Lessons from Malaysian Local Government: Does Resource Management Matter in Enforcement Actions?

The purpose of this study is to examine the barriers of the implementation of human resource management and information technology on enforcement actions in five local governments in Kedah, Malaysia that have been selected. By identifying the barriers that influences enforcement actions would lead to efficiency in managing organisational resources. This study employed semi-structured interview with 13 top management officers to gain insight on enforcement execution. The Nvivo application was used to identify the most relevant theme as informed by the data. The finding indicates that the internal resource management, specifically Human Resources and Information Technology greatly influences the effectiveness and successfulness of enforcement action in local governments. The study indicated that the lack of Human Resources and Information Technology are among the barriers to the effectiveness of the enforcement action in selected Malaysian local government.