Part 1 Surat Terbuka Kpd Yb Nga Kor Ming Menteri Pembangunan Kerajaan Tempatan

---

 


Dear YB Nga Kor Ming. FIrst of all congrats on the appointment as Minister of Local Government. When you said that the 155 PBTs (Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan) or local government come under your Ministry (because you pay their salaries) I was really excited. You are the right guy to address these remarks. And especially about that biggest monster of all the Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur. I have six items that I would like to discuss and I hope you will take note and also make the correct and permanent changes that will benefit everyone.
Some of these issues are simple while others require a bit more focus.
Just to remind myself the list of SIX items are:
1. To standardise PBT regulations for business operations / business licenses throughout Malaysia. A tadika example.
2. Corrupt system for trash removal at construction sites and hence problem of contractors burning rubbish at construction sites (and also illegal dumping of rubbish by trash removal contractors - kontraktor sampah pukal). 
3.  Predicting traffic jams in Kuala Lumpur / Klang Valley and what can be done about it permanently.
4. Suggestion for improving efficiency of roundabouts and U-turns.
5. Possibly corrupt system behind poor road repairs / pothole repairs in my area (Putra Mahkota / Beranang).
5. Corruption in Bazar Ramadan in the same area
Corruption in Bazar Ramadan in the same area :  For starters today I will discuss the Bazar Ramadan corruption. It is still happening. But before that a quick news report:

Raya suram, kuasa beli rakyat terus terhakistahun ini suram untuk kebanyakan rakyat ribuan tan makanan dibuang di bazar KL, S'gor kerana tidak lakuRamai peniaga mengeluh kekurangan pelanggan tahun ini Hari pertama dah nampak trend pembeli bazar Pelanggan tidak habiskan lebih RM10 di bazar (Ramadan)


My Comments :
Ok YB as I mentioned above my area is Putra Mahkota in Beranang. Your officers can advise you who is the PBT (Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan) for this area. 
There is more than one Bazar Ramadan here but I know of one close to my house. There are about 40 to 50 Bazar Ramadan stalls in this location. The local people told me that the "ketua" fellows cornered ALL the Bazar Ramadan licenses. 
So the real traders had no choice but to 'buy' the Bazar Ramadan licenses from the 'ketua' fellows. This is exactly the same model that was used in Jalan Masjid India where Dato Ameer Ali Mydin and myself campaigned against the Bazar Ramadan corruption for over 10 years.
The 'ketua' fellows corner the Bazar Ramadan licenses at very cheap prices (from the PBT) and then they 'resell' to the traders at RM650 per license. That is RM32,500 for 50 licenses JUST AT ONE LOCATION. 
The people here told me that for this area, RM650 is too expensive. They do not make very much profit. So the traders have no choice but to share one Bazar Ramadan license among a few traders. 
What does this mean? It means 2, 3, 4, 5 or more traders share one stall. They end up selling ALL their food items and kuih-kuih at the same stall. There is an oversupply of food and kuih-kuih sold at the stalls.
And coupled with the peoples' poor purchasing power as per the news above, the food 'tak laku'. They cannot finish selling their food items. So a lot of food at the Bazar Ramadan gets wasted. And the traders suffer losses. 
Only the "ketua" fellows make money from selling the licenses up front. 
How do we overcome this problem?
1. Please publicise in the media and on the PBTs website the cost of one Bazar Ramadan license. Make it known to the public. No need to keep it secret.
2. Publicise and also post online (at the PBT website) the names, identity and pictures of the people who have been given Bazar Ramadan licenses. 
3. Make sure one person is given one license only. The photograph with name and identification of the person must be displayed clearly at the Bazar Ramadan stall. Plus the same person must be present at the stall to conduct the business. 
4. Every year change the ketua jabatan and the pegawai involved in the penjaja and/or Bazar Ramadan department.  Dont let the same people hold the same position every year. Transfer them around.
5.  Cancel the Bazar Ramadan. Instead allow every shoplot (occupied by the respective business operators like banks, 7-11, hardware shops, kedai emas, barber shop, kedai baju, etc) in any area anywhere inside any PBT to rent the kaki lima or five foot way space in front of their premises / shoplot to ONLY ONE Bazar Ramadan stall, between say 3PM to 7PM for one month during the bulan puasa. Fix the maximum size of the stall at say 4 feet by 8 feet. 
The PBT also need not close the roads because the stall will not occupy the road. They will only occupy the kaki lima. If there is no kaki lima or the kaki lima is too narrow then no stalls should be allowed to operate there.
The hawkers / traders cannot be allowed to rent more than one kaki lima space inside the same PBT. The business operators / shop owners cannot utilise the kaki lima for their own use.
This way the hawkers need not deal with the PBT to apply for the Bazar Ramadan license anymore. The traders can negotiate directly with the individual business operators to rent the kaki lima space in front of their shops for one month. The PBT must give special permission to allow ALL business operators (not the shop owner who can be someone else) to 'sublet' the kaki lima space for one month.
YB Nga, your Kementerian can also prepare a one-page standard Rental Agreement which can be downloaded from your website which the people can use. 
This way market forces will determine things like the rent for one month, the cleanliness and cleaning up, no cooking or open fires at the Bazar Ramadan stalls etc. The PBT need not waste time and resources anymore to manage the Bazar Ramadan. There will also be no more Bazar Ramadan corruption.
This is not a wild idea because even now the Pasar Malam stalls all over the country do
occupy the kaki lima.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
By Syed Akbar Ali 

---