Recently I attended ‘a story-telling session’ by Elyas Omar, the former mayor of KL and our former sports supremo par excellence. It was a very good, educational, and reminiscent learning experience for me. At the event, I met a few other National Institute of Public Administration (Intan) colleagues. It was good to see that at least some of us are still have a learning attitude. Such is the ability to continue to unlearn, learn, and relearn.
What is evidence of such a learning attitude? It becomes obvious with a visible willingness to always be open to new ideas, even when the subject seems old, either through personal reflection, or from personal experience of the past. Therefore, all teachers from our yesteryears will always say; listen, listen, listen. The singular exception is the Malaysian lady teacher who repeated the same words and became infamous for the right reasons.
These teachers usually say it three times to really emphasise that if we do not hear and listen closely to the details, there could be two or three complications which result. One, we will simply not understand the basic message and content of focus. Or, second, the recipient will not fully appreciate the the nuances from the message. Or, thirdly, the non-listener may completely miss the message differentiating the woods and the trees.
May God have mercy on such an individual.
Listen, listen, listen, MBPJ
Trick question No 1 for the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) directors; ‘Who has all authority for design, planning, and approval of all aspects of the network of roads, drains and bridges in any local authority?’ Trick question No 2: ‘Who approves the execution of the same by authorised contractors of all lands and property developments in any local authority?’
Trick question No 3 for the mayor of MBPJ: who is allocated funds by the federal government under the constitutional provisions, as per all other rules and procedures of such local governance, with even a litany of laws to effect such full execution?
Therefore, I was flabbergasted, to say the least, ‘the idiocrats of MBPJ’ may not pass this basic thinking-questions-test, which we usually frame to encourage the learning attitude at Intan especially with adult students. A hint: the answers all point to MBPJ but the moral of the story is in appreciating the questions and not just finding right answers.
MBPJ’s modus operandi
On Aug 26, I received a note left on my dad’s car which is parked outside my home in Kampung Tunku, Petaling Jaya. It simply said that MBPJ contractors propose to undertake ‘resurfacing 13 roads in our area between Aug 28 and Sept 2. It seemed like a standard notice but signed by the senior assistant director of roads at MBPJ.
As a consequence, I took note of the dates and was aware that my one car parked outside the house needed to be moved during the works. Early on the morning of the 28th they had actually started works by almost 8.00am. I was impressed and told my wife that I have to use the Volvo for the day because it needs to be removed for road works.
Therefore, for the Elyas Omar event at KLCC Petronas Gallery, I drove the Volvo, parked at the Taman Paramount LRT Station and took the train to KLCC and back. Upon my return, our road was three-quarter way being done, and my wife told me that some guys had rung the doorbell to ask if “we wanted them ‘to help us complete the small portion’ between our bridge and culvert and the main road”.
I then decided to talk to the MBPJ supervisor on site to enquire what was going on. That I did, and then he asked for my house address which I told him and left.
With zero action, I then decided to ‘take up this matter as a Kampung Tunku Citizen Ranger;’ a voluntary programme our NGO is trying to promote which calls upon citizens to rise up and become RANGeRS (Residents and netizens generating evaluation reports).
To become a ranger, first a resident must register with Oriental Hearts and Mind Study Institute (OHMSI) to be assigned a Ranger number, and then once recorded and authenticated the person only needs to be ready to ‘shoot and report.’
‘Shooting’ is with either a hand-held phone or even a real camera, and then to simply mail it to OHMSI’s Ranger Programme to be validated and uploaded on our website with the persons observation of violations.
My Citizen RANGeR report
I called the MBPJ hotline with the 2020 last four digits. I got a response and I made my complaint. The officer who took the complaint promised me they would call back and assign me a complaint number. Someone did call and give me a complaint number 14-14983, and a contact number for the Engineering Department which is responsible for this issue or concern.
Next morning I called the specific number, but again, I did not get any officer but really only an operator who did not know who was in or out in the office. After three attempts to transfer the calls to the same senior assistant director, I was given another name, and finally a third number. This was now the direct line for the secretary of the senior assistant director, but then she was on a course.
Finally and later, upon me ‘losing my cool’, they gave a third number and fourth transfer and I spoke to the senior assistant director responsible but all she could say is that “they do not any longer do entrances to the house”. My question: “After all, whose road is it anyway, and why should I pay for MBPJ to maintain their road?” I asked the relevant senior assistant director to call me with a reply to my policy question before end of the morning.
When she did not; I finally called my MBPJ councillor and made the same complaint. He was at the MBPJ’s full council meeting. He responded by text that he was in a meeting and so, I proceeded to make my complaint in writing vide social media capabilities. My problem still remains unresolved, and this is my third Citizen RANGeR Report about affairs in my home spaces.
My question for MBPJ?
How can the space between the culvert and bridge to my house, which is well outside my house and home, and which is part and parcel of the road that you approved and laid for my access, now suddenly become my property and therefore under my care and maintenance?
For me this question of public space morality is, and always was, and always will be a public policy issue and question. How can public space, which was given up by developers to the MBPJ, as part and parcel of the proper planning and approval of the housing and to improve the quality of life of residents in our area, overnight suddenly become private space? Is this the current systemic and logic of leadership of MBPJ and the state?
How can our common public spaces, like entrances to housing suddenly become gated up as if the land and space belongs overnight to the private residents? Are not all these blockages to entrances illegal?
To me it is simply poor leadership and lack of critical analytical thinking that leaves so much room for misbehaviour and the consequent development of ‘a cadre of small works projects opportunists,’ while the deterioration of public space morality continues because of the lack of care and concern by those responsible. Shame on you MBPJ and the state government.
