ACID TEST FOR NEXT GE: Can PH State Government in Selangor deliver?

NEGERI:                 SELANGOR 
MENTERI BESAR:    DATUK SERI AMIRUDIN SHAARI 

EXCO:                    YB NG SUEE LIM 

                             (Kerajaan Tempatan dan Kampung Baru)
MAJLIS:                  MAJLIS BANDARAYA PETALING JAYA 

                              MAJLIS PERBANDARAN SELAYANG 
MP:                        YB GOBIND SINGH (DAP) PARLIMEN DAMANSARA
ADUN:                    YB GAN PEI LING (PKR) DUN BUKIT LANJAN

A short walk from Bandar Sri Damansara via KIP to Wangsa Permai reveals how badly maintained are these three places. 

Sri Damansara is under the PETALING JAYA CITY COUNCIL. Both KIP and Wangsa Permai are under the SELAYANG MUNICIPAL COUNCIL.

It shows that regardless of whether it is a CITY COUNCIL or a MUNICIPAL COUNCIL, Selangor which is supposedly the richest state in the country has never improved despite it being under Pakatan Harapan government since 2008.

Is this  because the people now helming it have become too comfortable and do not share the same passion for reforms? 

With the local government being the MOST IMPORTANT tier of government that AFFECTS the people, reforms are found wanting. 

PH all the way but where is the performance in Selangor?

Now, with the Federal minister of Housing & Local Government (Nga Kor Meng, DAP), Menteri Besar (Amirudin Shaari, PKR), State Exco in charge of local government (Ng Suee Lim, DAP), State Assemblyman (Pua Pei Ling, PKR), MP (Gobind Singh Deo, DAP) and local councillors are mainly from PH Selangor, why have things not improved? Why has the Local Government Act not reformed to put local government especially the Council Presidents/ Mayors and Directors accountable to the people? 

PH wants votes, we want actions. Let this be the acid test for PH in Selangor. If they fail to deliver within the next two years, let us kick them out since we have already given them sufficient time since 2008 to deliver their services. 

Compared to Penang which has become a very clean island, why can't Selangor improve itself? Check the rest of the posts in this blog to see the amount of rubbish EVERYWHERE! 

It does not make sense for KDEB to keep cleaning up when there is no supervision by the local council's enforcement officers. Why are the enforcement officers not placed at night markets? Why can't MPS provide proper bins to dispose rubbish at night markets? Penang has provided proper bins to EVERY HOUSEHOLD, but why not Selangor?

INSTEAD, MPS IS TRYING TO RAISE THE ASSESSMENT FEES FROM 2025 BY AT LEAST 50 PER CENT. IF SUCCESSFUL, IF YOU ARE CURRENTLY PAYING RM472, YOU WILL BE PAYING RM720 NEXT YEAR!

WHY ARE THE MPs, STATE ASSEMBLYMEN AND LOCAL COUNCILLORS, AS WELL AS MENTERI BESAR AND STATE EXCO NOT INTERVENING OR OBJECTING TO THIS? 

IN THE PAST, THEY WANTED OUR VOTES AND THEY REPRESENTED US TO PROTEST. BUT NOW? 

Rubbish everywhere in Sri Damansra. Where is MPBPJ's supervision? 

Construction debris in Sri Damansara... 

The tree trunk must have fallen into the monsoon drain for months, or maybe years? This will slow down the flow of water. Anyway, drains are not supposed to be clogged with fallen trees. 

MPS sign post fallen down, but no one seems to bother about this. 

Jalan Tago 

There were also reflective mirrors erected on walkways by MPS as part of the Safe City Initiative.

MPS built culverts that are supposed to solve flash flood problems at Persiaran KIP Utama and Jalan Tago. Here are examples of the culverts that totally clogged. No wonder the roads are easily damaged and repairs have to be done frequently. THERE IS SIMPLY NO MAINTENANCE CULTURE.

The culvert has even created a hole that any unsuspecting person can easily fall into it especially at night when the streetlighting is poor. Does the local councillor look into the problem, or does he need to wait for complaints before solving the problem? 

A regular audit should be carried out by the resident associations to see if all the basic facilities are in tip top condition. Why can't Selangor Councillors think of a system to put in place. Back in 2008, I already taught the local councillor (now YB) Lee Khai Loon how to go about it. Unfortunately, he was taken by Penang to be the local state assemblyman in Penang. 

Please check all the culverts. Many of the culverts do not have water inlets from the road. How can the water enter the culverts, please tell me! 

How can water flow through the culvert? What happened to the maintenance of these culverts?

Money is spent on these signages. Paint used can only last a few years under the current weathering conditions. If not re-painted, these signages will have to be replaced. It will cost another few millions. Who will benefit? 

