Use proper complaint channels

The writer hopes the local council in his hometown of Semporna, Sabah, will emulate Johor’s efficiency and improve the condition in Kampung Simunul.

Public ought to give government system a chance before turning to alternatives

LAST July, I received a call for help to highlight issues at a people’s housing project (PPR) in Johor.

When I arrived, I saw beautiful, spacious PPR units.

One of the residents’ grouses was untrimmed grass in the housing area, a problem which I thought could have been resolved if the people there just banded together to clean up the area.

I asked whether the residential committee had lodged an official report via the Public Complaints Management System (SisPAA).

I was quite baffled when the residents not only refused to lodge their reports via SisPAA but also said that they preferred to highlight these issues through the mass media and social media.

They reasoned that the government was slow to act and by highlighting their issues that way, the local council would be “shamed” into taking immediate action.

I later discovered that it was not the first time these residents had made such a move.

A year ago, they used the same method to obtain the keys to their units.

Two weeks later, I received another call from a person who told me that children had been barred from entering a stadium for a sports programme.

Their parents immediately took to social media to highlight the issue, complaining about how government agencies were uncooperative.

I found out later that the parents had not paid the fees to use the facilities.

I had contacted the relevant agencies and explained that I was lodging reports on behalf of the respective parties.

The parties involved were quite shocked at how fast the agencies resolved their issues.

Some government agency representatives explained to me that, depending on the complexity of the case, every report sent via SisPAA is usually handled within a day.

Basic issues such as clogged drains, overgrown grass and overflowing trash can be resolved quickly.

I tested this when my neighbour, who was carrying out renovations, could not find a contractor to dispose of the renovation waste.

The matter was solved within a day.

This is a far cry from the days when one needed to write a letter to the authorities and was likely not to receive a response.

Nowadays, everything is online and it takes only a few minutes to provide the necessary information and supporting documents.

Complainants can also get updates on their reports.

Despite this quick response time by authorities, there is a growing trend of people bypassing the system and instead, using social media to tag politicians for the purpose of raising concerns about potholes, damaged amenities or other issues.

This should be seen as an opportunity to update the SisPAA reporting system so that every report will go to a centralised source that assigns the relevant agencies to take action according to jurisdiction.

The system allows a report’s location and images to be viewed within a single column and enables the public to have visibility of the progress on complaint resolution.

Frankly, as someone from Semporna, Sabah, I’m impressed by how fast the Johor government acts on public complaints and hope that the authorities in my hometown can emulate this.