JUST 122 people responded to Kuala Lumpur City Hall’s (DBKL) citywide survey seeking public input for its 2027 Budget, roughly one respondent for every 17,000 people in a city of an estimated 2.08 million.
The online survey opened on Feb 16 and was due to close on April 30, but DBKL extended the deadline to June 15 after receiving only 90 responses.
Nevertheless, the extra six weeks yielded just 32 more submissions.
Respondents submitted 122 project ideas covering all 11 parliamentary constituencies.
Of those surveyed, 79.5% were from the B40 group and 74.6% were aged between 31 and 59, raising questions over whether the exercise reached a sufficiently broad cross-section of residents, particularly senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
The findings were presented at a DBKL 2027 Budget focus group discussion on Sept 8 held at Institut Latihan Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur in Bandar Tun Razak,
The findings were shared with StarMetro.
Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Fadlun Mak Ujud and several city MPs, including Teresa Kok (Seputeh), Tan Kok Wai (Cheras) and Zahir Hassan (Wangsa Maju), attended the session.
Participants included Federal Territories Residents’ Representative Council (MPPWP) members, selected non-governmental organisations and representatives from residents associations (RAs).
Mohd Zainuddin Amran, a senior officer with the DBKL Commissioner of Buildings Kuala Lumpur Mediation Centre, served as mediator for the session.
Mohd Zainuddin, who is also an MPPWP member, said the focus-group format was more manageable than the town hall held during the previous budget exercise.
He said smaller groups helped keep discussions focused.
However, community representatives questioned how participants were selected and why established RAs and strata representatives were not more widely involved.
Bukit Bandaraya Residents Association adviser Datuk M. Ali said he was surprised not to have been invited.
Describing the public response as negligible, he said DBKL should have publicised the survey more extensively and held an open session at an accessible venue.
“How can people provide informed feedback when everything is kept under wraps?” he asked.
Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) resident Pola Singh said the survey should have reached senior citizens, persons with disabilities and people from different socioeconomic backgrounds.
“I do not believe this survey achieved that.
“The city’s budget is too important for public participation to be treated lightly,” said the former TTDI Residents Association executive committee member.
Razak Mansion Management Corporation chairman Anthony Tan, who learnt about the focus group through social media, said about 60% of residents in his community were aged 60 and above.
“They have much to say about infrastructure and facilities for elderly people.
“I should have been there to represent them,” he said.
Happy Garden and Continental Park Residents Association secretary Evelyne Low, who attended the discussion, said participation appeared to consist mainly of MPPWP representatives, with limited direct representation from RAs.
Meanwhile, survey respondents ranked public housing lifts and traffic-light management as the top service priorities at 86.1%, followed by the Integrated Transport Information System and closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems (see chart).
Infrastructure and facilities made up 47.7% of the 65 project ideas identified from the survey responses.
The feedback will undergo further review before the draft budget is presented to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories), Kuala Lumpur MPs and DBKL Advisory Board members.
The consultation came amid criticism over DBKL’s failure to publicly table its 2026 Budget, a departure from its usual practice of presenting annual spending allocations and priorities.
Stakeholders said a budget exceeding RM3bil demanded greater transparency, public scrutiny and accountability.
Without details of current spending or information on how earlier suggestions were handled, residents lacked the financial baseline needed to provide informed feedback for 2027.
Fadlun could not be reached for comment at press time.
