ESSAY ON RULES OF NATURAL JUSTICE

The issues that can be raised from this question are:-

1)    Whether Aniya is given enough time to prepare his defence or not?

2)    Whether Aniya can be represent by lawyer or any representative or not.

3)    Whether notice given to Aniya is adequate and complete or not.

4)    Whether rule panel of disciplinary board are personal bias to Aniya or not.

        The principle that can be used to solve this problem is the rules of natural justice. This rule is a procedural safeguard against improper exercise of power by a public body. It can be used to determine whether the administrator has actually complied with legal procedure before taking action or making any decision against someone. Rule of natural justice concern with ‘’process’’ that is used by administrator in making decision against an individual and it can be classified into two which are Audi Alteram Partem and Nemo Judex in Causa Sua. In order to determine whether the administrator has made a valid decision, these two elements must be observed; if not decision can be challenged in court of law. Audi alteram partem means right of hearing or heard divide to two categories which are hearing and notice.  Hearing classified to rebuttal, acceptance and disclosure while notice classified to charge and time. Plus, nemo judex in causa sua means rules against bias that divide to three categories which are pecuniary bias, personal bias and policy bias.

       In answering for the first issue, it can be gathered from the fact that The Staff Disciplinary Board of Suka Naya not give Aniya time for prepare a proper defence for himself. The notice that given to Aniya was just before his hearing was scheduled to be held. In following of the rule of natural justice, the action taken will be void and considered unenforceable if they not give enough time to the plaintiff. The time given by the administration to the individual must be enough depends on the case; it can be said the more serious the case, the more time will be given.

           The cases to support this argument are Phang Moh Sin v Commissioner of Police (1967) 2MLJ 186.In this cases, the plaintiff just got told of her charge just before the hearing. When the plaintiff ask for the postpone to make him prepared for defence, it was refused. So that cases was considered invalid because the plaintiffs not given even enough time to prepare. For other cases is Re Liverpool Taxi Owners’ Association (1972) 2 All ER 589.In this case, the Association just received a letter on the last day before they could appeal. So this case was considered invalid because the Association was not given opportunity to defence themselves.

So for the cases that just faced by Aniya, it can be considered invalid because he no given a time for himself to prepared.

            In answering the second issue, whether there is breach of the right to rebut or not. The adjudicator should give the party concerned an opportunity to rebut the material against him/her. What this means is that the administrator must allow the accused to be represented by a lawyer if that can help him/her to defend his/her case properly. To apply the law into the facts of the question, Aniya wish to be represented by his lawyer, should have been permitted because that could him to defend him appropriately. But his requests were rejected. Aniya's lawyer could have represented Aniya well because he/she would have legal knowledge on the matters regarding Aniya's case such as procedures or cross-examining the witness.

           The cases to support the above argument are Nik Mohd Salleh Nik Mat v Timb. Ketua Polis Pahang & Anor. In this case, the court was satisfied that the plaintiff was given sufficient opportunity to be represented by an officer of the Police Force in his trial but he did not take such an opportunity which led no violation of the RNJ. Other case is Britannia Brands (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd v Ketua Pengarah Buruh Malaysia. In this case, the court quashed the defendant's decision in refusing to grant legal representation to the applicant. The applicant had requested for an adjournment of the hearing so that he could be represented by a counsel but it was refused by the defendant.

         Thus, Aniya can get the opportunity to rebut the material against him. Aniya can be represented by a lawyer because it can help him to defend his case properly.

        For the third issue that is Aniya given charge complete and adequate or not, in this case Staff Disciplinary Board give charge to Aniya that he leaked information of a raid by the authority on entertainment premises in Suka Joget but the charge was given that not complete and adequate because during the proceeding, the Board had taken into account Aniya's past record of coming late to the office but this was not made known to him. If there is more than one charge, the accused must be informed of all the charges made against her. If not, whatever decision made may be invalid because the accused is tried without proper defence. So, Aniya is not aware of other charges made against her and is unable to prepare for defence.

            The cases to support the above argument are Maradana Mosque Trustee v Mahmud (1967) 1 AC 13.This case about manager of a school and they were called upon by the Minister concerned to explain why the salaries of the teachers in the school were not paid on time. When they went to explain, the government took over the school based on another reason which was informed to the managers. The managers brought the cases to the court on the ground that they were not told about the second charge before the hearing took place. So this case was invalid because the managers were not given adequate charge.

          Second case to support the above argument are R v Paddington & St Marylebone Rent Tribunal (1949) 1 KB 666.This cases about rent tribunal and the landlord. The rent tribunal reduced the rent on the ground that the ceilings of the flats were too low and not up the modern standard. The revoked the decision of the rent tribunal because the landlord was not told of the ceilings issue before the hearing and matter did not arise at any stage of the proceedings making the landlord unable to answer to any questions relating to that matter.

