Fed-up with rubbish and pothole complaints end up unattended?
For those who live in Petaling Jaya, they can now monitor the follow-up action of their city council MBPJ on a new mobile application (app).
"MyCleanCity", a community-based mobile application (app) operated by the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronysim (C4), will go live officially on Jan 16.
"With this app, the resident in Petaling Jaya will be able to snap photos, tag locations, and upload pictures and complaints onto virtual noticeboard," said C4 director Cynthia Gabriel.
The app deals with three categories – rubbish, pothole, and flash flood.
Residents may also act as whistle-blowers to report the culprits of illegal dumpings.
"However, this is not so much of an app that closes potholes, but rather about the accountability of local government," she said at its launch last night.
Despite being the second richest local authority after Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Gabriel, who is a former MBPJ councillor, said the complaints reported to MBPJ often end up unattended.
She said MBPJ manages an annual budget of RM370mil and has a 2,000-strong workforce.
Citing an internal report as proof, she said, MBPJ has received a total of 571 complaints since last August, and not a single case has been resolved.
"This shows how the system fundamentally went wrong. We (the citizens) have no choice except to organise ourselves," she said.
Will local authority adopt?
The app, says Gabriel, will enable users to access statistics and data of MBPJ's performance in resolving the problems raised.
It is similar to the application dubbed "Citizens Action Technologies", already in use in Penang.
To date, C4 has received a RM40,000 funding which enables the app to run for 15 months.
However, Gabriel said the success of the app relies on the responsiveness of the local authority, which has yet to give their commitment.
Ean Yong Hian Wah, the Selangor state executive councillor in charge of Local Government, who was at the launch, said they are monitoring the platform’s usefulness.
"I will direct MBPJ to take action whenever a complaint is filed through the app," he said.
If proven succesful, he said they may adopt the app and use it state-wide.
Acknowledging the council’s ineffiency in services, Ean Yong attributes the problem to a lack of urgency in resolving the issues at MBPJ.
"Those who manage the local authority have the attitude of (working only from) nine to five," he said.
He said this is due to civil servants and senior officials who are not elected.
For those who live in Petaling Jaya, they can now monitor the follow-up action of their city council MBPJ on a new mobile application (app).
"MyCleanCity", a community-based mobile application (app) operated by the Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronysim (C4), will go live officially on Jan 16.
"With this app, the resident in Petaling Jaya will be able to snap photos, tag locations, and upload pictures and complaints onto virtual noticeboard," said C4 director Cynthia Gabriel.
The app deals with three categories – rubbish, pothole, and flash flood.
Residents may also act as whistle-blowers to report the culprits of illegal dumpings.
"However, this is not so much of an app that closes potholes, but rather about the accountability of local government," she said at its launch last night.
Despite being the second richest local authority after Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Gabriel, who is a former MBPJ councillor, said the complaints reported to MBPJ often end up unattended.
She said MBPJ manages an annual budget of RM370mil and has a 2,000-strong workforce.
Citing an internal report as proof, she said, MBPJ has received a total of 571 complaints since last August, and not a single case has been resolved.
"This shows how the system fundamentally went wrong. We (the citizens) have no choice except to organise ourselves," she said.
Will local authority adopt?
The app, says Gabriel, will enable users to access statistics and data of MBPJ's performance in resolving the problems raised.
It is similar to the application dubbed "Citizens Action Technologies", already in use in Penang.
To date, C4 has received a RM40,000 funding which enables the app to run for 15 months.
However, Gabriel said the success of the app relies on the responsiveness of the local authority, which has yet to give their commitment.
Ean Yong Hian Wah, the Selangor state executive councillor in charge of Local Government, who was at the launch, said they are monitoring the platform’s usefulness.
"I will direct MBPJ to take action whenever a complaint is filed through the app," he said.
If proven succesful, he said they may adopt the app and use it state-wide.
Acknowledging the council’s ineffiency in services, Ean Yong attributes the problem to a lack of urgency in resolving the issues at MBPJ.
"Those who manage the local authority have the attitude of (working only from) nine to five," he said.
He said this is due to civil servants and senior officials who are not elected.
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