Decision-making model at local government level: a new proposed for Majlis Perbandaran Kuantan

The subject-matter of the decision-making process is far wider than the traditional coverage of the study of local government.Internal and external factors and the complexity of the processes at various levels are recognized as significant contributors to the process of policy-making. This study attempted to understand this process, based on the conceptual and theoretical framework, and the formulation of a set of decision-guidelines under the new proposed model by interviewing a group of Councillors from Kuantan Municipality Council.Specifically, it attempts to understand the role of Councillors in the local government system and factors influence them in making the right decision.The new factors that developed from this study would contribute to the formulation of a new framework of decision-making.The findings presented are derived from those meeting and support by input from other parties such as politicians, planners and academicians. The interpretation of Councillor’s respond to certain questions was descriptively analysed. One striking conclusion that can be derived from the findings is that Councillors have no clear guidelines in order to assist them making a right decision on the council’s matter.By using the new process that based on the 13 factors as decision-guidelines, they believed and agreed that will make their decisions fundamentally more accurate and focused. In future research, improvements that could be applied by Councillors in ensuring the current process of decision-making at the local government level more inclusive and effective by enhancing the role of Councillors and strengthening strategic partnerships by collaborating with other focus groups

Regional development policies practiced in the rural development approach in Malaysia: A case study in Seberang Perai

The characteristics and the needs of the developing countries based on agriculture is rely on one of the integrated approaches known as the Traditional Village Development Approach is stressed for the regional development in Malaysia. This scenario occurs due to the failure of the previous regional development policies, particularly the limited spillover effects, has encouraged a more integrated approach.The objective of this approach is to lessen the disproportionate gap between the urban and rural areas, and at the same time upgrade the villagers’ standard of living.This strategy includes agricultural improvement through ownership changes and small farm consolidation into plantations, the development of non-economic activities and the changes in settlement structure and the establishment of the growth centers.The findings of the study showed that there is still some space for action that needs to be taken in order to develop the standard of living of the rural population, particularly in identifying the priorities for the development and the overall development strategy.The most important thing is to ensure that the returns and a more optimum benefit are given to the population through a more comprehensive and collective participation

Voting trends in Bukit Selambau by-election Malaysia

The Bukit Selambau by-election was due to the previous ADUN’s of Bukit Selambau, YB.V Arumugam’s resignation and this had caused SPR to supervise another by-election on the 7th of April 2009. The local population had shown the tendency to support the People’s Coalition (PR) rather than side with the Barisan Nasional (BN). The objectives of this research are to identify the voting trends of Bukit Selambau by- election and to determine the most trends influencing the voting pattern in this by-election. The findings on the observations and interviews that were done concluded that the candidates’ ethnicity, religion, and age played an important role in the Bukit Selambau by-election. As a result, the PR had won even though its candidate S. Manikumar was not well known and BN’s candidate BN Datuk S. Ganesan who was very popular, lost the by-election. BN needs to remember that after the political tsunami that hit a year ago, popular candidates do no guarantee victory to the contesting parties even though there were 50.2 % Malay voters in Bukit Selambau. BN’s failure to take back Bukit Selambau should be taken as an lesson to be learned, in which a more ’people friendly’ campaign should be done later on. In reality, the Malays should stay together so that the political tsunami of PRU 12 will not take place in the upcoming PRU 13. The recommendations were made to the State Government, local society and future research by participating from all parties including citizen in process voting trends more transparency

A proposed model in fundamental of decision making process at local government level

Currently we are witnessing significant changes in the nature of policy making and management in local government. , these changes represent a move away from the relatively passive approach towards a more purposeful approach in which local authorities attempt to learn about the nature and causes of local problems and to respond accordingly.Therefore, what is required is a theoretical framework that could explain and relates the concept of planning to the concept of power, and seeks an explanation of decision-making process.The organizational changes and complex interaction in local government that involve politicians, planners, officers and decision-making bring about the important of current practices and evaluating future changes. Thus, this article tries to propose a model of decision making-process for greater performance in local government.In the findings, there are a few factors influencing councilors in running their functions. It shows that Councillor as representatives at local government level will be a good policy maker in handling local manners by adopting this proposed model.In future research, to be a greater practice of rational decision making, perhaps the stakeholders such as households, business communities, community leaders and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) will be collaborated effectively with Councillor in decision making-process relates to local affairs

The challenges of local authorities: A case study in Malaysia

Rapid development in local authorities nowadays faced with several challenges in demands.Over the years, issues and problems due to poor management, malpractice, and poor finance makes local authorities in dilemmas.The ability to overcome current issues and the readiness to face future challenges are estimated differently due to size and boundary by itself.Local authorities whom are equipped with strong finance, visionary leadership, systematic strategic and action planning, and public support will definitely be more prepared to face those challenges. In other hand, weaker local authorities in financial and effective administration maybe faced problems in its area. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine in what level of issues and challenges facing by the council in served to the public and what the an approach applied to this study.There are several main findings by using a set of questionnaire on the issues and challenges of local authorities in Malaysia, by referring to Seberang Perai Municipality Council as case study and some information in questionnaires hand over to Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MHLG).Thus, a few recommendations were proposed to its council in designing better approach in servicing public.In future research, the local government should be firmed in addressing the issues and challenges by having good instrument to be measured in their core business

OPTIMIZATION OF MILLET BASED IDLI FORMULATIONS USING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY

AbstractIntroduction: The barnyard millet is the fastest growing of all millet produces a crop in six weeks. Idli is an important staple fermented food in both developed and developing countries. The present work was focused on the sensory qualities of barnyard millet idli produced by barnyard millet: dhal ratio and fermentation time at various combinations (13 combinations). Objective: Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the ingredients like: millet: dhal (3:1 to 3:1.25) and fermentation time (12 to 12.5) to formulate 13 variations of idli. Methods: Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was used to investigate the effects of barnyard millet: dhal ratio (A) and fermentation time (B) on the idli. Data obtained from RSM on barnyard millet idli developed were subjected to the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and analyzed using a second order polynomial equation. Result: Results of this study revealed that, maximum desirable score that can be achieved with the desirable value of appearance was 6.93, colour 6.68, flavour 7.37, texture 8.19, taste 6.42, overall acceptability scores 7.51, hardness scores 1972.4 and elasticity scores 0.191. On the basis of these calculations good millet based idli could be made when the millet to black gram dhal ratio is 3:1.60 (w/w), fermented time for 12.43h as the best proportion of these components. This sample was considered a best optimizing source for sensory attributes. Conclusion: Moreover, RSM was shown to be an adequate approach for modeling the organoleptic parameters and the degree of liking of good fermented barnyard millet idli. Millet based idli formulations showed a remarkable level glycemic response and best substitute instead of rice based foods.Keywords: Barnyard millet, response surface methodology, dhal, fermentation tim