KUALA LUMPUR: As Malaysia moves on from political polemics, hopes are increasing for a transformation of the nation as it strives to heal from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Experts suggested "flexibility", which include adopting a bottom-up approach among government staff, especially during a period where time is of the essence.
This approach focuses on solving smaller issues at the fundamental level before integrating them into a whole and complete solution.
Sociologist Honorary Professor Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria said the civil service could be empowered to play a more technical and professional role in decision-making and find solutions to problems on the ground.
He said the third sector (voluntary) and private sector, including academics and think tank groups for multi-stakeholder groups, should be enlisted in re-engineering good governance.
"People empowerment and building inclusive and resilient communities are key (elements) in this process.
"It must be a government of the people and for the people.
"Reduce self-interest and corruption through effective collective accountability and greater freedoms for the media and civil society and parliamentary groups to serve as checks and-balances," said the principal research fellow at the Institute of Ethnic Studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Denison, who specialises in public policy advocacy, sustainable development goals and civil society, said there was a need to reform Parliament and institute select committees and all-party parliamentary groups to address critical issues through effective monitoring and bipartisan action.
There could also be efforts to strengthen more parliamentary groups working on specific areas and providing equal allocation of resources to all members of parliament to undertake ground-level work, Denison said.
Political expert Dr Oh Ei Sun said he hoped the administration of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob would introduce new and effective policies to replace old ones.
He believed that the previous National Recovery Plan was something crafted together at the "last minute."
Among the challenges face by Ismail Sabri, he said, was forming a new cabinet that would create a stable government.
"Ministers holding the health and international trade and industry portfolios must be replaced.
"However, if the people included in Ismail Sabri's cabinet are not similar to that of (former prime minister) Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's, then many would not be happy, especially those in Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, thereby making this government not very stable.
"If the cabinet is substantially different from the previous one, such as reduced in size and bringing in professionals (to help top posts), it ironically won't be a stable government either because many senior leaders in the ruling coalition would not get posts."