Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-75dct Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-06T13:24:21.425Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Organisational change and success in a government enterprise: Malaysia’s Federal Land Development Agency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Michael O’Donnell ,
Norma Binit Mansor ,
Kunaraguru Yogeesvaran  and
Azlan Rashid
Michael O’Donnell*
Affiliation:
UNSW Canberra, Australia
Norma Binit Mansor
Affiliation:
University of Malaya, Malaysia
Kunaraguru Yogeesvaran
Affiliation:
Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia
Azlan Rashid
Affiliation:
Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department, Malaysia
*
Michael O’Donnell, School of Business, UNSW Canberra, Northcott Drive, Campbell, ACT 2612, Australia. Email: m.odonnell@adfa.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article charts and analyses the change path and various transformations of Malaysia’s state-owned enterprise, the Federal Land Development Agency, from its establishment in the 1960s to the present. The analysis supports arguments that the model of the developmental state, based on planned public/private cooperation, provides an alternative policy prescription to that of sole reliance on the self-regulating market. The Federal Land Development Agency is shown not only to have survived but also to have thrived as an economic development arm of the Malaysian state, successfully adapting to the changing environment in which it operates. To delineate the changes, a framework of punctuated equilibrium is utilised as it best captures the instances of rapid discontinuous change and the periods of incremental change and relative stability.

Keywords

L73O13O21P41Q15Developmental stateeconomic developmentFELDAland settlementMalaysiapunctuated equilibriumstate-owned enterprises
Type
Articles
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 28 , Issue 2: Industry policies, financialisation and globalisation , June 2017 , pp. 234 - 251
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2017

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1-million-dollar-blog (n.d.) Historical Koperasi Permodalan FELDA (KPF) dividend rate. Available at: http://1-million-dollar-blog.com/dividends/koperasi-permodalan-felda/ (accessed 20 March 2017).Google Scholar
Abdullah, F (1997) Affirmative action policy in Malaysia: to restructure society, to eradicate poverty. Ethnic Studies Report 15(2): 189–221.Google Scholar
Andriopoulos, C, Dawson, P (2009) Managing Change, Creativity and Innovation. London: SAGE.Google Scholar
Asian Development Bank (ADB) (2012) The Saemaul Undong Movement in the Republic of Korea: Sharing Knowledge on Community-Driven Development. Manila, Philippines: ADB.Google Scholar
Aziz, UA (1964) Poverty and rural development in Malaysia. Kajian Ekonomi Malaysia 1(1): 70–105.Google Scholar
Bahrin, T (1977) FELDA 21 Years of Land Development. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: FELDA.Google Scholar
Bahrin, T, Lee, B (1988) FELDA: 3 Decades of Evolution. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: FELDA.Google Scholar
Bolman, T, Deal, T (2008) Reframing Organizations: Artistry, Choice and Leadership. 4th ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Chee, S (1975) Government policy and rural development in Malaysia. In: Inayatullah, C (ed.) Approaches to Rural Development in Asia: The Southeast Asian Experience. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Asian Centre for Development Administration, pp. 35–61.Google Scholar
Creswell, J (1994) Research Design: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.Google Scholar
Dessein, W, Santos, T (2006) Adaptive organizations. Journal of Political Economy 114(5): 956–995.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drabble, J (2000) An Economic History of Malaysia, c1800–1990: The Transition to Modern Economic Growth. Basingstoke: Macmillan Publishers.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunphy, D, Griffiths, A, Benn, S (2007) Organizational Change for Corporate Responsibility: A Guide for Leaders and Change Agents of the Future. 2nd ed. Abingdon: Routledge.Google Scholar
