Rate Your Council

Wednesday, 30 January 2008

Rate Your Council

We invited opinions on how well or badly the Subang Jaya Municipal Council (MPSJ) has performed in the last year and asked for suggestions on how best the local authority can improve its performance. Here are some jottings from residents around us.

Are you happy with the services provided by MPSJ? Tell us why.

SS17 Resident: Generally, I am happy with the services provided by MPSJ but I believe that the council needs to go further. I think that the council does take good care of the basic needs of the community, providing places to play, maintaining traffic lights and roads, etc. However, the council does very little in terms of planning and it does nothing to offer improvements on the major problems that affect our lives. For example, consider the traffic congestion issue. MPSJ has done nothing to encourage more people to carpool or use public transportation.

USJ 1 Resident : In general, I must say that the services provided by MPSJ has been satisfactory in “housekeeping” services like garbage management, parking, park maintenance, etc., but NOT in aspects related to town planning and land development. There are too many development projects mushrooming and I doubt that they have conducted proper impact assessment studies. In my opinion, Subang Jaya
(and USJ) has reached its saturation point a long time ago and this is evident by looking at our current traffic situation.

USJ11 Resident : MPSJ has actually gone stagnant and are at times below par. I think they have forgotten that as a whole they should ensure safety, environmentally friendly, transparency, business friendly and focus on health. These 5 issues made Subang Jaya what it is today.

What are the major shortfalls/successes MPSJ has done in your area?

SS17 Resident: In my area (SS 17), the major successes would be the new pedestrian bridge to SS 19 and the fact that SS 17 has stayed relatively green. The shortfalls are many. The glut of condominium towers planned around the car, combined with the lack of encouragement and incentives for public transportation, the lack of effort to control taxicab drivers, indiscriminate parking everywhere, confusing approvals for projects, etc. are examples of major shortfalls.

USJ 1 Resident : Shortfall:
1. Lack of transparency in decision-making processes especially those related to land development.
2. Lack of communication skills – eg. YDP walked out in the middle of public meeting, inability of the officials in explaining to the public on their stand in certain issues.
3. Again, relating to communication skills, there have been many times where I e-mailed MPSJ regarding some issues but they did not even acknowledge the receipt of the e-mail, let alone act on what was being complained.
4. Lack of monitoring on construction activities for example, there were not enough indicator lights to alert the commuters travelling on the roads that there are construction works taking place ahead. Some of the roads were not cleaned up properly after construction works were carried out.

Success:
1. Quick in issuing summonses to traffic offenders.
2. Dengue prevention.
3. Provision of recreational facilities such as 3K Complex, 3C Kids Complex, futsal complex, playgrounds etc.

USJ11 Resident : Uncovered or missing drains. Failed street lightings in the tamans and main roads. Control of commercial building cleanliness, respect for the environment and safety.

Should MPSJ councillors be elected? Tell us why.

SS17 Resident: Dato’ Lee Hwa Beng, ADUN for Subang Jaya, has publicly stated that if elections were to take place, councils would be formed on religious/racial lines. It is unfortunate that he would voice this rather unlikely scenario. Sadly, many people would benefit if Malaysians continue to think along racial and religious lines. I believe that there should be local council elections. I believe that despite these perceived risks, Malaysians can handle the challenge of local elections. Malaysian society has matured to the point where we can live with our neighbours. Besides, Saudi Arabia has local council elections.

USJ 1 Resident : Yes, they should be elected. Not only MPSJ but all local councillors in other local authorities as well. This is important to avoid abuse of power and that (by being elected) they would be reminded of their roles to “REPRESENT and SAFEGUARD RESIDENTS INTEREST”.

USJ11 Resident : Yes, they should and must be from residents in Subang Jaya. They breathe and understand issues of the heart. It also allows us to ensure that our voices are heard and good discussions are done instead of rhetorics.

What in your opinion, should MPSJ be concentrating on to make our municipality a better, safer and more conducive place to live in?

SS17 Resident: Transportation is the main issue that I see. Since our society is so much built around the car, we have given up a lot of the sense of community that we used to have. With the loss of community, comes so many of the negative elements, such as crime, disaffected youth and pollution. We have locked out and divided our communities by creating bigger and faster roads, walls around our houses and prison bars that we call “grilles” placed on every window and door. I think that if we can improve the transportation and make it less focused on the car, we can reduce some of these other social ills.

USJ 1 Resident : They should adhere to the principles of Local Agenda 21 – which is to encourage more active partnerships and deliberations with the residents especially in matters related to land development.

USJ11 Resident : Like I’ve mentioned before, they should look at safety (be it street lightings, road markings, pedestrian bridges, lighted bus stops and proper pedestrian walkways), environment (be it replanting or relocation of greenery where new build is done), transparency (inform residents of its work. The PR dept MUST improve), business friendly (ensure that each submission is done properly and speedily. The idea is to ensure discipline and process) and health (dengue, unhygienic eateries, pollution, etc. must be dealt with severely. A task force for these must be set up).

Is MPSJ's JKP (Residents Committee) effectively representing the voices of the community? Tell us why.

SS17 Resident: I believe that the JKP are doing some work but they are not effectively representing the voices of the community. The reason is simple Each JKP only seems to focus on the interests of their zone, they do not express a vision for a better Subang Jaya.

USJ 1 Resident : I’m not quite sure about this as the JKP in my area (USJ 1) has not been very active. But I guess they would function better if they were elected by the residents and not appointed by the MPSJ.

USJ11 Resident : I really do not know who they are. Hence I think not knowing is not my fault but theirs for not making the residents aware of their existence. I mentioned in my jottings before of the sorry state of our football fields but budget is a concern I think they should be made known and SJ Echo should be able to inform us how this organisation came about and where they stand in the overall setup as well as budgets.

What do you think MPSJ should do with the following outstanding areas:

a. Taman Subang Ria :

SS17 Resident: It should be gazzeted as a permanent, protected site, free from development. MPSJ and the developers should pay to maintain it. After all, the water feature is a benefit for the residents of the Holiday Villa and Boulevard Towers and the local hotels.

USJ 1 Resident : Apply to the State to gazette the park or acquire the park from the developer.

USJ11 Resident : This must be a green lung.

b. Millennium Park :

SS17 Resident: Millennium Park (Dataran Milennium) should be converted into a small Taman Botanik, similar to the one in Ayer Keroh, Melaka. The Taman Botanik would be part of a “green and active” corridor stretching from the 3C Complex over to the 3K Complex. The Taman Botanik would provide an interesting focal point for the area.

USJ 1 Resident : Maintain it as an open-space as what had been specified in the Draft Local Plan.

USJ11 Resident : This is an area where I’ve always thought should be green and not just here but remove all those stalls further up. I do not agree that MPSJ contras the maintenance of the area with a mamak stall. This is ridiculous. They will make money for themselves as well as for MPSJ and still ask us taxpayers’ money to maintain.

SS15/4 redevelopment of the temporary wet market site:

SS17 Resident: The old wet market site should be converted into a community centre and an open park for the SS15 area. It would be useful as sports field and activity areas for the local colleges, which currently have no outdoor activity space nearby.

USJ 1 Resident : Definitely no commercial development should be allowed on that site.

USJ11 Resident : This should be converted to a carpark complex, a small garden and refurbish the community hall.