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Rathakrishnan

Profile

Project Title

The Autonomy of Service NGOs in Malaysia

Project Overview

The autonomy of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) particularly, service NGOs in Malaysia is of concern for two main reasons. First, the Malaysian government has initiated and sponsors some NGOs directly to implement the national agenda. Second, the relationship between the State and NGOs generally is not very harmonious. This is mostly because of the conflicting interests of both parties such as the advocacy-oriented NGOs and their anti-government ideologies. This strained situation hampers the development aid they should deliver to the people. Hence, studying the State’s approach to regulate the activities of both State-sponsored and autonomous NGOs is of great importance.

Aims/objectives:

The objectives of this study are to understand

  1. How does relative intensity of state-regulations influence the relative effectiveness of autonomous NGOs and state-sponsored NGOs?
  2. Does donor regulation of NGO functioning improve the performance of NGOs compared to Self-regulation among NGO Community?

Since the beginning of this research, the issue of service-oriented NGO regulations, has become more topical in developed countries, e.g. through the collapse of Kids Company in the UK. Greenpeace, a major advocacy NGO, was recently deregistered in a large democratic developing country like India. The findings from this research would make contributions in understanding the effectiveness of different forms of service-oriented NGOs’ regulation.

Supervisor(s)

Research Affiliations

Citizenship and Belonging

Funding

  • Academic Training Scheme for Public Institutions of Higher Learning (IPTA)
  • Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia

Education

2006-2008: International MSc Rural Development (IMRD – Erasmus Mundus), Ghent University (BE)

2004-2005: MA Public Administration (MPA), Universiti Sains Malaysia

2001-2004: BA (Hons) Public Management, Universiti Utara Malaysia

Working experiences

Tutor at Department of Planning & Property Development,

College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS)

Universiti Utara Malaysia (Main Campus - Sintok, Kedah)