Public Advocacy: Of Ideas & Practice in Malaysia

Author: Denison Jayasooria

Publisher: UKM Press

ISBN: 9789674124564

Weight:

Year: 2017

Page: 66pp

Price : RM20

There is a call and challenge to academicians and intellectuals to make an impact in society beyond the walls of the university. This concern emerges from my personal experiences as a policy activist and academician in Malaysia society. There is a need therefore to articulate and voice out in the public arena matters effecting society based on the principle of justice and fairness for all. This lecture is divided into two parts. In Part One, the ideas of six scholars pertaining to public advocacy is discussed and emerging from that analysis are five major themes. In Part Two, there is discussion on the practice of the public advocacy based on two case studies undertaken by the author among disadvantaged and marginalized communities in Malaysia society. This is done using the five major themes where the idea and practice are reviewed, nothing the opportunities, challenges and hurdles facing academicians and intellectuals in Malaysia society in playing this role as public advocates. The challenge is for public advocacy to be recognized as a legitimate role of academician and intellectual in society. This lectures concludes with the finding that academicians and intellectual need to exercise this moral duty of articulating the concerns of the grassroots and voicing them publicly for the betterment of society. There must be an impact on public policy and delivery, so that justice and fairness will become the corner stone of the nation. The ultimate vision is for a batter society for all where social inclusion is the thrust of development policies, impacting positively social cohesion and ensuring social mobility for all, irrespective of ethnicity, gender, religion. Socio-economic status and whether they live in affluent urban or disadvantaged urban neighborhoods and in rural or interior forest based locations.