A general unwillingness by the government to work closely with civil society bodies has hampered the effective execution of social policies, a social scientist said today.

Social Strategic Foundation executive director Dr Denison Jayasooria said the popular perception was that the government was keener to integrate the concerns of non-government organisations into its own agenda than to work on equal terms.

"Such relationships have often been superficial rather than in-depth and meaningful," he told participants at a half-day national workshop on building effective public, private sector and civil society partnerships in Petaling Jaya.

He said the government's lack of interest in the issues and agenda of certain NGOs particularly the advocacy-oriented ones is another reason why social policies get sidelined during implementation.

"There is a dynamic tension among the three parties ... between the civil society and government, and between the civil society and the private sector that needs to be sorted out," said Denison, who heads the MIC's social research arm.

"Their respective roles, needs and goals must be clearly understood by each component in order to facilitate a prompt and comprehensive implementation of national policies," he added.

Besides touching on the neglect of grassroots interests, he identified the lack of sensitivity, funding problems, bureaucratic hurdles, lack of expertise and the scholar-activist gap as other factors that inhibit the smooth implementation of policies.

"Nevertheless, civil society bodies need to have an understanding of when to push an issue and when to lay low in efforts to optimise their resources," he added.

Lack of understanding

Canadian-based Institute of Governance director Claire Marshall said the lack of understanding of the roles and goals among government, private sector and civil society can be a real stumbling block towards policy implementation.

In reality, she said, it is the government or politician who calls in the final shots on policy matters.

"But doesn't mean that there are no opportunities for others to influence the final decision. The engagement of citizens forms part of the state-civil society relationship," she said.

"In a tripartite arrangement, one partner has the money, another has the contacts or networking while the third has the knowledge."

Marshall said that taking time to figure out the context of each partner's background is effective in maximising long-term benefits.

"It is crucial to learn what drives the parties for a partnership to work. For instance, there are civil society bodies that are protest-based, advocacy-based or more moderate than the rest."

Noting the big gap between policy formulation and implementation, she said often times the problem is one of "speaking a different language".

"Researchers do excellent work but fail miserably to go a step further to tell the government how to implement policies on the ground."

To answer a question on what happens when all three stakeholders have problems coming together on common grounds, Marshall drew the analogy of a cycle to show the effectiveness of working alone or in groups.

"There are times when all three partners need not work together. For example, a unicycle is tricky but workable. A bicycle may be more well-suited for a situation that needs only two parties. A tricycle may seem slow but it can carry a bigger load," she explained.

Keeping up

Earlier, Dr KJ John, chairperson of the DAGS Evaluation and Disbursement Committee for the Demonstrator Application Grant Scheme programme, stressed on the importance of keeping up with the rapid changes brought about by technological advances.

Speaking from the perspective of information and communications technology, he said that there was no conscious effort to include the third partner - civil society - into public and private sector ventures.

"Usually, NGOs' views are sought almost as an afterthought because they are the unequal partner in the whole equation," he said.

"Due to changes that are shaping our society at lightning speed, we cannot continue to do things the old way because external forces are here to stay."

John said ICT is being used to facilitate a workable tripartite partnership and in engaging public opinion.

"DAGS promotes equal partnership so that all three sectors benefit from a common goal."

Speaking from a private sector viewpoint, Real Estate and Housing Developers Association former president Eddy Chen said there was a need to balance the interests between all the sectors.

"Civil society must be strong so as to provide better checks and balances, but without getting more laws enacted which may lead to additional costs for consumers," he said, cautioning against grassroots lobbies that mislead the government into passing certain laws.

"The private sector's biggest fear is honest public opinion, but at the same time the opinion must be honest and supported by scientific facts."

Professionalism lacking

Former Social Welfare Services director-general Sayed Abdul Rahman Sayed Mohamad noted the lack of professionalism among the NGOs.

He said the NGOs should get together and only then ask the government for assistance to bring in the private sector.

"There must be personal and organisational commitment to achieve a common goal in helping needy communities or the marginalised groups," he said.

"A good partnership must exhibit good organisational management, which includes transparency, accountability, mutual respect and respect for each other's independence."

Sayed Abdul Rahman said most community development programmes lack sustainability which in turn leads to ineffective relationships although he believes that there is enough infrastructural support for policy implementation.

During the question-and-answer session, Business Ethics Institute of Malaysia chairperson Dr Zainal Abidin Abdul Majid expressed his disappointment that no high-ranking government officer stayed back for the workshop.

"Things move fast and effectively when senior government officers are involved. But how will the government engage civil society organisations to effect change if no officials are present?"

"At least one high-ranking government representative should remain to report back to the decision-makers, especially when really good points are raised at a forum represented by all relevant stakeholders."