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SHOULD THE MALAYSIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS’ CONSULAR DIVISION BE UPGRADED TO BECOME AN INDEPENDENT AGENCY? – A PUBLIC
ORGANIZATION PERSPECTIVE
MOHD HASIM UJANG
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC POLICY AND MANAGEMENT (INPUMA) UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA
KUALA LUMPUR
2015
ii
SHOULD THE MALAYSIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN
AFFAIRS’ CONSULAR DIVISION BE UPGRADED TO
BECOME AN INDEPENDENT AGENCY? – A PUBLIC
ORGANIZATION PERSPECTIVE
MOHD HASIM UJANG
THIS RESEARCH PAPER IS SUBMITTED IN
PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY
INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC POLICY AND MANAGEMENT (INPUMA)
UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA
KUALA LUMPUR
2015
UNIVERSITY OF MALAYA
ORIGINAL LITERARY WORK DECLARATION
Name of Candidate: MOHD HASIM UJANG (I.C/Passport No: 820222-12-5233)
Registration/Matric No: ZGA110011
Name of Degree: MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY
Title of Project Paper/Research Report/Dissertation/Thesis (“this Work”):
SHOULD THE MALAYSIAN MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS’ CONSULAR
DIVISION BE UPGRADED INTO AN INDEPENDENT AGENCY? A PUBLIC
ORGANIZATION PERSPECTIVE
Field of Study: PUBLIC ORGANIZATION MANAGEMENT
I do solemnly and sincerely declare that:
(1) I am the sole author/writer of this Work;
(2) This Work is original;
(3) Any use of any work in which copyright exists was done by way of fair
dealing and for permitted purposes and any excerpt or extract from, or
reference to or reproduction of any copyright work has been disclosed
expressly and sufficiently and the title of the Work and its authorship have
been acknowledged in this Work;
(4) I do not have any actual knowledge nor do I ought reasonably to know that
the making of this work constitutes an infringement of any copyright work;
(5) I hereby assign all and every rights in the copyright to this Work to the
University of Malaya (“UM”), who henceforth shall be owner of the
copyright in this Work and that any reproduction or use in any form or by any
means whatsoever is prohibited without the written consent of UM having
been first had and obtained;
(6) I am fully aware that if in the course of making this Work I have infringed
any copyright whether intentionally or otherwise, I may be subject to legal
action or any other action as may be determined by UM.
Candidate’s Signature Date:
Subscribed and solemnly declared before,
Witness’s Signature Date:
Name:
Designation:
ABSTRACT
Scholars have extensively debated the dynamic and adaptable nature of public
organizations which evolve in relation to stakeholders’ demand and the changes of the
working environment. In relation to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MFA) Consular
Division, the sub-organization for the last ten years has went through several changes in
manpower, structure, infrastructure and working procedures adjusting to the changing
clients’ needs. However, some pertinent questions remain are the changes adequate to
meet current needs and future expectations of the ministry’s clientele? If there are
problems could these problems be overcome and how? This is the main question
discussed in this paper. Writing of this paper is guided by theories of Organizational
Capacity and Mark H. Moore’s Public Value Theory. The Public Value Theory helped
to guide the author to present solutions from a combination of theoretical and practical
applications that addressed the questions under research. Information for this paper were
gathered via qualitative research method. The tools used were interviews, online survey,
and summary observation. In addition, MFA Revised Strategic Plan 2011 – 2015 and
other relevant secondary documents were used to support information gathered on the
ground.
Findings of the research suggested the MFA’s Consular Division need to urgently be
upgraded. It ought to be an independent agency that is on par with other well-
established departments such as the Immigration, the Public Complaints Bureau and the
National Insolvency Department. The upgrading is critical in order to achieve a
significant quantum of growth in terms of manpower, financial allocation, mandate and
expertise to enhance MFA capacity in the face of greater and more sophisticated
challenges. Should the upgrading not undertaken the MFA Consular Division will
remain an insignificant sub-organization unable to keep up with the increasing demands
from its varied clients.
Page 1 of 68
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, all thanks to Allah the Wisest and the Most Benevolent God who
bestowed me with a potent faculty of mind and a generous stream of opportunities that
has made this endeavour successfully accomplished. To my supervisor, Dr. Sharifah
Mariam Alhabshi, thank you very much for your continuous and enlightening
mentorship which has imparted a great deal of knowledge and understanding throughout
my pursuit of intellectual fertilization. To the other INPUMA lecturers, I also extend my
heartfelt gratitude to all of you for nurturing my intellectual capacity to a greater level.
To the Undersecretary of the Consular Division and the long list of its officers and
staffs, I also sincerely appreciate your cooperation and responsiveness in entertaining all
my queries and for being part of the team that helps to improve and to appraise my
efforts continuously.
To my beloved wife and soul mate, Vahieyah Hindi, I thank you for your unwavering
love and patience and for always being on my side throughout my life, my career
progression and my academic journey. To my father and mother, I thank both of you for
raising me up and for giving me your undivided faith, support and constant prayers in an
unbreakable familial relationship. To my siblings, I thank all of you for being my
closest companions in childhood right into my adulthood. To my boys and my girls,
thank you for being obedient and for lighting up my everyday life with cheerfulness.
Page 2 of 68
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract .............................................................................................................................. i
Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... 1
List of Figures ................................................................................................................... 3
List of Tables..................................................................................................................... 3
List of Appendices ............................................................................................................ 3
List of Symbols and Abbreviations ................................................................................... 4
Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………………………………………..... 6
Chapter 2: Literature Review…………………………………………………..…… 9
Chapter 3: Methodology……………………………………………………………. 14
Chapter 4: Results ……...…………………………………………………………...18
Chapter 5: Discussion….……………………………..………………………………39
Chapter 6: Conclusion……...………………………………………………………...57
References ……………………………………………………………………………..59
Appendix ......................................................................................................................... 60
Page 3 of 68
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Statistics of CoGC Issuance for Years 2010-2015.………………………….
Figure 2: The Consular Office Stakeholders by Categories……………………………
Figure 3: The Proposed Structure of the new Consular Department………………….
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Comparison between Government Model and Business Model of
Organizational Capacity ......................................................................................................
Table 2: List of Consular Officials participated interviews and collections of results…
Table 3: Description of Public Values offered by the MFA’s Consular Division……..
Table 4: Summary of Consular Clients’ Interview Results…………………………….
Table 5: Summary of MFA’s Consular Division’s Stakeholders………………………
LIST OF APPENDICES
Appendix A: Consular Division under the current MFA Structure
Appendix B: List of Malaysian Embassies, High Commissioners and Consulates
Page 4 of 68
LIST OF SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS
AGC : The Malaysian Attorney General’s Chamber
ASEAN : Association of the Southeast Asian Nations
ATIP : National Secretariat of the Council for Anti-Trafficking in
Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants
BBC : British Broadcasting Corporation
CNN : Chicago News Network
CoGC : Malaysian Certificate of Good Conduct, known in some
foreign countries as Police Certificate
DFAIT : Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International
Trade
EEZ : Exclusive Economic Zone
JUSA : Jawatan Utama Sektor Awam (Public Sector Elite Post)
IDB : International Development Bank
MFA : Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
MMEA : Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
MOF : Ministry of Finance
PMD : Prime Minister’s Department
PSD : Public Service Department
RMAF : Royal Malaysian Air Force
RMN : Royal Malaysian Navy
RMP : Royal Malaysian Police
RSP : Revised Strategic Plan, referring to the MFA’s RSP for 2011 –
2015
UNCLOS : United Nations’ Convention on the Laws of the Sea
UNESCO : United Nations’ Education, Science and Cultural Organization
UNHCR : United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNICEF : United Nations Children's Fund
UNSC : United Nations’ Security Council
Page 5 of 68
UTC : Urban Transformation Centre
WHO : World Health Organization
Page 6 of 68
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
What and why MFA?
The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has been mandated as the presenter
of Malaysian image and policies to the outside world. The MFA primary roles are to be
the government policy advisor, think tank, implementer and regulator for matters
relating to foreign policy, international relations and trans-boundary movements of
persons, both citizens and non-citizens. Thus far compared to the other Malaysia
Ministries, the roles and duties of the MFA have been vague and somewhat unknown to
the Malaysian citizens. This situation can be attributed to the fact that there has been
very little literature produced and very little interest generated to undertake serious
studies in the field of Malaysian foreign policy, international relations or anything
related to it (Ahmad Atory Hussin, 2002).
As a result, there has been a perceivable understatement of the MFA’s functions and
significance not only amongst the general public, but among the government
bureaucracy itself. In view of the critical role of Consular Office and its ironic under-
appreciation, the author of this paper wishes to highlight the importance of pursuing this
research. The author contends that topics and issues relating to consular service and
consular assistance are still under-represented in academic research and public
discourse. This is very true in the Malaysian context where localized issues over-
dominate both public discourse and academic interest vis-à-vis international
connectivity and globalization.
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The ‘invisibility’ of the MFA as a crucial national agency has caused a gap between the
Ministry’s reputation and capacity despite its real contributions and ever increasing
loads of responsibilities. Perhaps because of MFA’s portrayal as an insignificant office,
financial and manpower allocations for MFA is very much below the demand of
services requested from MFA. This study seeks to ensure the continued effectiveness of
MFA’s performance there is a grave urgency to address this situation. Thus, the author
felt compelled to conduct this research in order to highlight this issue to generate greater
interest amongst the academia and the bureaucrats to look deeper into this problem and
resolve it accordingly.
