PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has proposed 20 governance improvements to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) after uncovering weaknesses in key areas including Ramadan bazaar management, business licensing contracts and public housing rental collection.
In a statement on Friday (Jan 30), MACC said its Governance Investigation division had presented the recommendations to DBKL following a probe involving five main issues.
"These include the management of creative materials and governance of the Malaysian Statutory Bodies Sports Association Championship (Sukanun)," it said.
MACC added that the recommendations were made after weaknesses were identified in DBKL’s practices, systems and procedures during the investigation, which was carried out under Sections 7(c), (d) and (e) of the MACC Act 2009.
The first issue involved the management of a project to produce broadcast content for DBKL’s radio studio, where weaknesses were found stemming from the absence of a defined approval limit for contributions.
To address this, MACC proposed the establishment of specific limits of authority for the mayor, department heads and top management committees, with clear maximum approval amounts to enhance transparency.
The second issue concerned the management and allocation of Ramadan and Aidilfitri bazaar sites, where the lack of a specific standard operating procedure (SOP), undocumented compound rates and an unsuitable licence cancellation period were identified as contributing factors.
Among the proposed improvements are the development of a comprehensive SOP covering work processes and timeframes, guidelines on compound rates and reductions, as well as a dedicated licence cancellation process for festive bazaars.
MACC also highlighted weaknesses in the monitoring of contracts for the management of various business licences, noting that no monitoring committee had been appointed.
"As a result, improvements to payment procedures and the establishment of a monitoring committee were proposed."
In addition, recommendations were made to strengthen the governance of the 2023 Sukanun, a multi-sport event for staff of statutory bodies, which was organised by DBKL.
Other recommendations included the management of public housing rental collection through the alignment of SOPs, scheduled enforcement and a review of rental rates to ensure more sustainable management.
Governance Investigation head Zulhairy Zaidel presented the recommendations to DBKL’s top management, including the mayor, at a meeting at Menara DBKL on Thursday (Jan 29).
Earlier, MACC deputy chief commissioner (Prevention) Datuk Azmi Kamaruzaman also paid a courtesy visit to the mayor.
DBKL welcomed the governance improvement proposals, with a signing ceremony for the Governance Improvement Report held between the MACC and DBKL during the same event.
