Evaluating Public Participation Mechanisms in LA21 Programs in Malaysia

Objective – The role of local government in LA21 is important in order to harness local level participation. In Malaysia, as in many other countries, the need to engage the public in sustainable development issues has shifted the focus to more decentralized and bottom up approaches in harnessing public participation in achieving sustainable development. This means that local authorities as the leading partners in LA21 need to work with the local community and the private sector to develop community action plans for sustainability under Local Agenda 21(LA21). Thus, the overall goal of the study is to determine how participation can best be implemented in LA21 programmes in selective councils by evaluating the key participatory mechanisms that have been employed by the councils. Methodology/Technique – This is a qualitative study that was conducted on four specific councils in West and East Malaysia to determine the effectiveness of the participatory mechanisms used in LA21 programs. The main methods of data collection were through the use of semi-structured interviews, focus groups and document analysis. Findings – The overall conclusion is that the councils were still using the conventional methods to encourage public participation and hence were not able to enhance public participation in the LA21 program. Novelty – The study will not only create a framework for local councils intending to implement a bottom-up approach to participation but also establish a base-line description of participatory mechanisms in LA21 programmes to encourage further research in this area of evolving LA21 research. Type of Paper: Empirical.