By Aida Aziz
IPOH: Financial constraints and weak monitoring may be among the factors contributing to the allegedly unsatisfactory quality of cleaning work in the city of Ipoh.
This was the view expressed by the Chairman of Ipoh City Watch, Professor Dr. Richard Ng, regarding residents’ dissatisfaction with the cleaning work carried out by appointed contractors.
“Supposedly, when we appoint contractors, the quality and standard of work should improve.
“But unfortunately, I understand that for every task assigned by the Ipoh City Council (MBI) to contractors, there is a corresponding payment.
“There are two reasons I see why the quality of work is currently not good. First, possibly financial constraints, when a task is given but the budget is limited, the work delivered is only proportional to the payment.
“Second, I observe that monitoring is very weak. For example, when contractors cut grass, there are criteria that must be followed.
“They cut the grass short in certain areas and take photos there, but not in other areas. MBI officers should come and monitor to see whether the quality of work is satisfactory or not,” he said.
In this regard, the former MBI councillor suggested that the Mayor of Ipoh should conduct more frequent site visits to personally observe the issues raised by residents.
In addition, he said the MBI complaint system needs to be continuously improved and updated from time to time.
“For example, I visited the Kinta Heights housing area where residents lodged complaints about a leaking pipe. Nearly a month after submitting complaints to the UTC, there was still no repair work done.
“So I called all the residents to come together and made a video, which I sent directly to the Mayor. Immediately, the next day, everything was repaired.
“Why does the Mayor have to be informed before action is taken? Surely every issue does not need to be sent to the Mayor. Officers should be the ones taking action. Why are there no proactive officers conducting patrols to inspect every area?
“I hope the Mayor will question every officer in each zone. I also urge the Mayor to go down to the ground without a scheduled visit and carry out surprise inspections.
“When he was first appointed, he promised to look into issues related to drains, grass, and roads. I hope he will go to the ground and see for himself, not just wait for complaints, especially when complaints themselves are handled slowly,” he added.
He stressed that taxpayers have the right to see systematic and satisfactory work quality from MBI.