Economic Planning Unit, Prime Minister’s Department (2017) Second Malaysia Plan, 1971–1975. Available at: http://www.epu.gov.my/en/rmk/second-malaysia-plan-1971-1975 (accessed 29 April 2017).Google Scholar
Federal Land Development Agency (FELDA) (2014a) Annual Report 2014. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: FELDA.Google Scholar
Federal Land Development Agency (FELDA) (2017) About FELDA. Available at: http://www.felda.net.my/index.php/en/felda/mengenai-felda (accessed 15 March 2017).Google Scholar
FELDA Global Ventures Holdings (FGV) (2017a) About FGV. Available at: http://www.feldaglobal.com/our-company/about-fgv/ (accessed 21 March 2017).Google Scholar
FELDA Global Ventures Holdings (FGV) (2017b) Sustainability news updates and reports. Available at: http://www.feldaglobal.com/sustainability/news-updates-reports/ Google Scholar
FELDA Global Ventures Holdings (FGV) (2017c) Sustainability overview. Available at: http://www.feldaglobal.com/sustainability/overview/ (accessed 27 March 2017).Google Scholar
Fold, N (2000) Oiling the palms: restructuring of settlement schemes in Malaysia and the new international trade regulations. World Development 28(3): 473–486.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fong, C (1985) Integrated population-development program performance: The Malaysian FELDA experience. Journal of Developing Areas 19(1): 149–170.Google ScholarPubMed
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (2012) Social progress through land development: Lessons from Malaysia’s FELDA. Available at: http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/bodies/CL_150/Side_events/FELDA_Concept_Note.pdf (accessed 21 March 2017).Google Scholar
Gosling, L (1982) The demographic implications of agricultural land settlements: A case study of Malaysia’s FELDA. In: Barlow, R (ed.) Case Studies in the Demographic Impact of Asian Development Projects. Ann Arbor, MI: Center for Research on Economic Development, University of Michigan, pp. 59–100.Google Scholar
Gould, S (1978) Ever since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History. London: Burnett Books.Google Scholar
Graetz, F, Rimmer, M, Smith, A, et al . (2011) Managing Organizational Change, 3rd Australasian ed. Milton, QLD, Australia: John Wiley & Sons Australia.Google Scholar
Guba, E, Lincoln, Y (1989) Fourth Generation Evaluation. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.Google Scholar
Guyot, D (1971) The politics of land: Comparative development in two states of Malaysia. Pacific Affairs 44(3): 368–389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafidz Mahpar, M (2016) FGV’s Q3 loss may be partly due to fraud at overseas operations. Available at: http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/11/22/fgv-discovers-potential-fraud-at-turkey-unit/#uW4zTmDyiYSYSQ8T.99 (accessed 20 April 2017).Google Scholar
Hayes, J (2007) The Theory and Practice of Change Management. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Hirschman, C, Yeoh, S-P (1979) Ethnic patterns of urbanization in Peninsular Malaysia, 1947–1970. Southeast Asia Journal of Social Science 7: 1–19. Available at: https://faculty.washington.edu/charles/new%20PUBS/A20.pdf (accessed 28 March 2017).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Isa, A (2017) Changes in FELDA. The Star Online Business News, 18 January. Available at: http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2017/01/18/changes-in-felda/ (accessed 24 March 2017).Google Scholar
Jomo, K (1986) A Question of Class: Capital, the State, and Uneven Development in Malaya. Singapore: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Kamaruddin, SB (2013) Aging settlers poses challenge to FELDA. Available at: http://www.ukm.my/news/arkib/index.php/extras/1412-aging-settlers-poses-challenge-to-felda.html (accessed 29 April 2017).Google Scholar
Khor, Y, Saravanamuttu, J, Augustin, D (2015) High Carbon Stock+. Case Study 12: The FELDA Case Study. London: LMC. Available at: http://www.simedarby.com/sustainability/clients/simedarby_sustainability/assets/contentMS/img/template/editor/HCSReports/Consulting%20Report%2012_The%20Felda%20case%20study.pdf (accessed 21 March 2017).Google Scholar
Koperasi Permodalan FELDA Malaysia Berhad (KPF) (2016) Available at: http://kpf.felda.net.my/penyata/Pages/default.aspx (accessed 21 March 2017).Google Scholar
