FT minister wants KL MPs to monitor contractors

KUALA LUMPUR (July 23): Kuala Lumpur’s lawmakers have been asked by Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad to monitor contractors employed by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) for general cleaning, road sweeping, tree and grass cutting work in their constituencies, The Star reported today.

Khalid said he had briefed KL MPs about providing feedback on the cleaning work carried out in their constituencies.

“We want feedback on their work quality and if they are up to mark. There is no excuse for a bad job, we will take action,” he told the English daily.

Also speaking to The Star, Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai said that with Khalid’s instructions, this would be the first time that KL lawmakers are able to check on DBKL’s budget and point out any excess.

“Previously, we had no way of knowing how much went where because everything was lumped into one category like socioeconomy with no itemisation,” he said.

“Contracts were then given to a specific company which had no expertise whatsoever and once the company received the contract, it would sub-let to another contractor to do the job,” Tan said.

“Bad contractors with poor performance should be blacklisted,” he added.

According to the same report by The Star, DBKL’s landscaping and urban cleanliness department spends RM100 million a year to maintain 14 public parks and hundreds of city parks and playgrounds in the city; and RM160 million a year on waste management.

It was also announced last week that KL’s MPs will take part in a consultative council to bring up issues of public concern to DBKL.

Khalid said the council meetings would be held monthly or bi-monthly basis.

“All this while, elected represen­tatives did not have a position within DBKL. It has always been the case that MPs, because historically they have been from the Opposition, were not involved in any discussion,” said the FT Minister.