             In answering the fourth issues, whether the panel of staff disciplinary board (Kasoomat) had personal bias on Aniya or not. Personal bias is when the adjudicator has a relationship with the person being tried either as a relative, friend, business partner etc. The relationship can be a positive one example friend and relatives or negative one example is enemies and rivals. To determine whether there is personal bias or not, the test to apply is whether there is a likehood of bias and this ascertained with reference to the right minded person.

In the cases of Aniga, Aniya was noticed that Kasoomat, his ex-finance was one of the panels in the hearing. The relationship between Aniya and Kasoomat can be negative one because it can be rival to Aniya in  the hearing. The cases can be seen personal bias if Kasoomat is likehood bias to Aniya.

To support the above argument is Metropolitan Properties Co v Lannon [1968] 3 All ER 304. Tenants of a flat applied for a reducton of rent and application was considered by a Civil Commitee whose chairman was the son of one of the tenants. When the rent was reduced, the desicion was challenged as having personal bias. The court held that , there are was a real likehood of bias in the desion maker. Even if he impartial but if a right minded person thinks that there was areal likehood of bias on his par.

      

           Another cases is  Dato’ Kanalingan Vellupilai v Majlis Peguam & Anor [2004] 5 CLJ 505. Two compliant were lodged the plaintiff by the Bar Council and he was going to be tried in a tribunal. The plaintiff wished to have a copy of the attendencee sheet of members who attended the Disciplinary Board meeting that decided to establish the Inquiry Tribunal and he also requested to see minutes of said meeting but both document were refused to him. The plaintiff was brought the cases to the High Court on the basis that the composition of the Tribunal might lead to a bleased desicion because some of the people who decided in the Disciplinary Board meeting were members of the Bar Council.

         It was held that the Inquiry Tribunal’s composition was not legal because the Bar Council as the complinant sat s one of the members in the Disciplinary Board meeting.

         In a nutshell, Aniya don’t given enough time to prepare for a good defence because the notice arrived in shortly before his hearing and Aniyas’ right to be represented by lawyer or any representative had been denied. Plus, Aniya had been questionnaire about another charge in his hearing that do not listed in the notice, due that he cannot prepare a defence for a sudden accusation that make any decision that taken can be invalid. Morever, one of the panels of Staff Disciplinary Board (Kassomat) had a negative relationship with Aniya lead to personal bias in decision making. Thus, Aniya had been advised to bring his cases to high court for judicial review.

EVALUATION MARK FOR LOG REPORT

DIPLOMA IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA CAWANGAN MELAKA

INTRODUCTION TO PUBLIC SECTOR QUALITY MANAGEMENT (PAD252)

DECEMBER 2013 - APRIL 2014

LOG REPORT CRITERIA & SCORING GUIDE

LOG REPORT 1

NAME :ZULAMIRUL AIMAN BIN ZULKIFLI
UITM NO/GROUP :
DATE OF SUBMISSION :
NO	CRITERIA (please refer to rubric for writing skills)	WEIGHT
		BELOW AVERAGE	AVERAGE	ABOVE AVERAGE
1	Relevancy- overall content demonstrates the topic assigned	1             2	3	4             5
2	Summary – main points of the topics of the topics learned(refer to Learning Reaction) are summarized accurately and thoroughly and are organized in a logical way	1             2	3	4             5
3	Personal reflection – content (refer to Learning Reaction and Application to Personal / Working life), is logically and sequentially organized, and opinions ideas and arguments are clearly presented.	1             2	3	4             5
4	Documentation/ Appearance/ Layout – report is original (no plagiarism), neat, no grammar or spelling errors, and writing style (font type/size, spacing and information required) is according to format.	1             2	3	4             5
	TOTAL MARKS (20)
	TOTAL MARKS/PERCENTAGE (10%)

Checked by:

Name: ­­­­­­­­­­                                                                            Signature:

LOG REPORT 2: CHAPTER 4 & 5 QUALITY MANAGEMENT

1.0  LEARNING REACTION

1.1 TOPIC 4: SERVICE QUALITY IN PUBLIC SECTOR

        As usually Cik Yatt starts her lecture by recite Al- Fatihah and praise on Almighty Allah SWT and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Now, Cik Yatt will explain about service, service quality and gaps model in service quality. I really focus on this chapter because it tough chapter and this chapter also became my question for assignment. I loved definition of service by Shahron Dobson refer to a form of product that consist of activities, benefits, or satisfactions offered for sale that are essentially intangible and do not result in the ownership of anything. I also loved definition of service quality by Lewis state that service quality also deals with ‘Moment of Truth’ any indirect interaction between service providers and customers, which may take in various forms. I summarize that service about any form of activity that not produces any physical product but can be felt by expression of satisfactory and intangible meanwhile service quality refer to a situation where provider and customer interact directly together which may happen in various form. 