Study Focus
The focus of this study is on the MFA’s Consular Office otherwise known as the
Consular Division. The focus was selected because it is the only organization within
MFA that directly serves the general public and government officials, the key
components in public policymaking. Consular Service is a universal government branch
that seeks to protect national interest and citizens’ welfare abroad. Every government in
the world that is fully functioning must have established diplomatic relationships with
multiple countries and maintains an institutionalized group of diplomatic corps as part
of government bureaucracy (Goldstein & Prevehouse, 2012). The MFA’s Consular
Division and its network of agencies across the globe is part of Malaysia’s diplomatic
corps. In this respect, the Consular Service has been the main vehicle for Malaysia in
formalizing diplomatic relationships and safeguarding national interests in trans-
boundary movements of citizens, goods and services.
As a primary conduit for customer service and policy mediator between foreign and
Malaysian government and the industry, the Consular Office embodies the significance
of MFA’s roles and responsibilities in safeguarding national interests locally and abroad
Page 8 of 68
(MFA RSP, year). Specifically, the convergence of policies and operations of the MFA
occurs in the Consular Office. Unlike other divisions and agencies in the MFA they do
not perform operational roles and public service provision rather only concentrate on
crafting policies, researching and advising. Thus, this study is timely and appropriate to
fill in this void and to stimulate future interest for more elaborate studies.
Page 9 of 68
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Due to the lack of research interest amongst the academia and the bureaucracy (Ahmad
Atory Hussin, 1990, 2002), there have been very little references or previous studies
pertaining Malaysian Consular Service that the author could sample. Nevertheless,
research interest abroad and foreign governments’ audit reports provided important
references for this study. For example, in November 2012, the Canadian Government
commissioned a Summative Evaluation Report on the Delivery of Consular Services
and International Emergency Management. The Evaluation was conducted over 18
months by the Canadian Foreign Affairs & International Trade Office of Audit,
Evaluation and Inspection, Evaluation Division.
Among others, the 85-page report reiterated the continued need for Consular Service
and to improvise the capacity and functionality of the Consular Service in order to
respond to the increasing volume and complexity of demand locally and abroad. The
outcome of the report also demonstrated that Consular Service is a very important
government branch whose significance is on par with other agencies such as
departments of immigration, taxation, education, defence and internal security. The
Canadian Government has realized such importance much earlier and they have been
commissioning evaluation reports on Consular Service since 2004 or even before.
As early as 1894 and 1966, academic research pertaining American consular service
reforms were presented (White, 1894; Paterson, 1966). Paterson discussed at length as
to how the American business community compelled the government to initiate
Page 10 of 68
administrative reforms to improve the American consular delivery during the period of
1890s to 1900s. Even at that time the consular service was regarded as crucial to
facilitate business operations abroad and to keep them connected to their headquarters
back in America. White on the other hand discussed at length on how the competency of
consuls and ambassadors in carrying out their duties strongly affects America’s efforts
bridge diplomatic, cultural and business networks with countries where the diplomatic
representatives are posted.
Among others, White lamented on how the American government was jeopardizing its
diplomatic efforts by sending incompetent consuls and ambassadors who were not only
unable to speak foreign languages, but displayed overt disrespect to local cultures and
traditions at the host countries. These problems were quite prevalent from 1850s right
into the early 1900s not only in America but also in the British Consular Service
(Phelps, 2008). Phelps alluded further that both the British and American government
were aware of the grave consequences of not reforming their respective consular
services and both countries introduced civil service reforms to improve the overall
performance of the bureaucracy. But those reforms were hampered partly because of
Britain’s policy of expansive imperialism throughout the 1800s and also because of the
outbreak of the First and Second World Wars drained much of the respective
government’s resources.
Organizational Capacity from Theoretical Perspective: The Government Model
versus the Business Model
The key word for this research is ‘organizational capacity’ of the MFA’s Consular
Division as the primary focus of this study. The term ‘organizational capacity’ from the
perspective of government management can be succinctly defined as the ability of the
said organization to fulfil its goals by acquiring adequate resources and mobilizing them
Page 11 of 68
to produce specific outputs that leads to a desired outcome (Bryan, 2011). This
definition is based on the premise that government agencies primary function is to
produce public goods using optimum input and resources. Thus, the principles of non-
exclusivity and fair distribution of public benefits apply squarely on the government
model which measures success factor based on these elements.
On the other hand, the business model defines organizational capacity as the firm’s
ability to manage its resources in order to achieve competitive advantages (Ulrich &
Lake, 2001). The firm’s organizational capacity is built upon three primary factors;
financial resource, strategic/marketing capability and technological capabilities. The
firm is said to have achieved a competitive advantage when it is able to acquire and
mobilize all three elements of the organizational capacity. The competitive advantage in
turn serves as a critical success factor for the firm to achieve profit maximization and
operating cost reduction. Whereas public organizations strive to enhance organizational
capacity in order to maximize net public benefits and distribute public benefits fairly.
The table below further illustrates the comparisons the business model and the
government model of organizational capacity:
Table 1: Government Model of Organizational Capacity versus the Business
Model of Organizational Capacity
Government Model Business Model
Focuses on achieving producing and
distributing net public benefits by acquiring
and mobilizing resources; financial capital,
human capital, assets and legal mandate.
Does not concern about distributing benefits
or reward amongst the employees.
Focuses on generating maximum profit to
be used as a rolling capital and distributed
amongst the firm members as a form of
reward. Profit distribution is concentrated
mainly on shareholders based on respective
equity and a lesser portion is distributed
amongst employees as remunerations.
Derives financial capacity from annual
allocations approved by the parliament,
congress or senate. Additional allocations
may be derived from supplementary budget
bills. Money mainly came from taxpayers
and borrowings.
Routinely derives financial capacity from
accumulated profits and sometimes from
capital injection from shareholders and
investors. Money mainly came from private
investors and profits collected from
customers.
Provides instruments for government to
dispense public duties.
Serves as vehicles for entrepreneurs to
invest and accumulate wealth.
Acquires manpower capacity by recruitments
and retains them.
Acquires manpower capacity by
recruitments and retains them selectively
based on performance.
Page 12 of 68
Derives organizational structure from
government warrants which are approved
based on trade-offs between the goal to
maximize benefits on one side and the
necessity to regulate spending on the other.
Constitutes organizational structure
independently based on prevailing business
plan and corporate goals. Overhead cost
minimization primarily dictates company
structure.
Consumption and mobilization of financial
and manpower resources are audited to
enforce accountability and transparency.
Consumption, mobilization and
capitalization of financial resources and
assets are audited to enforce accountability
and transparency and to maintain healthy
profits via overhead cost minimization.
Agencies use organizational capacity to
secure mandates, directives and policies as
the sources of authority primary guidelines in
producing the type of public benefits that
must be produced according to respective
organizational goals. Net public benefits
produced are mostly public goods and
enablers that facilitate private sector
activities.
Firms use organizational capacity to acquire
input from suppliers and convert them into
good and services to generate profit.
Sources: Bryan 2011, Ulrich & Lake 2001.
Public Value, Instant Gratification and Decentralization – Recipes to enhance
Organizational Capacity
Producing and distributing public goods and net public benefits might be adequate to
describe the goals of public agencies in traditional public sector management. However,
as the public and private sector becomes increasingly inter-dependent and as they
increasingly share the same customer base (the general public), comparisons between
public and private sector performances become inevitable. Moreover, as the customer
base grows at an accelerated pace and becomes much more sophisticated, the
government become increasingly unable to single-handedly provide and distribute net
public benefits across the board as effectively as before. Hence, the government
embarked upon structural and cultural reforms by introducing privatization and public-
private partnership to share the burden of producing net public benefits with the private
Page 13 of 68
sector in order to keep satisfying public demand. The government also embarked upon a
decentralization exercise to reduce red tapes, grant more autonomy at middle and lower
level bureaucracy and to expedite decision-making process (Hales, 2000).
Following this development, the concept of Public Value was formulated and
propagated to merge and harmonize the working perspectives of both the public and
private sectors (Moore & Khagram, 2004). Proponents of the Public Value concept
argued that there is a strong and clear convergence between private and public values
that organizations strive to produce. Both seek to synthesize things that are beneficial to
the customer base (the public), be it goods or services. In addition, there is a recent
concept of ‘instant gratification’ whereby customers not only seek high quality goods
and services, but they also look for prompt and accurate information, responsive
helpdesk and greater overall engagements from service providers (Graham, 2013). New
age customers can no longer tolerate inferior goods or slack and inefficient services
(both pre-sales and after-sales) that does not reflect the supplier’s eagerness to serve and
‘connect’ with the customers regardless of time and physical constraints. In other words,
the urge for both public and private suppliers to maintain a flawless business continuity
plan is getting louder. This is achievable by adopting the policy of decentralization that
allows job flexibility, prompt decisions and responses, multi-tasking and service
specialization (Hales, 2000).
Thus, the integration between the concept of Public Value ‘instant gratification’ and
bureaucratic decentralization can be useful in mapping up a plan of advancement
towards attaining a significant quantum of improvement for both private and public
agencies in fulfilling their duties.
