Malike Brahim

School of Government, University of Utara Malaysia, Kedah, Malaysia

malike@uum.edu.my

Changing people demands to policies: The roles of elected representatives at Kubang Pasu District, Malaysia

Musliza Mohamad

Department of Commerce, Polytechnic of Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, Kedah, Malaysia

mamabah999@gmail.com

Mohamad Zaki Ahmad

School of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management, University of Utara Malaysia, Kedah, Malaysia

zaki.ahmad@uum.edu.my

Abstract. People have various demands to the government. In the plural society in Malaysia, the demands are different for different groups striving to obtain access to finance, better healthcare, housing, subsidies, security and other human necessities. These and other demands are channeled to the government through elected representatives. However, not all demands will be fulfilled, they need to be evaluated and prioritized by the government before changes in public policies are made. Interviews were conducted with the elected representatives to scrutinize the problems faced by people in their constituencies. Also, questionnaires have been distributed to examine problems and issues at the grass root. The research findings indicate that people’s demands are divided into eight priorities such as education, housing, agriculture, animal husbandry, safety, facilities, religious issues and household issues. Basing on the political system theory, the demands are processed as input by the government and output is produced in the form of aids, projects, programs and plans arranged by the federal and various other agencies. Once policies are implemented, people give their feedback as the outcome from the policies’ implementation.

Received: December, 2017

1st Revision: February, 2018

Accepted: June, 2018

DOI: 10.14254/2071-

8330.2018/11-3/20

JEL Classification: A13, D31, D78

Keywords: demands, elected representatives, Malaysian societies, policy implementations, public policy