Kotter, J (1980) An integrative model of organizational dynamics. In: Lawler, E, Nadler, D, Cammann, C (eds) Organizational Assessment. New York: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 279–299.Google Scholar
Laloux, F (2014) Reinventing Organizations. Brussels: Nelson Parker.Google Scholar
Lawrence, P, Lorsch, J (1967) Organization and Environment. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School.Google Scholar
MacAndrews, C (1978) Land settlement policies: In Malaysia and Indonesia – a preliminary analysis. ISEAS Occasional Paper 52. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mehmet, O (1982) Evaluating alternative land schemes in Malaysia: FELDA and FELCRA. Contemporary SE-Asia 3(4): 340–357.Google Scholar
Mohd Arshad, F, Shamsudin, M (1997) Rural development model in Malaysia. Paper presented to Hon. President of Peru, Mr. Alberto Fujimori, Lima, Peru, 13 October. Available at: http://econ.upm.edu.my/~fatimah/rural.pdf (accessed 21 March 2017).Google Scholar
Mohd Mamat, Z, Ng, B-K, Azizan, SA, et al . (2016) An attempt at implementing a holistic inclusive development model: insights from Malaysia’s land settlement scheme. Asia Pacific Viewpoint 57(1): 106–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morgan, G (2006) Images of Organization. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.Google Scholar
Myers, P, Hulks, S, Wiggins, L (2012) Organizational Change: Perspectives on Theory and Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ngah, I (2010) Rural development in Malaysia. CPID Monograph No. 4. Centre for Innovative Planning and Development, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Malaysia.Google Scholar
Ngui, Y, Koswanage, N (2012) Malaysia’s FELDA surges 20 percent in debut of world’s no. 2 IPO. Reuters, 28 June. Available at: http://in.reuters.com/article/malaysia-felda-ipo-idINDEE85R00520120628 (accessed 27 March 2017).Google Scholar
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2015) State-Owned Enterprises in the Development Process. Paris: OECD.Google Scholar
Orsato, RJ, Clegg, SR, Falcão, H (2013) The political ecology of palm oil production. Journal of Change Management 13(4): 444–459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Park, S (2009) Analysis of Saemaul Undong: A Korean rural development programme in the 1970s. Asia-Pacific Development Journal 16(2): 113–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Romanelli, E, Tushman, M (1994) Organizational transformation and punctuated equilibrium: An empirical test. Academy of Management Journal 37(5): 1141–1166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rudner, M (1994) Malaysian Development: A Retrospective. Montreal, QC, Canada: McGill-Queen’s University Press.Google Scholar
Sutton, K, Buang, A (1995) A new role for Malaysia’s FELDA: From land settlement agency to plantation company. Geography 80(2): 125–137.Google Scholar
Talib, R (2009) Raja Muhammad Alias: The Architect of FELDA. Bangi, Malaysia: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsan Malaysia.Google Scholar
Turner, M, Hulme, D, McCourt, W (2015) Governance, Management and Development: Making the State Work. 2nd ed. London: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weick, K, Quinn, R (1999) Organizational development and change. Annual Review of Psychology 50: 361–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, CW (2016) A roller coaster ride in store for FGV. The Star Online, 10 December. Available at: http://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2016/12/10/a-roller-coaster-ride-in-store-for-fgv/ (accessed 21 March 2017).Google Scholar
World Bank (1985) Staff appraisal report: Malaysia land settlement infrastructure project. Report no. 5804-MA, 15 November. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank (1995) Project completion report: Land settlement infrastructure report. Report no. 15188, 22 December. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank (2015) Country data – Malaysia. Available at: data.worldbank.org/country/malaysia (accessed 4 January 2015).Google Scholar
Yin, R (2003) Case Study Research: Design and Methods. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.Google Scholar