Page 14 of 68
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
Constructing the Research Questions
The roles and functions of the MFA’s Consular Division are to be described in great
detail in the next chapter. In essence, these roles and responsibilities are public goods
and ‘public values’ that the said organization seek to dispense with top notch
performance. However, the question remains as how the MFA’s Consular Division can
be seen to offer instant gratification to its clientele? Do current efforts suffice to
constitute ‘instant gratification’ the meets the expectations of its clientele? More
importantly, how is this question going to be addressed against the backdrop of
increased sophistication and quantum of demand for consular service as pointed out in
the previous chapter? In the simplest articulation, can the MFA’s Consular Division
remain competent, connected and continuously engaging towards the clientele in the
face of its clientele’s growth and greater sophistication? The following Research
Questions were constructed to address these concerns:
Page 15 of 68
1. What are the specific challenges that could potentially compromise
organizational capacity and service efficiency of the MFA’s Consular Division if
there is no major structural revamp?
2. What are the specific improvements that can be proposed for implementation in
order to expand the organizational capacity and service efficiency of MFA’s
Consular Division?
3. Will upgrading the Consular Division into an autonomous Consular Department
results in greater organizational capacity and consequently enhances its creation
of public value and instant gratification?
4. Will the costs and concessions for such an upgrade be qualitatively justified by
the anticipated benefits generated by the Consular Department and the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs as a whole?
The author used qualitative analysis to collect detailed information and each tool
yielded the following results:
1. Interviews were conducted with experienced Consular Officials and officers in
Human Resource Division of MFA to gather empirical responses that serve as a
basis for Needs Analysis and Stakeholder Analysis. The Needs Analysis were
conducted to qualitatively assess whether the Consular Office’s capacity
commensurate with its role and scope of responsibilities. On the other hand, the
Stakeholders’ Analysis was used to identify the most critical group and to find any
existing imbalances in terms of commitment to different stakeholders. The authors
interviewed MFA officers who possess recognizable knowledge and experience in
the roles and contributions of the Consular Office. In this respect, the following
officers participated in the interview sessions conducted (table 2):
Page 16 of 68
Name & Position Portfolio
a. Mr. Muhammad Radzi Jamaludin,
Diplomatic & Administrative
Officer Grade M48.
Principal Assistant Secretary, Consular
Division. In charge of Operation Section,
supervising 9 Units with 29 staffs.
b. Mr. Muhammad Shuhada Othman,
Diplomatic & Administrative
Officer Grade M48.
Principal Assistant Secretary, Human
Resource Division. In charge of Training and
Career Development including competency
building for Consular officers.
c. Mdm Emma Marina Zubir,
Diplomatic & Administrative
Officer Grade M48.
Principal Assistant Secretary, Human
Resource Division. In charge of Re-Structuring of
MFA including Consular Office.
d. Mr. Nazeem Hambali, Diplomatic
& Administrative Officer Grade
M41.
Assistant Secretary, Operation Section,
Consular Division. In charge of Consular
Assistance for Malaysians abroad.
e. Mrs. Siti Nor Atiyah Thaniah
Abdullah, Diplomatic &
Administrative Officer Grade M41.
Assistant Secretary, Policy Section, Consular
Division. In charge of policy matters relating to
Consular Office.
f. Mr. Muhamad Rahmat Hj Mohtar,
Assistant Administrative Officer
Grade N27.
Assistant Administrative Officer, in charge of
diplomatic passport, gratis and visa application.
g. Mr. Mohd Fadzli bin Ismail,
Assistant Administrative Officer
Grade N27.
Assistant Administrative Officer, in charge of
Consular Assistance for foreign nationals without
diplomatic representation.
2. Random interviews with some consular clients who were present during a number
of visits. The following questions were asked:
a. What is your country of citizenship?
b. Why are you coming to Malaysia/going overseas?
c. What kind of services you are seeking from this department?
d. Do you have issues/complaints?
Page 17 of 68
3. Questionnaire-based survey were distribute via emails and hardcopies to consular
clients who mainly consisted of government officials, private employers,
international students and the general public. The questionnaire aimed to assess the
clients’ perception about the significance of Consular Service to their education,
vocation, business expansion and recruitment foreign labour or foreign expertise.
Results from this are discussed in the Analysis Section.
4. Summary observation on the client perception regarding the facilities and services
rendered at the Consular Office. This is done by analyzing client responses from
interviews and survey. The authors also summarily inspect other elements such as
organizational management, information dissemination, efficiency of processes and
procedures.
5. Review of the MFA Revised Strategic Plan to identify the existing structure and
prevailing procedures within the Consular Office. The information from this review
was corroborated with interview responses from Consular Officials.
Page 18 of 68
CHAPTER 4
RESULTS
The Structure of MFA and how it dictates the architecture of the Consular
Division
Structure wise, the Consular Division is a sub-organization within MFA (see Appendix
Section). Under MFA, there are 11 major departments, institute and national
secretariat/convention that include the Chief of Protocol and Consular under which the
Consular Division is overseen. The Consular Office in return works closely with 109
Malaysian diplomatic representatives worldwide that consist of Embassies, High
Commissions and Consulates. Collectively, these diplomatic representatives are known
as ‘Malaysian Missions Overseas’. In addition, two (2) regional offices in Sabah &
Sarawak are also encompassed under the MFA structure. These foreign missions and
regional offices are also responsible for assistances in consular matters. As the
government’s sole agency for consular service matters, the Consular Division MFA is
tasked with wide variety of consular functions which can be summarized as follows:
1. To preserve national interests by protecting and ensuring the welfare of Malaysian
citizens abroad in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
and Act 595 of the Malaysian Law. This includes safeguarding Malaysian Citizens
wellbeing in the course of overseas education, employment, social visit and even
detention overseas.
Page 19 of 68
2. To enhance bilateral cooperation with countries that has established strong
partnership with Malaysia in various aspects such as bilateral trade, human capital
exchange, education, defence and military cooperation, trans-boundary
procurements and so on. In this respect, the Consular Office greatly facilitates
movement of Malaysian officials overseas and provides comprehensive assistance
in obtaining working visas for Malaysian officials to visit any country in official
capacities.
3. To enhance multilateral cooperation by granting diplomatic clearances for foreign
officials working in Malaysia under various capacities such as representing another
country or an international governing organization.
4. To assist Malaysian citizens who wants to track or retrieve family members who
have been stranded or missing overseas.
5. To issue the Certificate of Good Conduct (CoGC) for law-abiding citizens who
seek education, employment or long-term visits overseas.
6. To provide consular assistance for foreign nationals from countries that does not
have diplomatic representation in Malaysia.
7. To work closely with foreign embassies and international organizations in Malaysia
in order to honour Malaysian obligations under various international conventions
and agreements. This includes the protection of foreign nationals visiting, working
or studying in Malaysia and the management of various trans-boundary issues that
fall under the purview of international governing organizations such as human
trafficking, tracking of wanted persons and so on.
8. To advise other government agencies in matters under Consular jurisdiction such as
compliance to international laws and declarations in managing foreign citizens in
Malaysia. For example, the Immigrations Department, the Ministry of Human
Page 20 of 68
Resource and the RMP must consult and take advices from the Consular Office in
carrying out anti-human trafficking exercises, detention and deportation of illegal
foreign workers, extradition of wanted individuals and so on.
Thus far the MFA has opened 109 foreign missions worldwide in countries with
significant presence of Malaysian population or strategic importance. The locations of
Malaysian foreign missions are shown in the Appendix. Majority of the Malaysian
missions overseas are located at national capital cities, however some missions are
located at cities other than national capitals that serve as important regional or business
centres with significant strategic interest for Malaysia.
For example, Malaysia has a national foreign mission in Canberra, the capital of
Australia plus two other lower-level foreign missions in Perth and Sydney, which are
not capital cities respectively but serve as important business or regional centres with
significant presence of Malaysian interests. Additionally, the first-tier foreign missions
are known as High Commissions (for Commonwealth Countries) and Embassies (for
non-Commonwealth Countries) respectively whereas the second-tier foreign missions
are known as Consulates (for both Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth Countries).
The MFA’s Revised Strategic Plan 2011 – 2015 spells out 10 scopes of consular
functions as follows:
Table 3: Public Values offered by Consular Division, MFA
Scope of Service Main Clients
a. Consular assistance – mainly advisory services and
information rendering such as travel advisory,
documentation tips, public complaints and so on.
Malaysian citizens and foreign citizens
without diplomatic representation in
Malaysia.
Page 21 of 68
b. Distress involving arrests and detentions – lending
necessary assistance to citizens who are
arrested/detained/quarantined in a foreign country.
Malaysian citizens residing or
travelling abroad.
c. Tracking missing person(s) abroad – families who lost
contact with any citizens abroad can seek consular
assistance to locate and ascertain the fate of the
missing person(s). Actions shall be carried out within
10 working days upon receipt of report.
Any Malaysian citizens residing in
Malaysia or in any foreign country.
d. Distress and arrangements following death(s) abroad –
lending assistance to retrieve and repatriate the
remains of the deceased back into home country while
keeping the families informed. Actions shall be carried
out within 10 working days upon receipt of report.
Malaysian citizens residing in
Malaysia.
e. Issuance of the Certificate of Good Conduct (CoGC)
within 2 months upon application receipt.
