Towards more efficient local govts

SELANGOR local government and tourism committee chairman Datuk Ng Suee Lim is proposing to streamline planning applications and documentation requirements by setting up a Local Government Standardisation Committee.

“This committee will review current procedures and identify what needs to be standardised across all local governments (PBT) in Selangor,” he said.

“Besides identifying problems, the committee will also propose solutions to improve local council services including allowing certain documentation and processes to be done online for convenience,” he added.

Ng said some common complaints were that various PBT having different requirements for planning permission and building plans.

“The PBT are frontline agencies which need to be proactive and efficient to give ratepayers, investors and developers a good first impression of the government,” he said.

He added that the committee would comprise former mayors and council presidents, planning officers, representatives from Housing and Local Government Ministry, the State Economic Planning Unit as well as architects and other authorities involved in planning matters such as the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association.

Ng expects the committee to have between eight and 10 members, and to submit reports on a quarterly basis to his office.

The Sekinchan assemblyman will table a proposal at a state executive council (MMKN) meeting soon and hopes that the committee will be established by April.

He was speaking to reporters after launching a compliance workshop in Shah Alam, which was organised by the Energy Commission and state secretary’s office and attended by representatives of all PBT in the state.

The workshop was aimed at streamlining policies on electricity supply and piped gas systems.

The commission serves as the regulatory agency for the energy sector in peninsular Malaysia while PBT is the approving authorities for development at city and municipality levels.

“We often hear of electrical wire trips or gas leak incidents that are usually because of negligence and non-compliance with legal requirements,” said Ng.

“The workshop is necessary to ensure all PBT in Selangor understand and adopt the Energy Commission’s requirements in their approval process,” he added.

In his speech, Energy Commission chief operating officer Dr Sanjayan Velautham said a total of 1,198 electrical accidents were recorded from 2001 to 2022 in the country, of which 598 were fatal.

“From those statistics, 39% were due to faulty installation or lack of maintenance,” he said.

He noted that Selangor recorded the highest number of electrical accidents.

“A total of 27 piped gas accidents were recorded in the state during the period, mostly at laundry shops, shopping centres, restaurants and residential schemes,” he elaborated.

Sanjayan said proactive measures were necessary to reduce the risk of fires or accidents linked to faulty wiring or installation.