KUCHING: The Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC) remains committed to facilitating efforts to strengthen national policies and legislation, making them more flexible, agile, and responsive to global trends and challenges.
To achieve the objectives outlined in the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP), MPC has introduced the Behavioural Insights (BI) initiative.
BI is an approach to policy-making that integrates psychology, cognitive science, social sciences, and empirical evidence to influence decision-making processes.
“In line with the 12MP, MPC has been entrusted by the government to facilitate the implementation of the BI approach in policy-making. To ensure the success of BI in producing high-quality policies, MPC is committed to building the capacity of civil servants and conducting initiatives and case studies across all levels of ministries, departments, agencies, and local authorities.”said MPC Sarawak director Dr Mazlina Shafi’I.
“The UK Government has applied the BI approach in public policy for over a decade, establishing the first Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) in 2010. In Malaysia, MPC has introduced and implemented BI since 2020. BI encourages individuals to make better choices for themselves and their communities. Additionally, BI has been used to generate and enhance various services across the public sector.” she added.
Furthermore, MPC, through a strategic collaboration with Kuching North City Hall (DBKU), has conducted a case study on parking fines and compounds within DBKU areas.
“This study focuses on several key objectives including identifying the root causes of non-compliance with payments by understanding why citizens fail to pay fines and compounds, examining factors contributing to delays in payment, and improving communication strategies to analyze and enhance effective delivery of information regarding payment of fines and compounds,” she said.
The collaboration between MPC and DBKU involved strategic discussions, user behavior analysis, and systematic intervention testing to measure the effectiveness of proposed solutions.
Through this combination of expertise and resources, MPC and DBKU are confident in producing study outcomes that are both relevant and practical for implementation.
“Moving forward, MPC will continue to strengthen collaboration with relevant ministries, agencies, and industry leaders to expand the implementation of BI initiatives, driving productivity gains and delivering positive impacts for the business community, investors, and citizens,
“Current efforts to promote the BI approach will be reinforced through ongoing innovations and new transformational strategies,”she added.