Malaysian citizens seeking
employment and/or studying abroad.
f. To inform foreign diplomatic representatives in
Malaysia regarding detentions or deaths of any foreign
nationals within 3 working days following information
from relevant authorities.
Foreign embassies/consulates and
foreign citizens.
g. To facilitate foreign nationals without Diplomatic
Representation in Malaysia to obtain travel documents
(for lost or stolen passport) within 7 days upon the
receipt of the report.
Foreign nationals in Malaysia without
Diplomatic Representation.
h. To seek diplomatic clearance for aircrafts and ships
belonging to foreign governments to enter the air
space, land or docks of Malaysia within three working
days upon receipt of the application.
Foreign governments.
i. Attestation/Endorsement of documents within two
working days upon the receipt of the application.
Local and foreign citizens in Malaysia.
j. Information and advisory – to keep the clients
continuously informed about various consular matters
such as required documentations to apply for visa,
travelling tips and hazards, updated requirements for
all consular services that are available for application
and so on.
Current and prospective consular
clients.
Source: MFA’s Revised Strategic Plan 2011 – 2015, p25-28
(http://www.kln.gov.my/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=d47fdae2-a05f-464d-a829-
e10fe0ba34d3&groupId=10136)
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From the services described in table above, it is obvious that the Malaysian Consular
Service has been tailored to meet international demand. There are specified time frames
for each processes and application which serve as good parameters to evaluate the
efficiency of the Malaysian consular services based in Putrajaya.
Main problems identified
At the end of 2014, the author and another co-worker (who did not participate in this
research) conducted a Capstone Project at the MFA’s Consular Division. Throughout
the project, the author(s) delved into specific records and information and interviewed
Consular officers, staffs and clients to identify existing problems within their institution.
The MFA’s RSP (p14) clearly recognized the fact that the demand for efficient,
responsive and proactive consular service is projected to intensify in tandem with the
growing pace of globalization, economic inter-dependency and trans-boundary
movement of persons. Interview results with Consular officers corroborated this fact.
However, the same results and consular clients’ responses from an online survey
conducted by the author(s) pointed to the unmistakable inference that the MFA in
general and the Consular Office in particular were increasingly overwhelmed by the
ever-growing workload and their inability to significantly expand their organization’s
capacity in order to cope with the problem. The current structure and manpower of the
Consular Office are barely able to cope with current level of demand for consular
service. But there is a strong and unanimous concern that if the structure and manpower
are not upgraded significantly, there will be serious repercussions whereby the consular
service efficiency and responsiveness will become radically compromised. This is
further supported by the global trend of phenomenal increase in demand for efficient
consular service which also impacted other countries such as Canada (DFAIT
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Summative Evaluation, 2012) and Philippines (Dayang, 2011). In summary, the
following situations contributed to the exponential increase of demand level for the
Malaysian Consular Service:
1. As more people travel out of and coming into Malaysia, more visa and more
documentation need to be processed and attested, but the strength of manpower
for such purpose remains in stagnancy.
2. There are far less officers in Consular Division (7 including the Undersecretary)
compared to supporting staffs (27). More officers are needed to cater for high
level tasks. More staffs are also needed to assist expanding operational needs.
3. There were requests and suggestions to open more service counter and to set up
branches outside Putrajaya, especially in areas where Urban Transformation
Centres (UTCs) have been operational. But lack of manpower remains a
hindrance to this.
4. The Consular Division cannot rely on the parent ministry (MFA) to conduct
public outreach and greater dissemination. These are crucial to address issues of
understatement and lack of public understanding about consular service.
Results from Interviews with Consular Officials
The interviews with Consular Officials provided key information for the author to
analyze issues that affect the Consular Office’s performance in fulfilling its roles and
responsibilities and evaluate the Office’s capacity to meet expected level of
performances. In summary, the following issues were noted as common themes
throughout the interview sessions:
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1. Up to December 2014, the Consular Office had 34 officers and staffs including the
Undersecretary as the highest authority in Consular Office. The Undersecretary is
assisted by 6 officers and 27 staffs who are divided into two (2) sections; policy and
operation sections which further divides into eleven (14) different units. According
to all officers interviewed by the authors, the current structure and manpower are
overstretched to meet the increasing demand for Consular services which keep on
growing in quantity and complexity. Overtimes weekend duties have become a
norm for Consular Office and the number of visiting clients and submitted
applications has been growing over the last seven (7) years. The interviewees also
stated that a re-structuring exercise which entails manpower enhancement is
urgently needed to cope with projected future demand.
2. Clients of Consular Office are varied locally and abroad. In Putrajaya, Kota
Kinabalu and Kuching, they range from students, professionals, small and medium
entrepreneurs who want to obtain permit to recruit foreign workers, travel agents
who wants to apply visa on behalf of Malaysians travelling abroad, as well as
government officers who require visa for official duties overseas. The public who
applies for the CoGC to work or study abroad also forms the bulk of the Consular
clients at the Putrajaya Consular Office.
3. According to the officers interviewed, the bulk of Consular workload came from
applications for Visa from prospective Umrah and Hajj pilgrims who wants to
travel to Saudi Arabia plus visiting neighbouring countries. The Visa applications
submitted by travel agencies on behalf of Malaysians wanting to visit other foreign
countries are also very plentiful. This is followed by the applications for CoGC by
Malaysians seeking to work or study abroad. The number has been increasing over
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the years, from 32,899 applications in 2011, 37,290 to applications in 2012, to
36,327 applications in 2013.
4. The consular clients at Malaysian missions abroad are mostly Malaysian citizens
who work or study overseas including their dependents. The Malaysian citizens
abroad require consular assistance from time to time among others due to detention,
death of a family member, registration of children born abroad, renewal or
replacement of passport, endorsement of various documents, procuring assistance
for court cases and to address court disputes originating from Malaysia. Malaysians
abroad also largely require Consular assistance during emergencies arising from
serious epidemic outbreak, civil unrest and war such as during the Arab Spring.
5. At Malaysian missions abroad, Defence and Immigration Attaches work closely
with Diplomats to provide all necessary assistance including logistics,
communication, correspondence (via Diplomatic Mail) and comprehensive
emergency response. According to the interviewees, the bulk of consular workload
in Putrajaya has been contributed further by streams of inputs coming from
Malaysian missions worldwide. The inputs mainly request consular support and
advisories to assist Malaysians who are entangled in various predicaments. For
example, Malaysians whose visa was revoked by the host country for no apparent
reason, who face legal encumbrances to register their newborn child in the host
country, who fail to get or renew visa for any of their dependents; the Putrajaya
Consular Office has to lend assistance to all Malaysians who fall into any of these
categories. In this respect, the interviewees stated that the increasing workload for
Consular Office to assist Malaysians abroad has been overwhelming.
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6. Besides serving the public locally and abroad, the interviewees stated that the
Consular Office has to assist and advise other government agencies in managing
huge number of foreign nationals in Malaysia. The Immigration Department, the
Royal Malaysian Police, the Ministry of Labour and the National Council Against
Human Trafficking always require Consular advice in order to conform to
international laws and declarations. Such advices are particularly important
whenever these agencies carry out operations involving arrests, deportation and
registration of foreign workers which have become more frequent and expansive
over the years. In this respect, the interviewees stated that the role of the Consular
Office has been expanding in analytical and qualitative aspect because a lot of
thinking effort has been put in order to produce qualified recommendations and
even instructions.
7. Lastly, the interviewees also alluded that the Consular Office has been recently
bogged down by government requests to extradite wanted persons and to re-acquire
their passport. According to them number of cases looks small but the amount of
effort to handle the matter is very demanding due to the intricacies involved.
Results from Consular Clients Interview
The author also interviewed seventeen (17) clients throughout the visits and the
responses in general were favourable in terms of service efficiency. The following table
summarizes the responses from all respondents who participated in the interview.
Table 4: summary of interview respondents sampled from walk-in clients
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Country of
Citizenship
Reasons of entering/leaving
Malaysia/Using Consular
service
Services Seek Complaints/
Issues
Iraq (4)
Malaysian (12)
Philiphines (1)
Studying in UKM (2)
Studying in UIA (2)
Recruiting Foreign Workers (6)
Working in Malaysia (1)
Working/Studying Overseas (6)
Stamping of Offer Letter
for Visa Purposes (4)
Documents certification (6)
Employment visa (5)
Collecting CoGC (2)
None
In general all Consular Clients who were interviewed exhibited moderate to high
satisfaction with the Public Values by the Consular Office.
Results from Consular Clients Survey
From consular clients’ interview and survey, there are areas for improvement that can
be done to beef up consular service efficiency and the corresponding client satisfaction.
The following complaints were raised by respondents surveyed which need to be
addressed promptly:
1. 16% of surveyed respondents wanted the operation hours to be extended from the
current 4:00 pm closure;
2. Another 16% of surveyed respondents cited lack of parking space for visitors and
lack of public transportation serving the route to and away from the Consular
Office;
3. 12% respondents stated that the information displayed or distributed for public
including signage, directions, pamphlets and so on are lacking;
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4. 8% respondents stated the Consular staff counters lacked desired qualities such as
proactive and willing to give prompt assistance;
5. 8% respondents stated that there is too much bureaucracy in consular services and
the applications lacked simplicity;
6. 40.9% respondents stated that there is a glaring lack of public awareness and
appreciation towards consular service while another 27.3% agreed that the Ministry
should beef up efforts to promote the achievements and contributions of the
Consular Office to the public;
7. Only 28% of total respondents surveyed had no complaints at all about the services
in Consular Office despite 83.3% of overall satisfaction among all respondents;
8. 82.5% respondents agreed that the consular services has enabled them or their
organization to procure foreign expertise, expand businesses overseas, pursue
higher education or employment overseas and protect the welfare of persons
(themselves or their employees) while working or studying overseas.
