Aug 19, 2003 was a historical day as our Deputy Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, launched the National Social Policy (NSP) at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur. Various groups have been calling on the government to draw a balance between the nation's economic and social development agendas.

Work on formulating the social policy goes back a number of years with the initiatives taken by Prof Dr Wan Halim and Dr Vijay Shanmugan, who were the government consultants attached to Pintas in formulating a comprehensive framework which is holistic and pro-people.

The NSP is consistent with Vision 2020 and is strategic in focus. It is intended to be an umbrella policy.

The general thrust of the policy is to ensure that all individuals, families and communities irrespective of race, religion, culture, gender, political affiliation or state of origin within Malaysia will be able to enjoy the benefits of development and quality of life.

This is similar to earlier policies issued, however what is really new is the mechanism that is now introduced to ensure that at the implementation level, the balance between economic and social considerations is kept.

National Social Council

Together with the new policy, the National Social Council was also set-up. It comprises cabinet members from all the social sector agencies such as National Unity and Social Development, Health, Education, Youth and Sports, Home Affairs and the Works Ministry.

The council is at the federal level and its first meeting was held on Aug 19 after the launch.

The government has also introduced a similar mechanism at the state and district levels. Earlier, the focus at these levels was on physical and infrastructure development, now the added concern of social dimensions is incorporated.

What is significant is at the grassroots, where it is recognised that there needs to be greater collaborative action among the different government departments on one hand and between the government and civil society on the other.

The district mechanism has taken into account the wide representation of both government and local groups.

Community service centres

The government has also announced the establishment of the Community service centres (CSC) at the district levels, which will serve as information centres and from where all the relevant agencies will respond to the issues and concerns of ordinary people.

For a start, the government will identify 50 high-risk areas where the CSC will be established. These centres will allow the grassroots to play a key role in development.

Under Agenda 21, a number of local authorities are providing non-government organisations and residents associations greater partnership in local issues and concerns. This framework will also enable government agencies and departments to work together.

Social problems are not one dimensional. They are multi-dimensional and require intervention, which cuts across agencies and department. The CSC will provide the framework greater collaborative intervention and enhance the delivery system to be more target specific.

Social Impact Assessment (SIA) is the third important aspect of the new policy. At present there is the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and within this there is a social component. With the SIA, greater attention can be given to the social dimension especially on how a development project will impact ordinary people.

Critical role

It should be reiterated that the launch of the NSP is timely. It sounds good on paper but we must work to ensure its effectiveness at the implementation stage. This is where NGOs and ordinary citizens can play a critical role in a number of ways. They are:-

1) Be familiar with the NSP and the mechanisms introduced.

2) Be watchful of the effective implementation of the policy.

3) Be directly involved on the ground at your local level - at the individual, family and community levels.

4) Be part of an active Community service centre

5) Be in close touch with all relevant agencies and advocate the concerns, needs and issues affecting ordinary people

6) Be vocal at dialogue gatherings, calling on agencies, private and voluntary sectors to respond appropriately.

DR DENISON JAYASOORIA is the executive director of Yayasan Strategik Sosial , a MIC- run NGO that had been tasked to organise, among others, community-based social programmes to address social ills among low-income squatter families living in low-cost housing areas.