Active Representation in Malaysian Bureaucracy: The Case for Conflict Management

Abstract

Representative bureaucracy theory and research provides that ethnicity, gender, and race of bureaucrats matter to the efficacy of the public services. Representative bureaucracy theory possesses the notion that public workforce representative of all the people in terms of race, ethnicity, gender helps ensure the interests of all groups in the decision making processes. The representation of all the groups in the multi-ethnic states also affects the management of conflicts. In post-cold-war era, intra-state conflicts are the main sources of violent conflict, unlike inter-state conflicts as previously. The policies, actions and/or programs that states introduce to manage those conflicts decide the future of such issues and maintain the ethnic coexistence in the state. The bureaucrats can play a significant role in ethnic conflict management because of their status as policy makers, and as interpreters of laws and policies. This article, thus, looks into the role active representation plays in conflict management with special focus on Malaysia. The ethnic representation in Malaysian bureaucracy with the Malay domination presents an interesting case as the minority demands of proportional representation has been one of the most important issues in the country. The example of ethnic conflict management by Malaysian government and by means of quotas and affirmative action policies will be analyzed to help understand the development and effects of Malay domination in the era of demands of representative bureaucracy worldwide.