Hawa Ahmad, Sitti Hasinah Abul Hassan and Suhaiza Ismail
This paper aims to examine the level of transparency of the electronic procurement (e-procurement) system in Malaysia.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the level of transparency of the electronic procurement (e-procurement) system in Malaysia.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the content analysis method, 23 transparency disclosure items from the Website Attribute Evaluation System (WAES) checklist were used to evaluate the transparency level of the e-procurement system. The data gathered from the WAES were analysed using frequency and percentage based on the various categories of transparency.
Findings
The study reveals that the e-procurement system disclosed 17 out of the 23 WAES transparency disclosure items, which represents a transparency disclosure level of 73.91%. Of the five categories of disclosure, i.e. ownership, contact information, organizational information, citizen consequences and freshness, the detailed results show that the items are fully disclosed for only two categories, and for three categories, i.e. ownership, contact information and organizational information, the items are not fully disclosed.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of the present research offer a positive indication that the government is moving in the right direction, particularly in efforts to reduce the corruption level in procurement activities and to improve the accountability level of the government.
Originality/value
The present study is among the few studies that attempts to address a fundamental issue of transparency in the public procurement system that has an important relationship with the occurrence of corruption in procurement activities.
Details
Keywords
Sitti Hasinah Abul Hassan, Suhaiza Ismail and Hawa Ahmad @ Abdul Mutalib
The objectives of this paper are twofold. Firstly, to examine the importance of Malaysian public procurement objectives and secondly, to investigate the extent to which government…
Abstract
Purpose
The objectives of this paper are twofold. Firstly, to examine the importance of Malaysian public procurement objectives and secondly, to investigate the extent to which government suppliers adhere to public procurement principles.
Design/methodology/approach
For achieving the objectives, a questionnaire survey was used. A total of 250 questionnaires were distributed to government suppliers involved in the government tendering process. In return, a total of 107 useable questionnaires were received, representing a response rate of 42.8%. Descriptive statistics of the means score, standard deviation and mean score ranking were used to analyse the data.
Findings
The results revealed that the most important public procurement objective is “to ensure a continuous supply of material and services to meet the government needs from the best and reliable sources”. On the other hand, the objectives “to expand the local industrial sector by means of transfer of technology and expertise to suit the nation's needs” and “to promote alternative and multiple sourcing through supplier development according to the aspirations and vision of the government” are perceived as not important by the government suppliers. The findings also discovered a moderate level of adherence to Malaysia's public procurement principles, which consist of public accountability, transparency, open and fair competition, fair dealing and value for money. Amongst these principles, the most adhered to is the open and fair competition principle and the least adhered to is the transparency principle.
Originality/value
This study is one of the few studies that assess the government suppliers' perceptions of public procurement in Malaysia. More importantly, this study may give some ideas to various parties concerning the areas in which improvement is required to ensure that equal importance is given to the public procurement objectives and better adherence to the public procurement principles in Malaysia.