Johor has been subject to "pervasive encroachment" of federal control in many areas of state responsibilities, said Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Iseas) scholar Francis Hutchinson.
 
Hutchinson said such encroachment has been enabled by design where there is an absence of safeguards of state rights against constitutional amendments.
 
He added that it is also allowed by practise due to "vertically-orientated" incentives that impede state leaders from defending state prerogatives.
 
"Malaysia's central rules mean that even though menteri besars are elected, their interests are vertically orientated," Hutchinson noted during his presentation in a ‘Federalism in Malaysia’ conference organised by Penang Institute in George Town yesterday.
 
Hutchinson was speaking about the southern state of Johor - due to its unbroken rule by BN at the state level - as it offers an ideal case for specifically studying state-centre relations.
 
He said that within broad parameters, Umno state leaders do not oppose measures to curtail state rights.
 
'Benign neglect' is advantageous for state leaders as party and policy congruence are no protection from federal incursion, he added.
 
"However, systematic threats or perceived encroachment to sovereignty do generate a reaction," he observed in his work as programme coordinator for Iseas regional economic studies.
 
"There is some negotiation but BN national leadership usually prevails and has the ultimate veto power over MBs due to internal party discipline and control of party machinery," he added.
 
However, Hutchinson pointed out that congruent party and policy interests do not guarantee harmony.
 
Conflicts do arise over revenue raising, particularly over land management and investment promotion, he added.
 
Federalism, however, in its true spirit can offer some positive conditions for state-central relations, as noted by Penang Institute political and social analysis section head Wong Chin Huat.
 
On Monday, when presenting his paper titled 'Revisiting Malaysia's Centralised Federalism' which he co-researched with Hutchinson, Wong said that federalism implies a meaningful regional shared rules and indigenous self rule.
 
"It is based on values of combinity and diversity, which accommodates and promotes distinct identities in a larger political union," Wong said.
 
"A functioning federalism system offers home for diversity, efficient service delivery, with maximum information.
 
"Basically, it means you can vote with your feet. If you are not happy with the policies in a particular state, you can move to another," he added.
 
"With maximum choice of options, you can promote greater accountability, transparency, participation, and innovation with limited representation and persuasive liberty," he stressed.