KUALA LUMPUR: In a move to tighten fiscal oversight, Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Fadlun Mak Ujud has announced that he is capping his individual discretionary contributions for urgent community needs at RM3,000.
Under the new protocol, any contribution exceeding this amount must be submitted to a formal committee, which will evaluate the merits of each request and advise the mayor on whether the expenditure is appropriate.
The discretionary fund consists of specific allocations within the annual budget of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
It is intended to provide the mayor with the flexibility to respond rapidly to social welfare cases or emergencies that might otherwise be ineligible for standard aid schemes.
Previously, there was no ceiling on the amount the mayor could personally authorise for such causes.
Fadlun said this was one of three reforms being undertaken by DBKL.
These measures follow a series of proposals from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) designed to bolster governance, enhance transparency, and modernise the city's procedural systems.
“The first step is to ensure that the mayor’s existing command authority is improved,” he said during a press conference at Menara DBKL 1 today (March 3).
This includes providing specific Limits of Authority (LOA) for the Kuala Lumpur mayor in expenditure management.
In addition to the spending cap, further reforms include a shift away from the mayor's unilateral decision-making.
He said future resolutions will be reached collectively through committee consensus, ensuring that significant decisions are made collaboratively.
Furthermore, the DBKL Audit Committee's organisational structure is set to be overhauled to strengthen internal oversight.
“This aims to strengthen good governance practices. Through this new approach, a member of the Kuala Lumpur City Advisory Board (ALP) has been appointed as the chairman of the audit committee, and two other ALP members have been appointed as Permanent Members,” he said.
He said this step aims to increase the level of independence, accountability and transparency in the review and monitoring of DBKL’s finances and operations, thus strengthening the system of checks and balances in the organisation's management.
“The mayor’s powers are not reduced, but the processes will be done according to correct procedure.
Also present at the press conference was Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh.
