KUALA Lumpur cannot claim to be a liveable, inclusive city while its budgetary process remains shrouded in secrecy.
Following concerns raised by StarMetro on Dec 22 and the Kuala Lumpur Residents Action for Sustainable Development Association’s (KLRA+SD) press statement, it is clear that DBKL’s current approach to public spending lacks the accountability required of a modern capital.
By excluding ground-level community insights, the city is failing to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals it purports to champion.
Public engagement appeared to end after the town hall session in June 2025, with no subsequent public disclosure of draft budgets, timelines or explanations of how residents’ feedback is assessed or incorporated.
In fact, city residents have yet to be informed about the contents of the 2026 budget, even though it is already January.
For residents’ associations and community leaders, this reduces participation to a symbolic exercise.
This is not merely a procedural lapse; it is a governance failure that directly affects Kuala Lumpur’s ability to build an inclusive, resilient and sustainable city.
The UN SDGs offer a vital framework here. SDG 11 envisions cities that are inclusive, safe and resilient – yet these outcomes remain out of reach when budgeting is detached from lived realities.
It is the communities themselves who know which pedestrian networks are hazardous, which parks are neglected and where an ageing population requires better access.
When this local expertise is sidelined, “sustainability” is reduced to a hollow slogan.
Furthermore, SDG 16 demands transparent and accountable institutions.
Trust inevitably erodes when residents are barred from seeing how priorities are set, how projects are funded or how difficult trade-offs are weighed.
Post-hoc transparency is simply not enough; accountability must be embedded throughout the entire budget cycle.
At a minimum, DBKL must launch a dedicated, publicly accessible portal to track the budget’s progress, disclosing timelines and draft documents in real time.
By allowing participation to fizzle out before any real decisions are made, Kuala Lumpur is falling far short of its international commitments.
This is where participatory budgeting (PB) offers a clear and globally tested alternative.
As articulated by the Participatory Budgeting Project, PB is a democratic process in which residents directly decide how part of a public budget is spent – giving people real power over real money.
PB is a structured process that typically includes early disclosure of budget parameters, community proposal development, technical review, deliberation, resident voting or prioritisation, and transparent reporting on implementation.
In cities around the world, it has reshaped the relationship between local governments and communities.
PB improves the quality of public spending by aligning it with real needs, strengthens accountability and builds civic capacity by enabling residents to understand constraints, trade-offs and costs.
Crucially, it shifts engagement from one-off consultations to an ongoing cycle of shared decision-making.
PB also directly advances SDG 17, which recognises that sustainable development depends on partnerships between governments and civil society.
It institutionalises these partnerships by creating formal, recurring spaces where communities, officials and technical experts work together – not as adversaries, but as co-creators of public value. It treats residents as partners in city-building.
Malaysia is not starting from zero. Penang’s participatory and gender-responsive budgeting initiatives demonstrate that it can work within our administrative context.
Kuala Lumpur, as the nation’s capital, should be setting the benchmark for transparent and participatory urban governance, not lagging behind smaller cities.
DBKL and the Federal Territories Department (JWP) should commit to piloting PB in Kuala Lumpur, beginning with a clearly defined portion of the city’s annual budget.
At a minimum, this should include early publication of budget timelines and parameters, structured engagement with residents’ associations and civil society and transparent reporting on how public decisions are made and implemented.
Kuala Lumpur’s budget should not merely be announced – it should be co-created.
If the city is serious about meeting its commitments under SDG 11, SDG 16, SDG 17 and the New Urban Agenda, PB must move from aspiration to practice.
Residents are ready to be partners in shaping the city’s future.
It is time for DBKL and JWP to meet them at the table.
Participatory budgeting is not a radical demand. It is a practical, proven pathway toward a more democratic, resilient and sustainable Kuala Lumpur – a City for All.
JOSHUA LOW
Honorary Secretary
KLRA+SD
