Public Private Partnership Unit or 3PU

Salam and dear all,

• There is further progress, in terms of organizational set-up, in the government's PPP initiative with the setting up of a dedicated unit within the Prime Minister's Department. The newly established unit is known as the Public Private Partnership Unit or 3PU (Unit Kerjasama Awam Swasta or UKAS).
• Prior to the setting up of 3PU, the history of Malaysia's PPP may be traced back to 1981 when the government introduced the Malaysian Incorporated Policy. The policy promotes greater collaborations between the public and private sectors.
• Subsequent to the Malaysian Incorporated Policy, the government introduced the Privatization Policy in 1983, followed by Guidelines on Privatization in 1985, and the Privatization Master Plan in 1991.
• Privatization initiatives then were administered by the Special Task for Privatization (Pasukan Petugas Khas Penswastaan) of the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister's Department. This group of experts acted as secretariat to a committee known as the Privatization Committee; the later was responsible in making recommendations on privatization initiatives to the Cabinet.
• In 2006 and under the 9th Malaysia Plan, Malaysia's PPP moved a step further when the government introduced PFI as among the key approaches in government procurement for public infrastructures.
• The 3PU mentioned at the beginning of this posting was established on 22 April 2009. The Unit is headed by a Director General and two deputies, each for Privatization and PFI.
• Under the 10th Malaysia Plan and under the government's New Economic Model (NEM) it has been said that the government places higher emphasis on private sector involvement in the delivery of public infrastructures through the privatization and PFI approaches in procurement.

Wassalam. Sources: various media reports and http://www.3pu.gov.my