Disparity between the procurement process best practices for PPP projects in the UK and Malaysia

Abstract

Even though a typical public–private partnership (PPP) procurement process framework has been implemented in various countries, the specific procurement processes have not been able to be implemented due to the differences in the structure of governance and culture as well as the existing construction industry environment of each country. This paper aims to identify the differences and gaps in the PPP procurement process in Malaysia with the process implemented in the UK, including Private Finance 2, through an extensive comparative study. The method that has been used in this study is the analysis of the literature review about the PPP procurement flow process for both countries by determining their similarity and disparity. For the practice that has been implemented in Malaysia, there are several series of interviews that have been conducted to get the data. The UK procurement process focuses mainly on achieving detailed procurement processes. The procurement process in Malaysia, meanwhile, provides limited decision authority to public sector clients as most of the procurement decisions are solely being made by the cabinet ministers, which conclusively has led to biased outcomes as a result of minimal competitive tendering and the disregard of some key significant procurement activities.