9. 64.29% respondents stated affirmatively that they will definitely recommend to
their friends or family members to use consular service whenever needed such as
when getting employed or studying abroad. and
10. One of the Consular Officials stated during an interview that the Consular Officials
are facing challenges to balance their commitment between maintaining high level
of service efficiency to the public versus producing timely and competent updates
and responses to stakeholders’ and clients’ requests.
A Sample of Efficiency – the Certificate of Good Conduct (CoGC)
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The application for CoGC contributes to the highest online transaction in MFA’s
website for 4 consecutive years; there were 32,899 applications for CoGC in 2011,
37,290 applications in 2012, 36,327 applications in 2013, 41,253 applications in 2014,
2014 and 16,999 applications as of 31st May 2015 (see Figure 1 below).
Figure 1: Number of CoGC Issued
Source: MFA’s website
Prior to 1st July 2013, the Certificate of Good Conduct (CoGC) can be applied for and
issued to qualified Malaysians within the same day as long as the applicant presents a
completed Statutory Declaration. The application could also be made via any counter at
consular office and embassies, diplomatic bags and postal service. However beginning
on 1st July 2013, all applications for CoGC can only be made online via the ministry’s
official portal as the sole avenue. This could pose problems for applicants from remote
areas without internet connectivity.
Furthermore, the approval process now takes two (2) months to complete, a far
departure from the previous same-day approval time. Thus, this project seeks to clarify
why such perceived regression of efficiency and promptness has occurred in such a very
28,252 32,899
37,290
36,327
41,253
16,669
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (Until 31
May)
Number of CoGC Issued
Number of CoGC Issued
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important service. As comparisons, the following countries stipulate a much shorter
processing time than Malaysia for applications for CoGC:
a. Netherlands (2 – 4 weeks). Approved CoGC are mailed to applicant’s residential
address.
b. Kenya (1 – 2 weeks).
c. Canada (3 hours to 3 working days, for applications using electronic
fingerprints).
d. Germany (2 – 3 weeks).
e. Singapore (10 working days).
Feedbacks from interviewed Consular Officials suggest that the increasing complexity
in the application procedure for CoGC has been caused by the more stringent security
requirements imposed by the RMP. However, in order to be more competitive, the
Malaysian Consular Office should revamp its application procedure for CoGC (and
various other documents wherever necessary) to ensure highest standard in service
delivery. For the record, Malaysian CoGC is a 1-page document that declares the holder
as a law-abiding citizen who is free from any criminal record up to the time of issuance.
It is a mandatory supporting document for virtually anyone who seeks skilled foreign
employment, opportunities for higher education overseas, permanent residency and
even foreign citizenships. Thus, the CoGC is just as important as passports and
working/student visas for people who reside overseas. Any shortcomings in the process
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of application and approval of the CoGC can potentially affect Malaysian trade and
business expansion overseas in a negative way.
Stakeholders Analysis – The vast importance of MFA’s Consular Division is shown
through extensive networking and participation
To evaluate the challenges faced by the Consular Office, the authors conducted
Stakeholders Analysis to distinguish clearly the different stakeholders and the
corresponding workload that each stakeholder requires from the Consular Office. From
the analysis, the authors have identified three (3) categories of Consular Office’s
stakeholders summarized in the following diagram:
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Figure 2: 3 main categories of the Consular Office stakeholders
The explanation on each category of stakeholders is summarized as follows:
1. Primary Overseers
The Primary Overseers are high-ranking offices and institutions who exercise
significant power and authority on the MFA and by extension, the Consular Office.
They are the ones who have power to decide on major institutional policies, budgetary
decisions and the execution of programs and activities under the MFA. The Consular
Office is one of the permanently-budgeted activity under the MFA and falls under the
direct purview of the Chief of Protocol and Consular.
The Chief of Protocol & Consular then reports to the Chief Secretary of the MFA who
then reports to the Chief Secretary to the Government and the Foreign Minister. The
Foreign Minister in return reports and post updates to the Cabinet, The Prime Minister,
the Deputy Prime Minister and the Parliament. The Primary Overseers exercise
Consular Office
Stakeholders
Primary Overseers
Main Clients
Strategic Partners
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overarching responsibilities in managing national interests at international level and
thus, are heavily reliant on the outcome and efficiency of the MFA and the Consular
Office to fulfil this duty. Among the forms of updates and policy inputs prepared
collectively by the Consular Office in collaborations with the rest of the departments
under MFA are as follows:
a. Input for Bilateral Brief and Speaking Notes (BBSN) that summarizes specific
bilateral relationships between Malaysia and a country specified in the brief. For
example, a BBSN for Malaysia – Japan bilateral relationships is frequently
prepared by the Department of Bilateral Affairs which requires input from
Consular Office regarding issues, complaints or statistics relating to Japanese
citizens in Malaysia.
b. Inputs for Press Release by the Primary Overseers which are frequently issued
immediately to address urgent matters that affects Malaysia’s bilateral and
multilateral relationships.
c. Inputs for various speech texts and keynote addresses which are frequently
delivered by the Primary Overseers in numerous engagements.
d. Inputs for written Parliamentary Replies by the Foreign Minister, Prime Minister
and Deputy Prime Minister to address Parliamentary Questions relating to the
Malaysian foreign policy and international affairs.
e. Input for policy papers defending or recommending actions or policies relating
to consular assistance or cooperation for extraditions and so on.
2. Main Clients
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The Consular Office’s main clients largely consist of the public who primarily seek the
following services; consular assistance in Malaysia and abroad, documents certifications
and the application of CoGC. Apart from the general public, there are ministries and
government agencies whose role and functions are affected by the implemented
policies, outcomes and the efficiencies of the Consular Office operational activities.
Private sector, multinational companies and civil society movements also rely on
efficient consular services for matters relating to recruitment of Malaysian citizens
overseas, and entry into Malaysia for various activities. For example, international news
agencies (CNN, Reuters etc) and civil society movements (Bruno Manser Fund,
Greenpeace etc) frequently seek working visas for their reporters and agents in Malaysia
to fulfil their operational needs.
3. Strategic Partners
Since consular affairs entails close collaborations with other ministries and agencies,
strategic partnership are continuously retained to deliver outcomes to consular clients.
Examples of close collaborations with strategic partners of the Consular Office are as
follows:
a. Foreign embassies work closely with the Consular Office to assist foreign
nationals in Malaysia. They include embassies from countries with and without
diplomatic representation in Malaysia. For countries without diplomatic
representation in Malaysia, the Consular Office regularly liaise with the nearest
embassy abroad such as Sierra Lione’s Embassy in Beijing, China.
b. The immigration department works closely with the Consular Affairs to manage
trans-boundary movement of persons and to assist local employers in recruiting
foreign workers. The employment visas-on-arrival (otherwise known as ‘calling
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visas’) are issued by the immigration department to be endorsed by the Consular
Office before they are collected by Malaysian employers of foreign workers.
This procedure mainly applies to companies who recruit unskilled and semi-
skilled foreign workers in various industries and vocations.
c. The Royal Malaysian Police (RMP) and the Immigration Department
continuously coordinates planning and strategizing with Consular Office to
conduct regular operations against illegal and undocumented foreign citizens
throughout the country. The RMP and foreign governments also liaise with
Consular Office in matters of extradition, repatriation and deportation of foreign
citizens and wanted persons. Furthermore, the RMP scrutinizes applications for
CoGC forwarded by the Consular Office and gives approval for applications that
met the specified criteria.
d. The Attorney General Chambers (AGC) via the International Affair Division
also works closely with Consular Office to resolve high profile disputes
involving Malaysian and foreign citizens (individual disputes) plus Malaysian
and foreign companies (inter-agency disputes). The AGC also has about eight
(8) cadre posts comprising qualified legal officers to assist the MFA and
Consular Office in legal matters and legal disputes that regularly occur in the
executions of consular duties. The cadre posts are stationed in MFA which is
known as Legal Affairs Division and they are answerable to the AGC and the
Primary Overseers as well.
e. The Royal Malaysian Army also provides close collaborations in terms of
aligning the consular policies with national defence strategies. The Army also
occasionally provides logistic supports in coordinated operations against illegal
and undocumented citizens as well as in matters of extradition, deportation and
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repatriation. There are army cadre posts in Malaysian embassies and consulates
abroad but not in the Headquarters.
f. The National Secretariat for Anti-Trafficking of Persons (ATIP) is a
coordinating body under the Ministry of Home Affairs that collaborates with the
Consular Office to combat the crime of migrant trafficking. The body consists of
among others, the RMP, the Army representatives, members of National
Security Council, the military intelligence, the Ministry of Human Resource and
the Immigration Department.
g. The Malaysian courts and the foreign courts also collaborate closely with
Consular Office to resolve criminal proceedings and civil lawsuits involving
local and foreign citizens. Court summons, notices and subpoenas are routinely
relayed via the Consular Office for such matters.
h. The international governing bodies (IGO) with significant Malaysian presence
such as UN, UNHCR, WHO, UNESCO, IDB, UNICEF and so on also liaise
with Consular Office in various matters regarding human rights and mandated
international scrutiny on certain aspect of Malaysian domestic affairs. They also
liaise with the Consular Office to recruit foreign nationals working in the
premises.
