By MAYOR SPEAKS
By MOHAMAD ROSLAN SAKIMAN | Mar 10, 2010

Making PJ green, clean and safe

Local governments have a lot on their plate, particularly in responding to public complaints in their areas. StarMetro kicks off a new column today called ‘Mayor Speaks’, which gives an opportunity to mayors and council presidents in the Klang Valley to announce their plans and programmes to improve the living condition of their ratepayers. Today, the mayor of Petaling Jaya has his say.

THE Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) aspires to achieve five-star status for its delivery system this year by hitting more than 90% in the Housing and Local Government Ministry’s Star Rating System.

The council obtained four stars in the 2008 assessment by scoring 81%, landing third among all councils in the country. The next assessment will take place this year.

All 10 departments in the council are looking into ways to improve their services, especially in enhancing the coordination of work among the various departments.

We will assess our strengths and weaknesses, with the focus on driving the workforce to be more proactive rather than reactive, an effort which was given a head start last year with the establishment of the Public Complaints Bureau and the Quick Response Team.

Also, it is high time for us to have an iconic building to be the city’s identity and I hope it can be achieved in tandem with the Urban Regeneration programme.

Personally, I would like to propose to the Malaysian Highway Authority that an elevated highway, running parallel to the Federal Highway, be built. It would bring much-needed relief to users of the highly congested road, and the two-tier highway would be sufficiently distinctive to be a landmark of our city.

Sections 51 and 52, as well as Section 13, which now have many unutilised bungalows and buildings, were converted from industrial to commercial zone as part of the urban regeneration programme to help optimise the use of land. The Special Local Plan for these areas has also been approved by the State Planning Authority.

Of course, we are aware of the problems faced by the people due to the city’s intense development. We will adhere strictly to the planning procedures to monitor each project’s traffic and social impact in order to achieve sustainable development.

The development charge imposed on developers from this year is one of the council’s efforts to monitor development. The move has met with some objections from developers, who complained that the fee was steep, but we will proceed as planned, as the same developers have been paying the charge to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall which has long imposed the condition.

Meanwhile, we will continue to make Petaling Jaya a liveable city — one that is green, clean and safe.

The Safe City Programme, Clean Zone Programme, Urban Greening Programme and Environmental Conservation Programme, among others, will be continued and further enhanced in our quest to make the city a better place to live in.

Traffic is a perpetual problem in the city, and we are looking into ways to enhance our enforcement while pushing for better public transport.

The council is in talks with the Road Transport Department to blacklist traffic offenders by not allowing them to renew their road tax before clearing all outstanding compounds. Two more tow trucks will be bought this year to deal with errant motorists.

Our call for an enhanced public transport system in Petaling Jaya will not stop even while we continue to provide a community bus service. Public transport will be part and parcel of the urban regeneration programme, and we may look into having trams plying our busy business districts.

With a RM260mil budget, we will work hard to improve the quality of life of Petaling Jaya folk. As we progress, we will go all out to ensure that integrity is always upheld by council members.

We hope the people can understand that we always act in accordance with the by-laws. Ultimately, we are here to serve the ratepayers to the best of our ability.