When Government Policies Appear in Malaysian Research
Malaysian postgraduate researchers in public administration, education, health policy, and social science frequently cite official government policies — executive orders, ministerial directives, national plans, and administrative circular letters. These official documents are primary sources that carry significant scholarly weight in policy-related research, and they require APA citation just as any other source does. Knowing how to cite executive orders and government policies in APA correctly ensures these sources are attributed with the precision their official status requires.
The APA 7th Format for Malaysian Government Policies
For a Malaysian government policy document — a national plan, a strategic blueprint, or an official directive — the issuing ministry or office is the author, and the document title and reference number serve as key identifiers. The format is: Ministry or Office Name. (Year). Title of policy or plan (Policy Reference Number if available). Publisher. URL if available.
Example: Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2013). Malaysia education blueprint 2013–2025: Preschool to post-secondary education. Ministry of Education Malaysia. https://www.moe.gov.my/en/dasarmenu/education-blueprint
For surat pekeliling ikhtisas (professional circular letters) and surat siaran (circulars) — specific to the Malaysian public service and education system: Ministry or Department Name. (Year). Title of circular in original language [English translation of title in brackets] (Circular Reference Number). Ministry or Department Name. URL if available.
For Executive Orders and Royal Instructions
In Malaysia, executive orders and administrative instructions sometimes originate from the Prime Minister’s office, the National Security Council, or other high-level bodies. These are cited using the same government document format: Issuing Body. (Year). Title of order or directive (Reference Number). Issuing Body. URL.
For national development plans — the Malaysia Plans (Rancangan Malaysia) — the Economic Planning Unit is the authoring body: Economic Planning Unit. (2021). Malaysia 12th plan 2021–2025. Prime Minister’s Department. https://rmke12.epu.gov.my/
In-Text Citations and Contextualising Policy Sources
In-text citations for government policies follow the standard APA author-date format: (Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2013). In your thesis text, briefly contextualise policy citations to establish their authority: “As specified in the Malaysia Education Blueprint (Ministry of Education Malaysia, 2013), which sets the strategic direction for national education development from 2013 to 2025…” This framing situates the policy within the Malaysian policy landscape and signals its significance as an authoritative directive rather than a general institutional opinion.