Based on the stakeholder analysis conducted, the major entities within the three categories
of Consular Office stakeholders can be summarized and listed in table 5:
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Table 5: Summary of Stakeholder Analysis
i. Primary Overseers
1. The Prime Minister’s and Deputy Prime Minister’s Office;
2. The Malaysian Cabinet via a special division within PM’s Department called the Cabinet, Constitution
and Inter-Government Relations Division;
3. Office of the Chief Secretary to the Government;
4. The Malaysian Parliament via the Prime Minister’s Department;
5. Ministry of Finance;
6. The Foreign Minister; and
7. The Secretary General.
ii. Main Clients iii. Strategic Partners
1. Ministry of Home Affairs;
2. Ministry of International Trade & Industry;
3. Ministry of Human Resource;
4. Multinational Companies with Malaysian
Ventures;
5. Think Tank bodies and the Academia;
6. The Domestic Private Sector, including
companies and various associations of
entrepreneurs.
7. Senior Malaysian Officials holding various
capacities; and
8. The courts and private law firms.
1. Immigration Department;
2. The Attorney General Chambers;
3. Royal Malaysian Police;
4. National Secretariat for Anti-Trafficking of
Persons (ATIP);
5. The Malaysian Armed Forces;
6. International Governing Organizations (IGO)
with significant presence in Malaysia; and
7. Foreign Government with diplomatic
relationships
8. Academia (knowledge-sharing)
Source: MFA’s Revised Strategic Plan p13 and interview with Consular Officials.
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However, the relationship among the three group of stakeholders are not mutually
exclusive, especially the between the Main Client and the Strategic Partners. For
example, the Immigration Department can simultaneously become a client and a
strategic partner to the Consular Office in managing certain tasks such as regulating
trans-boundary movement of persons, deportations, recruitment of foreign workers and
so on.
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CHAPTER 5
DISCUSSION
Challenges of MFA
The specific challenges facing the MFA’s Consular Division can be summarized as
follows:
1. Complicated Responsibilities with huge externalities to the nation
2. Manpower Constraints
3. Budget Constraints
4. Underqualified organizational posts that limits expertise
5. Inadequate capacity to engage stakeholders and reach out to customer base
Complicated Responsibilities
Despite lacking public attention and appreciation, the Consular Office plays a pivotal
role in uplifting the citizens’ quality of life in the aspects of security, economy and
education especially in the following area:
1. Recruitment or placement of skilled foreign labour by multinational companies
and foreign governments. This stimulates FDI, knowledge and technology
transfer and private ventures overseas;
2. Emigration of skilled human capital overseas to boost national reputation plus to
enhance bilateral and multilateral trade and commercial relations. This can
potentially expand Malaysian business interests but it also causes brain drain as
a side effect which is not indefinite. Returning experts are huge assets to the
country if the government successfully lures them with the right incentives;
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3. To facilitate legal entry of international students into Malaysia. This increases
the international profiles of Malaysian education institutions overseas which in
turns boosts up human capital development;
4. To facilitate legal exit of Malaysian students who study overseas. This also
improves human capital and economic development upon the students’ eventual
return to Malaysia;
5. To assist security forces such as local police and the Interpol in tracking wanted
individuals who use forged documents to evade arrest. Thus, security is
preserved cooperatively.
Due to the uniqueness and intricacies of Consular Office’s roles and responsibilities, the
following challenges are so substantial and so overwhelming to the office’s
organizational capacity:
1. The domestic private sector, namely tour operators and foreign workers recruiting
agents have been demanding more and more consular services to facilitate their
businesses. The tour operators often require massive amount of document
certifications for Malaysian tourists who travel overseas in group. This was
exemplified by the recent demand made by the Association of Muslim Bumiputera
Tour Agencies who requested massive Consular Document Certification involving
not less than 70,000 participants of end-2014 Umrah Pilgrimage. Each umrah
participant forwarded at least three (3) personal documents for Consular
Endorsement. Hence there are at least 210,000 documents needed certifications and
endorsements by the Consular Office. Thus, the Association formally requested
additional counter services which specifically cater for the Umrah pilgrims. This
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request presented very huge workload to the Consular Office, considering that there
is a massive accounting job to manage revenues collected from the proceeds of the
massive document certifications.
2. Likewise, the foreign workers recruitment agencies also increasingly demand for
bigger capacity and more responsive consular service. They need Consular Office’s
endorsement for foreign workers’ permit whose copies must be submitted to their
respective embassies. For example, endorsed copies of work permit for Myanmar
nationals in Malaysia must be submitted to the Myanmar Embassy in Kuala
Lumpur for record and references. Under the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations, similar obligation must be observed with respect to all foreign workers
from various countries who are seeking employment in Malaysia. Thus, hundreds
and thousands of foreign workers’ documents must be certified every year and the
numbers are increasing. Therefore, the Consular Office urgently needs to expand its
current capacity to meet the escalating demand.
3. More Malaysians are travelling abroad and more foreign citizens are entering
Malaysia every year. The increasing trend has been attributed to the increasing
affordability of international air travel due to lower airfares which in turn caused by
intensifying wave of globalization, interconnectivity and interdependency. In
addition, marriages involving couples with different citizenships have also become
more common compared to the last decade. Thus, distresses, disputes and law
infringements abroad have become more prevalent. This entails greater amount of
consular assistance for Malaysian Citizens abroad and for foreign citizens in
Malaysia as well.
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4. For example, Malaysian citizens arrested abroad often require visit and assistance
by consular officials. Malaysian Consular Office also need to inform foreign
embassies upon notified about detention of their respective citizens in Malaysia to
guarantee their rights as stipulated under the Vienna Convention and other
international laws. Moreover children from mixed-nationality marriage often had to
be repatriated by the parent who won custody rights and this matter requires
consular assistance as well. Thus, a large portion of Consular Office’s resources
and commitments have been channeled to resolve intricate such consular issues.
5. The Consular Office works in strategic partnership with local authorities such as the
Immigration Department, the police and the Ministry of Human Resource to
regulate and facilitate entry of foreign workers and expatriates into Malaysia. In
this respect, the Consular Office continuously issue advice and directives to the
local authorities on matters that require strict adherence to international laws such
as the Vienna Convention, ILO Declarations, International Anti Human Trafficking
laws and so on. Thus, the Consular Office wield immense mandate and
responsibility in ensuring local authorities’ compliance to the said laws. However,
the current capacity of the Consular Office hampered much of the effort to exercise
these mandates effectively. Such an impediment needs to be resolved immediately
by giving greater empowerment in terms of capacity and status of the Consular
Office.
6. Collection of fees for document attestations by the Consular Office is reported to be
increasing year by year in tandem with the increasing trend of trans-boundary travel
and recruitments. Other than pilgrims, tourists, foreign employees and expatriates,
an increasing number of foreign students also seek consular service for document
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attestations. A charge of RM20 per document is levied upon each document that
needs endorsement and the accumulated transaction is credited into the Government
Revenue Account on a daily basis. Thus, increasing number of transaction
corresponds to a much heavier workload for the Consular Office who has to
struggle to generate increasing revenue with best accounting practices.
Manpower constrains
Based on the analysis the authors deduced that understaffing and under-budgeted
operations pose the greatest challenge to the Consular Office in dispensing their duties.
These problems, coupled with the arbitrary nature of workload severely strain the
capacity and morale of consular officers in the long run. Further to that, the workload
and the scope of responsibilities of the Consular Office is greatly expanding as a result
of latest challenges such as the growth of human trafficking, the upsurge in international
travel and tourism, expanding trade and globalization and so on. In view of this, the
Consular Office is currently seeking a comprehensive re-structuring with additional
posts and manpower to beef up operational capacity in order to cope with tremendously
increasing workload. However, there seem to be an asymmetrical understanding
between the central agencies, namely the Public Service Department (PSD) and the
Treasury on one side and MFA on the other in terms of assessing the current needs for
such restructuring. The PSD and Treasury has been reluctant to approve additional posts
for Consular Office due to its purported inability to correctly understand the problems
faced by the Consular Office.
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Budget Constraints
Similarly, the Treasury has not been generous in approving financial allocations for
MFA as a whole which resulted in financial constraint to the Consular Office. For
example, only 13 million Malaysian Ringgits was allocated for domestic and
international travel for ministry officials throughout the year 2014 and this money has to
be shared with 110 departments, embassies and consulates throughout the world under
the ministry’s purview. In contrast, the Prime Minister and wife spent a total of 5,427,
172.26 Malaysian Ringgits for overseas travel (domestic travels are accounted
differently) for the first half of year 2011 alone and the number has been steadily
growing.
In terms of budgeting, there are 12 permanently budgeted programs and 36
permanently budgeted and specifically allocated activities under the MFA. However
none of these programs and activities specifically addresses the budget for Consular
Office. For the record, MYR 641,837,000.00 was allocated for the whole MFA in 2014.