           I learn to summarize characteristic of service are typical intangible means service is a form of product that cannot be foreseen by our eyes but we can felt it example consultation with a doctor, highly inseparable means provide that delivery service and customer consume service at the same time because service require both sides to exist in order to deliver those services. Plus, heterogeneity means service can be delivering in several of form such as how the public officer treats younger customer and older customer are differ because the young customer easy to understand the information given instead of oldest people. We also unable to store service because services only happen if needy of customer to get the service example policeman not make report on anything if there are no public people complaints about it. Services also durability because people easily become obsolete because technology advancement example public servant that using manual ways to keep information about customer of organization although we had system in computer to key in database can keep people apart away from getting their service again. Services also perishability that possible in two ways definite means services will not perform if the customer not requests it within time given example late for lecture appointment and service also vanish after the service has been consumed example lecturer never teach same chapter for a long period of time because they had schedule of learning that must be followed.

              Dimension of quality? I am asking myself about it. After Cik Yatt explain that topic I understand that to avoid her student to confuse about those two characteristic between service and service quality, she use that terms to differ between those two subtopic. Dimension of quality consist of reliability, assurance, tangibility, empathy and responsiveness. I summarize that reliability means service quality ability to provide what was promised example if the client charter state that the public servant must smile when deal with customer than provider must  keep that promises. Assurance refer a good employee required a knowledge, skill and ability to perform task in organization. It can lead to tremendous trust by customer to get service again. Tangibility can be express in service quality through satisfactory feeling by customer by exist good facilities like comfortable chair and air conditioner while get the services from provider.  Empathy in service quality means provider should be in customer shoes. The provider must be in customer situation in order to know what customer want in services. Responsiveness also an essential part of service quality refers willingness of provider and how fast they response to what customer want.

           Now, Cik Yatt explains on gaps model refer as conceptual model of service quality that identifies gaps in service quality and suggest measures to close them. Gaps divided to two that manufacturing, measures the difference between the desired and the existing conformance level and services that measures differences between the expected and the actual level of service provided. I learnt about 5 gaps model are knowledge, standard, delivery, interpret and customer gaps. Knowledge gaps means provider do not know what customer wanted in service, standard means provider not set standard in client charter in deliver service to customer, delivery gaps means provider fail to deliver services according what they had promised to customer lead to interpretation gap. It also refer fail to deliver according promises by provider can be interpret as liar by customer. Gap 5 refer to overall performances that not according to costumer’s expectation if customer leaves organization with happy thus it okay but if customer not leaving organization happily means something do not happen as the customer expect and it became dissatisfactory and bad feedback to organization. There are 7 differences between quality in service and manufacturing are identification and measurement of customer needs, customization, tangibility, production and consumption, involvement of customer, labour and supply also number of transaction. It can be summarize that they are huge difference in quality in both perspectives.

1.2 TOPIC 3: CUSTOMER FOCUS IN PUBLIC SECTOR 

            

              As usually Cik Yatt starts her lecture by recite Al- Fatihah and praise on Almighty Allah SWT and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). I really shock when I count number of pages of chapter 5 and when Cik Yatt told me that chapter 5 was the toughest and longest chapter in quality management I cannot felt my feet on the ground. ‘’Customer focus, I want fall in love with you’’ said me in monologue. I summarize that customer as people that determine the survival of organization without them organization will falling down. Reliable customers as customer that buy repeatedly from the organization and feel the satisfactory via their product, these customers are important customer. A civil servant is a supplier and customer at the same time example Ali is police officer in Police Department. He provides information for his subordinate on the operation needed to be conducted. The operations need order from his superior. He is supplier to his subordinates and a customer to his superior. I learnt to summarize the meaning of customer from examples my father felt sick and he ask me to get those medicine from General Hospital Kluang, so I go to that hospital and get the medicine for him. I conclude that my dad was customer, me as consumer that get medicine for my dad, General Hospital Kluang as supplier within the situation given me and my dad in a small organization that called family. So my dad is internal customer to me and i was external customer to General Hospital Kluang. 