These are just two examples. I see at almost every place the signages are not re-painted. This has been told to the director of engineering, Tuan Shamsul. He rather block Whatsapp, so this has to be broadcast for more people to see instead of whispering into his ears and reminding him again that many of the signages are not re-painted. 

Local councils prefer to only solve problems that are highlighted. For example, there are five potholes in one area. They will fix the one pothole that is being highlighted in the press. The other four will be left there for months to come. 

My experience writing for Malay Mail shows that there is no change from the way City Halls like DBKL operated 30 years ago and NOW! This is because the Local Government Act is weak in governing the councils themselves. 

Broken tiles....

Big potholes...

There is a pipe that is supposed to allow water to flow into the drain. Brilliant, but where is the inlet hole? This shows the right hand does not know what the left hand is doing. MPS built culverts, road construction contractors covered all these water inlets, and no one even supervised their work. Payment was still made. 

Why are rubbish strewn all over? Why? This rubbish here is considered "MILD". This blogpost with all its pictures will show you why people are angry with MPS and the state government. 

In Seremban, they also provide proper bins as part of the council or state budget. 

Shame on Selangor. Despite being the richest state, it cannot even take care of its citizens' cleanliness. 

Oh, this must be a place where water can collect on a rainy day. It's for you to wash your legs before you enter into a new area. Latest creation.....

and in case you do not want to fall into this deep manhole, make sure that you walk in the middle of the main road. 

It is not only the phone booths that are abandoned, even this box is left opened with all the wires. Perhaps, it is meant for people to play switchboard game where you dial the operator and ask to connect to Mr. Sherlock Holmes' home. 

Not to mention how many times this has been brought up to the director of engineering and the local MP. 

Can you see where the junction is? 

Now, find where the signage that says the name of the Taman and what phase it is... 

Shouldn't the signage be at the junction? Hello, why did MPS move it some 20 meters inside the road? 

Ah, in case you did not fall into the square manhole, you probably fit into the round manhole.... 

Please Buck Up, MPS and MBPJ! 

Let me tell you who is at fault.

The salaried staff at the local councils are the main culprits. No wonder many of them can spend so much time in the cafeteria instead of doing work. 

When they fail to respond to complaints or they do not go down to the ground to monitor condition of roads, streetlighting, etc. it is because their directors fail to supervise them. 

If the directors fail to supervise them, it is because the council presidents/ mayors, local councillors, state assemblymen, local MPs, state exco and ultimately the Menteri Besar that are to be blamed.

The next level is the Minister of Housing and Local Government whose responsibility is to ensure that local governments carry out their mandates. Because the policies are not enforced, things deteriorate to what it is now. 

Thirty years ago and now, there is still no major improvement in the way how the local government is run. 

We appeal to the Madani Government to get things done right so that the ordinary rakyat are spared of all the third-world facilities that we have to live with. 

The Local Government Act must allow stiff penalties for "lazy" staff at the local government. The carrot must be accompanied with the road. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has done the right thing to adjust their salaries to at least close the gap between the public and private sectors. It is time that these civil servants be motivated to work hard, if not, the rod should be used. 

Or else, the country will have First World infrastructure but Third World facilties. To see this big contrast, visit all Mont Kiara where new condominums are now being built and occupying Segambut Dalam, but where is the infrastructure to cater to the increase in traffic? 

Corruption is one of the biggest cancers affecting the local government. It is time for the Auditor-General's office and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to send officers to audit the accounts of the local councils and if there are evidences of corruption, to charge the officers concerned. 

The Federal Government should hold certain people at the local and state governments responsible. Sacking should be allowed; otherwise, it will be business-as-usual for the next 50 years. 

Trust me, the lack of performance by the local governments will eventually reflect badly on the state and federal governments. No?

Let me tell you that when Ali, Muthu and Ah Chong are unhappy with the potholes on their village-like roads at Subang Jaya, who will they scold? 90 percent will say it is the elected representatives and the government (federal and state) of the day. 

Anyone blame the local government? No, not many people even know that it exists. They only known Bandaraya (referring to DBKL)... even in Kampung Sungai Buloh, they will tell you, "Bandaraya never collect the rubbish." 

I don't blame the two-year-old Madani government because the problems with local government have been there since 30 years ago. This is one reason why many of us also rejected Barisan Nasional and the Gerakan state government in Penang. If Penang can improve in cleanliness, why can't Selangor?

I blame the PH Selangor state government, its MB and state excos in charge of local government. Already into the fourth term, where is the improvement? 

Of course, it will take time to improve, but communication needs to be better so that complainants are aware that work is going to be done rather than doing things quietly. Even a Whatsapp message is good enough. 

We all love this guy. He is personally concerned about the condition of the country. We share his sentiments:  

END.