But out of this amount, no specific portion was specified for Consular Office. Thus all
expenditures for Consular Office including travel expenses, training and other services
are centrally managed. This involves intricate bureaucracy and long waiting time for
specific approvals which hampers productivity and efficiency. Hence, it is proposed that
a special permanent activity to be created under the Department of Protocol and
Consular in order to enable specific financial allocation for Consular Office. Portions of
financial decision-making authority need to be delegated to the Chief of Protocol and
Consular and the Undersecretary as the Head of Program and Head of Activity
respectively.
Underqualified posts that limits expertise
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Furthermore, some posts in the Consular Office are under-qualified which does not
commensurate with immense level of accountability and responsibility that has
developed in recent years. For example, the Undersecretary post still remains in grade
52 whereas its counterparts in other departments within MFA have been promoted to
grade 54. In other ministries, a lot of Undersecretaries posts have been upgraded to
Super Scale C, an equivalent to a 2-star Major General rank in the armed forces.
In government bureaucracy, the seniority of post largely denotes the officeholder’s
expertise and capability to bear higher responsibilities. The seniority of post also
dictates the size of team and the pool of expertise that can be put under the
officeholder’s command. This means the higher the post, the larger the size of
subordinate team and more variety of expertise can be put under its command. Thus,
there is an urgent need to enhance the capacity of the Consular Office via additional
posts and promotion of low, middle and senior posts to higher level to commensurate
with the growing accountabilities and responsibilities.
In addition, the structure of the Consular Office gave the impression that it is just a
small unit that performs mostly operational duties. However, upon further scrutiny the
researchers concluded that such an impression is grossly inaccurate. There is a huge
element of legal and policy analysis plus advisory roles that are exercised continuously
by the Consular Office which require larger and more diverse manpower. With just 3
senior officers, 8 mid-level officers, 23 clerical staffs, and no specialized legal officer
attached to the Consular Office, the existing manpower is hardly enough especially to
handle the analytical and advisory roles from policy and legal perspectives. The policy
and legal advisory and analysis are particularly needed in the following processes:
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1. Repatriation and deportation exercises;
2. Extradition matters;
3. Court disputes involving local and foreign citizens;
4. Legal conflicts arising from registration of Malaysians abroad;
5. Enforcement exercises against human trafficking;
6. Taking legal action against local citizens who broke laws abroad such as
not paying traffic summons;
7. Continuous review to accommodate changes in international laws,
treaties and declarations that affect consular functions; and
8. Preparation of various policy papers such as bilateral brief, speaking
notes for international conferences, written replies to parliamentary
questions and so on.
9. Issuance of special working permits for members of civil societies,
International NGOs, foreign journalists and foreign news broadcasters.
Lack of capacity to reach out to stakeholders and reach out to customer base
For the record, the MFA has from time to time conducted several public outreach
programs via ministry exhibitions and meet-the-client sessions. These sessions and
public engagements are held either independently via ‘public diplomacy outreach
(Program Seranta Diplomasi Awam) in various locations nationwide or by joining other
events such as career exhibitions and public sector conferences. The MFA also
conducted Meet-the-Customer’s Day at least one a year. However the involvement of
Consular officers in these programs has been lacking and the MFA’s consular roles,
achievements and significance has not been adequately highlighted via these platforms.
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The authors noted that there is an internal communication issue between the Consular
Office and Department of Information and Public Diplomacy. There has been lack of
initiative from the latter to solicit information and exhibition materials from the
Consular Office for effective dissemination about its functions and significance to the
public. In this respect, the author urges that such internal issue to be resolved.
Secondly, two important stakeholders (namely Ministry Of Finance and Public Service
Department) could only see the operational functions of the MFA’s Consular Division.
They have yet to see clearly the ‘specialist’ and ‘expertise’ nature of consular officers’
duties. This perception is commonly observed in other central agencies as well. This
inaccurate perception has been going on for a long time, especially since early 2000
when Consular Office has started to play more prominent role in solving complicated
issues and preparing high-level inputs for inter-departmental and inter-ministries
coordination efforts. In this respect, the PSD’s initiative to carry out an officer exchange
program (known as Cross-Fertilization Program of PCF) between PSD and Treasury in
one hand and MFA on the other has mitigated this misperception to a certain extent. The
PSD and Treasury officers previously attached to MFA are now able to appropriately
guide the stakeholders’ process of assessing and approving new structure and manpower
for MFA which includes the expansion of the Consular Office. The outcome of the
current MFA restructuring exercise currently reviewed by PSD due to be finalized by
June 2015 is going to show how effective was the PCF in bridging the understanding
gap between actual and perceived roles and significance of MFA’s Consular Service.
Thirdly, Consular officers need to spend many years of service in the office to attain
adequate competency in communicating the ‘real’ significance of MFA’s Consular role.
Most often, the seasoned consular officers are required to prioritize their core duties
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over secondary duties such as public outreach and participating in exhibitions which are
seen as ‘corporate relations exercise’. Thus, the issue of manpower shortage has to be
promptly addressed to allow for greater efforts and participation in public diplomacy
and outreach programs to address the existing understatement of MFA’s Consular
Office role and significance amongst the public.
Proposed Improvements
Any country with an open economy and market-oriented development policies cannot
escape from the need to reform and modernize its Consular Service (Great Britain
Parliament House, Public Administration Select Committee, 2010 – 2012 p20 – p24).
To cope with huge amounts of complicated tasks discussed in Chapter 4, the researcher
suggests that the Malaysian government via MFA undertakes significant administrative
reforms in the consular service as follows:
1. A comprehensive restructuring of the Consular Office (shown in the next page)
should be promptly carried out to create a Legal Unit headed by a grade L52 legal
officer to assist in legal and policy analysis and advisories involving consular affairs.
Alternatively, a Special Cases and Conflict Resolution Unit can be also created to
cater for this role. This Unit should be headed by a grade M52 Diplomatic &
Administrative Officer who possesses vast knowledge and experience in Consular
matters.
2. The creation of this Unit is critical to provide competent handling of trans-boundary
legal disputes involving Malaysian citizens abroad and Malaysian government’s
interests. Officers from this Unit is also responsible to assist the Consular
Undersecretary to represent MFA in high level inter-ministry steering committees
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and working committees that frequently meet as per their term of references. The
legal expertise to be provided by this unit constitutes a critical advisory to other
government branches in the decision-making and handling of various trans-boundary
issues.
3. The inclusion of additional L48 legal officer would require additional clerical staffs
and mid/lower level officers. This means the post of Undersecretary must be
upgraded from Grade M52 to at least JUSA C to justify the addition of a legal unit
and the consequent administrative subordinates.
4. If legal officers cannot be posted at the Consular Office for whatever reason, an
alternative mode of restructuring can carried out by replacing the proposed Legal
Unit with another unit known as ‘Special Cases and Conflict Management Unit’.
This new unit should be responsible in dispensing consular assistance for
complicated cases that requires meticulous analysis, continuous mediation and a vast
knowledge in local and international laws. Currently, both the Policy Unit and
Operation Unit can barely handle such complicated cases which had been largely
outsourced to the Legal Division and occasionally the Attorney General Chambers.
Thus, such restructuring as recommended above can alleviate this situation.
5. Another suggestion would be to create a database of selectively documented consular
cases that serve as important precedents for future references amongst diplomats and
consular officials. This instrument can save valuable time and effort to resolve new
cases and to train newly posted officers into the Consular Office. Currently, the lack
of such database posed a significant challenge to familiarize new officers with
consular tasks because senior and experienced officers are rotated regularly every 3
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to 5 years. Thus, their knowledge needs to be preserved systematically to prevent
loss of expertise. This database should be maintained by a team of IT personnel.
6. Once the issues of structure and manpower are resolved, the Consular Office should
embark on greater efforts to engage the clients and stakeholders to cultivate a more
accurate understanding about its current functions and achievements. The
experienced Consular Officers should participate in the Public Diplomacy exercises
to effective address the need to inform the public. The instrument to enable this effort
is the Public Outreach Unit whose task is to actively promote and disseminate
information relating to consular service via public engagements.
7. The Operation Section need to be expanded by opening more service counters at the
MFA’s headquarters and by setting up operation counters at other locations. This
move will provide much greater outreach for MFA’s Consular Service than the
current state. The Urban Transformation Centres in other major towns nationwide is
able to accommodate such purpose. Besides, service diversification and
specialization can be implemented whereby special service counters are provided for
specific service with long waiting lists such as document attestation for pilgrimage
purposes (umrah & hajj) and for overseas education & employment purposes. In
addition, the Consular Department should consider setting up branches in Sabah and
Sarawak to cater for demand in that region. Current, consular clients from Sabah &
Sarawak have had no choice but to travel to Putrajaya or to use courier service in
order to seek consular service via various agents in the Peninsular.
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Figure 3: Proposed Change to Consular Office Structure
The above suggestions requires major overhaul of the structure and manpower of the
MFA’s Consular Division which means the sub-organization must be upgraded into an
autonomous department on par with other agencies such as the Immigration
Department, Road Transport Department, Insolvency Department and Public
Complaints Bureau. The projected number of personnel after the proposed upgrade
would increase to a minimum of 60 over the current 34. There were some propositions
that the MFA’s Consular Division should focus on privatization and outsourcing instead
of expanding its own structure. It was contended that some consular services such as
document attestation, issuance of the CoGC and processing of special visa can be
privatized to commercial entities that can be selected using strict criteria and strong
safeguards.