                Plus, public servant acknowledges what internal customer wants by good formal and informal communication with them and there are six steps to discover the external customer’s need. I summarize it as guess what external customer want, find ways to gather information, take action to gather it, make deep analysis to those information, check validity of conclusion whether those conclusion can affect positively or negatively on organization and take action as indicated immediately. I also thought about how to get customer’s feedback mechanism? Cik Yatt told us we can get that information by several methods whether quantitative or qualitative methods alike comment cards/ formal survey, focus means we only selected a group of customer to answer our question about crucial issues. Besides that, field intelligence can be conduct where someone that apart from organization engages in a conversation with the customer to gather information. Plus, we can study from customer complaint to gain information and monitoring internet forum, so customer will give feedback in that forum. I realize something why customer satisfaction and loyalty so important towards public sector? Cik Yatt stresses out that it necessary because legitimacy power comes from public support. Thus, the public servant should give a good service to citizen and it also can help them build trust to sustain power in next general election especially Malaysia.

     I also learnt about what different between satisfaction and loyalty. Satisfaction in generic term is an attitude, satisfaction also relate to people feeling whether positive and negative satisfaction. Loyalty in generic term is a behaviour, satisfaction refer as reaction towards one’s feeling, if the customer satisfy with product they will buy and keep using same product of organization. They also can tend to be a loyal and regular customer to an organization. It really important to create a satisfy customer in the first place before they become loyal to an organization. In order to make a happy customer, the element of quality improvement must exist in the organization. Plus, one of ways to improve quality of the services especially public sector understands the customers’ needs and wants. If we know what customer wants in services, we can deliver better services towards them and make the customer satisfy with our services. It can enhance potential customer will keep coming to our organization. If we can make 20% of our customer happy and they are influence people in society like politician, we may gain more customers in the future because happy customer will spread news about their satisfaction to others. The happy customer can become free agents to advertise our product any save millions of cost of marketing and advertisement.  It is power of important people in society as state in Pareto Principle. It can lead to many profitability and survival of organization. 

               Besides that, Cik Yatt told us about how to create satisfy customer by using three main aspects of customer driven are expected quality, actual quality and perceived quality. I summarize that expected quality relates need to identify roles as provider and assume what customer wants, actual quality refer what had been delivery to the customer and perceived quality refer asses or analysis by customer on what they had get from the services. If the expected quality higher than actual quality received by customer, they may not satisfy with service. If the actual quality higher than expected quality received by customer, they may feel satisfy with the services. Cik Yatt also teach me to strategizing loyal customer using Theory of Service Relativity; Value = Results – Expectations. In loyalty behaviour, we had two ways to measure loyalty behaviour are by defection rate and business volume by customer rate. Lastly, before Cik Yatt end her lecture in DK2. She explains about 7 characteristics of a customer focussed public organization are vision and climate, alignment with customers, willingness to find and eliminate customer’s problem, use of customer information, reaching out to customers, competence, capability and empowerment of people and continue improvement of services also process. I conclude from both topic, I just learned I can used it as essential information to be a good provider and customer towards society also any part of organization. 

2.0  APPLICATION OF THE QUALITY CONCEPTS IN MY PERSONAL LIFE 

           I will explaining about gaps model that occur with public sector. In July 2007, I had accident in my housing area. The incident happen occur because careless of Chinese people drive and hit me at roundabout in my housing area. I remember that car’s number and how the incident happens. I bleed a lot, the car getting away without hesitates to stop and help me. When I reach my home, my dad gives me basic treatment to reduce my pain and takes to me General Hospital XXX where the 5 gaps model in service quality happen. After I reached emergency unit, many staff on vacation so only small number staff at there.  The nurses put me on stretched bed, keep argue each other where they want to put me in normal unit or ICU. I really annoyed at that time, they like don’t know the process to register me and keep asking others nurse. I and my father really think that the nurses not even had knowledge about how to handle this situation (Gaps 1). They also not standardize their process what to do first when this accident happen whether my father should fill any compulsory form or bring important document to register me (Gaps 2). We think what going on earth? They are nurses or not?

        Now, I had been register as patient of that particular hospital. The doctor and nurses are treating my wound as worst treat ever. They can talk to each other like gossip girls and not paying attention when stich my wound. Are they never thought about any consequences of their action, there a high chance they may stich at wrong place. They forgot to put anaesthetist, I felt the pain so much and I ask them properly to put it (Gap 3). They only say sorry? I don’t know what going happen on me. They had stated 5S in client charter what action they must show to patient when deliver the service. The 5S are hang around everywhere in that hospital. When I got treatment, I don’t see their smile while giving services, they only give treatment with harsh and not empathy what patient just felt in pain. I and my father interpret that only charter as liar because promises that had been make not even working on that organization (Gap 4). Lastly, I really want to go that private hospital at that time but my family not afford it. When times come and I can charge out from that hospital, I and my beloved father leave the hospital with my dissatisfaction toward the organization. We also detect many weaknesses instead of strength in that particular hospital, my dad had almost zero satisfaction and he going to give negative feedback on overall service by that particular public hospital (Gap 5). We felt unsatisfied with overall services.