PETALING Jaya City Council (MBPJ) officers have been warned to expedite handling ratepayers’ complaints or be given show-cause letters.

Petaling Jaya mayor Mohamad Zahri Samingon said this was to tackle delays as well as boost accountability within MBPJ amid growing public discontent, especially with the increase in assessment rates this year.

He said officers must address complaints lodged through the Public Complaints Management System (Sispaa) in a speedy manner.

“For example, if the complaint was lodged in March and if in June there is no response, I will issue the letter.

“The staff will have seven days to show reasons as to why they didn’t take any action or reply to the complaint.

“The staff must provide answers and if I cannot accept their reasoning, I will take disciplinary action,” Mohamad Zahri said at the city council’s full board meeting at MBPJ headquarters.

He said this in response to Zone 19 councillor Nalina Nair’s meeting postponement speech highlighting the lack of response by MBPJ to a complaint about a collapsed drain in SS20.Mohamad Zahri: Staff have seven days to answer show-cause letter.

Mohamad Zahri said staff must acknowledge and reply to the complaint and not keep silent.

“People become angry because there is no reply to their complaints.

“We also need to give a reasonable time estimate as to when the problem will be resolved,” he added.

At the meeting, Nalina said the collapsed drain in Jalan SS20/6 resulted in a deep hole on the walkway, which was dangerous.

The first complaint, she said, was made by residents in February this year, but there was no response, and in April, when councillor Yip Sean Yi followed up, again no clear answer was provided.

“On June 12, I raised this matter in the Infrastructure, Traffic and Public Facilities committee meeting, but was told that the department had not been to the location to assess the problem or propose a solution.

“On June 17, this matter was brought up again but the answer received was still lacklustre.

“Finally, after a few councillors and I went to the location, took photos and forwarded the complaints in the Councillor Complaints Whatsapp group, action was taken the next day.”

Nalina stressed that the increase in assessment rates meant that people expected faster, more transparent and more effective work from MBPJ.

“Their complaints must be answered promptly and repair works carried out properly with continuous monitoring,” she said.

She cited another example of a complaint regarding a broken bench at a park in Section 1.

“The usual answer given in meetings is that there is no allocation, whereas small works to remove dangerous objects from public areas do not require large expenditure.

The collapsed drain in Jalan SS20/6 resulted in a deep hole on the walkway. — Courtesy photos

“We need to rethink the process of budget management, contractor appointment, and work implementation so that the effectiveness of the work can be improved and allocation used wisely,” she added.

On the issue of dengue cases in Petaling Jaya, Mohamad Zahri said a total of 1,194 cases had been reported as of June 7, which was an 18% increase compared to the previous week.

“Currently, 19 outbreak localities have been identified, including two hotspots, reflecting the urgent need to improve comprehensive dengue prevention and control.

“Among the main contributing factors to the increase in dengue cases are low environmental cleanliness, illegal gardens, empty houses and abandoned reserve lands.

“This situation is further exacerbated by the careless attitude of a few communities who are less aware of the dangers of dengue,” he said in his speech at the meeting.

Mohamad Zahri said Petaling district was among areas with the highest cases in Selangor, while Damansara Damai was the main contributor to cases under MBPJ’s jurisdiction.

“In this area, there are 15 high-rise housing clusters comprising 14,477 residential units, with high population density becoming a risk factor for dengue transmission,” he said.