"Invigorate Reform Agenda With Open Data And Public Cooperation" - Academic Expert

By Samantha Tan Chiew Tieng

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- Efforts to invigorate the implementation of the MADANI reform agenda must continue to be based on transparency, courage, and the involvement of the people as partners in policy change, according to an academic expert.

Professor Dr. Zainal Abidin Sanusi, a lecturer at the Department of Political Science and Madani Studies, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), believes that the continuity of reform can be achieved if policy implementation is not just drafted on paper, but also openly monitored and evaluated through mechanisms involving the community.

Among the suggestions put forward are the introduction of a MADANI Reform Scorecard, the implementation of a MADANI Feedback Week, and the expansion of community projects such as Kampung MADANI (MADANI Village) and Bandar MADANI (MADANI Town), which will provide space for the people to contribute directly to policy formulation.

"A regularly updated MADANI Reform Scorecard with the remapping of programmes like Bakti and Budi MADANI should not just be thematic programmes.

"It needs to be accompanied by the courage to display data through a public dashboard in areas most felt by the people, such as the cost of living and access to aid," he told Bernama in conjunction with the third anniversary of the MADANI Government.

Zainal Abidin said this step would make the MADANI narrative more honest, transparent, and auditable, thereby restoring the public's confidence in the ongoing reforms.

He also suggested that a MADANI Feedback Week or open policy labs be held in every ministry to demonstrate the government's openness to fact-based views and criticisms.

"Criticism is not a threat, but part of a healthy governance ecosystem," he added.

Zainal Abidin believes the future of MADANI depends on how much the people are invited as partners, not merely as beneficiaries or distant spectators.

"Showcases like Kampung MADANI or Bandar MADANI, which involve youth, the community, local authorities (PBT), and universities in designing solutions with a small but tangible allocation for openly selected ideas, can make MADANI a joint project with the people," he said.

He added that when initiatives like this become the norm in national administration, reform will no longer need to be loudly proclaimed every day but will instead be proven through the way power is managed, feedback is incorporated, and programmes are woven into the daily lives of the people.

"When that happens, MADANI will no longer need to be adorned in narrative, because the reality on the ground has already begun to speak for it," he said.

Initiatives such as these, he said, will not only give new life to reform but also make MADANI a true manifestation of the values of openness, responsibility, and humanity that are the core of the new Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA