummi Farhani Firdaus

doi:10.21834/e-bpj.v9iSI22.5871

Authors

Izyan Farhana Zulkarnain Faculty of Law, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Sarawak, Kampus Samarahan 2, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
Siti Suraya Abd Razak Faculty of Management, UniversitiTeknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia
Wan Fatimah Hanun Wan Mohamad Saferdin Faculty of Law, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Sarawak, Kampus Samarahan 2, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
Ummi Farhani Firdaus Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies, Universiti Teknologi MARA Cawangan Sarawak, Kampus Samarahan 2, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21834/e-bpj.v9iSI22.5871

Keywords:

Ombudsman, Administrative Law, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Good Governance, Sarawak, Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

This research focuses on the ombudsman in Malaysia and its importance in strengthening good governance in civil state service. Public complaints towards maladministration and abuse of power of the government administrators or authorities have always been an issue that must be resolved in order to ensure that the government authorities are performing their functions within their jurisdictions. Ombudsman has been introduced in European countries to settle maladministration issues. In Malaysia, the current ombudsman system is adopted by the OFS which is situated in Kuala Lumpur and Integrity and Ombudsman Unit Sarawak (UNIONS) under the Premier Department of Sarawak. The implementation and effectiveness of ombudsman system will be analysed and comparison will be made to Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and United Kingdom; which have adopted and practised ombudsman in their systems; particularly with regards to administrative law issues. This study shall improve the society’s awareness on the importance of ombudsman as one of the alternatives to resolve public complaints towards government administrators.

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