Ombudsman in Malaysia: Ombudsman in Sarawak and Ombudsman for Financial Services (OFS) in Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

This research focuses on the ombudsman in Malaysia and its importance in strengthening good governance in civil state service. Public complaints towards maladministration and abuse of power of the government administrators or authorities have always been an issue that must be resolved in order to ensure that the government authorities are performing their functions within their jurisdictions. Ombudsman has been introduced in European countries to settle maladministration issues. In Malaysia, the current ombudsman system is adopted by the OFS which is situated in Kuala Lumpur and Integrity and Ombudsman Unit Sarawak (UNIONS) under the Premier Department of Sarawak. The implementation and effectiveness of ombudsman system will be analysed and comparison will be made to Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway and United Kingdom; which have adopted and practised ombudsman in their systems; particularly with regards to administrative law issues. This study shall improve the society’s awareness on the importance of ombudsman as one of the alternatives to resolve public complaints towards government administrators.