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However, these suggestions are impractical due to issues of confidentiality, office
integrity and strict protection of national interest. Moreover, privatization and
outsourcing will definitely introduce profit-seeking as a motivating factor in dispensing
what must always be a public good; a scenario which would potentially compromise its
non-exclusivity. Thus, the author asserts that expanding the institution’s organizational
capacity by a significant quantum is a much more preferable option to achieve greater
service level and gratification without compromising non-exclusivity.
Upgrading the Consular Division resulting in improved organisational capacity and
enhances value and gratification
Creating an independent Consular Department is a form of decentralization that will
most likely reduce over-dependency to the central ministry (the MFA). It is a process
that liberates the organization from an over-centralized control with rigid and excessive
chains of commands that hampers productivity and prevents timely decisions. On the
other hand, centralization puts too much emphasis on hierarchical coordination and tight
control through internal rules and procedures which are prone to inflexibility and slow
responses (Colin Hales, 2000). In the case of MFA’s Consular Division, over-
centralization and over-reliance on internal directives from the parent ministry has been
observed as the root causes of the slow growth of its organizational capacity.
This is evident from the fact that the Consular Division does not have a specific
financial allocation and it has to be sought after from the parent ministry on a piecemeal
basis. Routine expenditures such as overseas visits for consular assistance often take
lengthy processing steps with layers of bureaucracy to be dealt with sequentially from
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bottom-up to top-down. Furthermore, the addition of manpower has been very difficult
to achieve because the Consular Division has to compete with other divisions within the
MFA for more posts and a lot of trade-offs has to be made before any new posts can be
approved.
Conversely, decentralization can eliminate these problems by easing internal rigidity,
smoothening up decision-making process and providing direct interaction and direct
communication with external stakeholders who previously have to be contacted via a
parent authority (Colin Hales, 2000). Although empirical studies contended that it is
hard to establish causality between the growth of organizational capacity and
decentralization in a large scope, on smaller departmental scale decentralization has
been shown to yield positive results in enhancing overall organizational capacity
(Ehtisham Ahmad, 2010 & Colin Hales, 2000). With decentralization, the role of parent
ministry will be limited to giving policy directions only while internal control will be
fully delegated to the management of the new Consular Department. In short, the author
asserts that decentralization exercise by upgrading the Consular Division into Consular
Department offers a very strong prospect of expanding the organizational capacity to
produce Public Value and instant gratification by creating the following benefits:
1. The Consular Department can communicate directly with the MOF to request
annual allocations and supplementary budgets. It will no longer need to
competitively share its financial resources with other MFA’s divisions and sub-
organizations.
2. The Consular Department can liaise directly with the PSD to request for
organizational restructuring, additional and trade-off of posts and personnel
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placements to meet its needs promptly. It no longer has to rely totally on the parent
ministry for these purposes.
3. Creation of more senior and professional posts means that the Consular Department
will have greater capacity to attract and retain professional talents who are
interested with consular works. Issues of underqualified posts and lack of prospect
for career progression will be significantly addressed and this will consequently
strengthen organizational capacity.
4. Better networking, integration and coordination with main clients and strategic
partners can be established and maintained with the creation of more specialized
and dedicated teams in the consular service.
5. Faster decisions and actions on consular cases can be taken because specific
information on important precedent cases are to be available in the Consular
information repository which is maintained by a dedicated information and
technical unit in the consular service.
6. Expansion of Operation Section with bigger and more diversified manpower should
greatly improve counter service and expand public outreach into areas where
consular services are previously unavailable, especially in states outside of
Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur.
7. Positive externalities could be generated at national level as the country’s economy
receives extra boost from bigger inflow of FDI, foreign capital and foreign
expertise whose movements and paperworks are greatly facilitated by a much more
efficient and competent consular service.
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8. Another form of positive externalities could be also generated when the
propagation of the country’s image and the expansion of local businesses’ global
outreach are happening at a greater pace which in turn will be facilitated by a
significantly enhanced consular service.
9. Inbound and outbound tourism will be boosted as consular service’s travel
advisories become better connected with real time situation.
10. National interests and citizens’ welfare shall be better protected by a more efficient
and competent network of Consular Department and Malaysian missions abroad.
Other ministries have also carried out diversification and decentralization exercises
which enhanced organizational capacity and creation of Public Value by their former
sub-organizations. For example, the MOF upgraded its former Real Estate Evaluation
and Services Division into National Department of Real Estate Evaluation and Services
which has expanded greatly in response to increasing demand. The Department now
caters for the needs of federal and state governments nationwide. Another example is
the Legal Aid Department previously known as ‘Legal Aid Bureau’ under the PMD’s
Legal Affairs Division. After decentralization, this Department has expanded its
capacity to offer legal aid services to citizens who meet the criteria for legal aid
recipient.
Upgrading and Costs and Anticipated Benefits
Creating a Consular Department will entail administrative costs in the form of
additional salaries for new post and provision of working facilities to accommodate
additional officeholders. A projected increase in the number of personnel from 34 to a
minimum 60 and the consequent upgrade in the seniority of managerial posts will most
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likely entail a significant jump of over 120% over the current administrative costs. But a
great deal benefits will far outweigh these costs because the government can recoup the
cost and even multiply the returns via increased tax and non-tax collections from
national Aggregate Demand which is directly proportionate to the national GDP.
Although the GDP growth is a multifactor variable which is not single-handedly
attributed to consular service’s contributions, the fact that more than 1000 people per
day sought after consular service for work and education-related purposes shows that
consular service has a very significant impact on GDP growth. This observation is
corroborated by the strong lobby from the American business committee to reform
American consular service during the 1850s to early 1900s in order to boost American
trade overseas (Henry White, 1894 & Thomas G. Paterson, 1966). Since Malaysia is an
active trading nation with open economy and market-oriented policies (Jomo Kwame
Sundaram, 2004), it is credible to state that consular service reforms is just as crucial to
the Malaysian economy as that of American economy. Thus, the author contends that
upgrading the MFA’s Consular Division is a form of public spending that will generate
a worthy return of investment not only in terms of government revenue but in the
creation of Public Value to consular clients and the general public.
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CHAPTER 6
CONCLUSION
Consular Service is a very important branch public service that is crucial to promote
national interest, to maintain international connectivity and to bridge inter-agency as
well as inter-government collaborations. The Consular Service is also very unique
because no other agency can duplicate its roles and functions given the specific
experience, expertise and mandate that are required to run the service competently.
However, lack of promotion by the Ministry and low level of media coverage has
contributed to the low level of public awareness and lack of recognitions on the role of
Consular Office. The problem of understaffing and under-budgeted operation has
further exacerbated the poor perception and understanding among stakeholders about
the significance of role and the multitude challenges faced by Consular Office.
This scenario has downplayed the role and significance of Consular Office and this
requires immediate intervention to alleviate the asymmetrical perception.
Recommended efforts include addressing complaints about existing flaws in services,
facilities, processes and procedure to increase efficiency level while continuing efforts
to produce highest standard of service to ministerial clients and stakeholders. A
comprehensive upgrade of the MFA’s Consular Division into Consular Department is
highly recommended to achieve capacity enhancement in order to tackle the specified
problems and challenges. Any delay or refusal to carry out this suggestion will have
grave consequences that will affect the consular service’s organizational capacity and
creation of Public Value. Consequently, this will cause the government to suffer huge
opportunity costs in the forms of foregone revenues and reduced positive externalities
from an otherwise robust economic growth. The increasing number of Malaysian
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citizens studying or working abroad will find the welfare not looked after very well by
the Malaysian authorities should the strategic reforms of consular service are not given
utmost priority.
On the other hand, this research has enabled the creation of an academic reference that
discusses key issues in Malaysian foreign policy especially from the aspect of
bureaucracy. Bureaucratic politics and organizational capacity is part and parcel of the
creation and direction of national foreign policy. Thus, any flaws in the bureaucracy
will gravely affect governance and administrative policies and this in turn will
compromise national interests and economic growth. Hence, it is crucial that research
topics relating to the Malaysian bureaucracy, diplomacy, international relations and
foreign policy to be given greater prominence and motivation to be pursued by more
researchers in the future to address the lack of scholarly references in these particular
areas of interest.
Lastly, this research had demonstrated importance of contribution from the academia as
a knowledge-sharing partner to the bureaucracy in every aspect of public administration,
be it education, trade, economy or diplomacy and international relations. In today’s age
of inter-connectivity, inter-dependency and large scale collaborations, the academia
must work hand-in-hand with the bureaucracy to make sure that no aspect of public
administration is ever left out from the strategic partnership between the academia and
the bureaucracy.
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(457), pp. 711-721
APPENDIX
APPENDIX B: LIST OF MALAYIAN CONSULAR MISSIONS BY
REGIONS/CONTINENTS
![Konsumsi Beras [Prof. Ujang Sumarwan]](https://img.pdfslide.net/doc/110x75/5877640f1a28ab0f538bd30c/konsumsi-beras-prof-ujang-sumarwan.jpg)
