Enhance Service Delivery, Expedite Project Implementation, Nga Tells Local Authorities

KUALA LUMPUR, June 25 (Bernama) -- All 156 local authorities (PBT) nationwide have been urged to enhance service delivery and speed up the implementation of people-centric development projects to create a more investor-friendly climate.

Housing and Local Government Minister (KPKT) Nga Kor Ming really means business as he said this step is important to improve the ease of doing business, to stimulate the country's economic growth and increasing Malaysia's global competitiveness.

He welcomed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's recent call to address longstanding project delays and bureaucratic red tape that have persisted since the 1980s, stressing that this must not persist.

“The MADANI Government is committed to strengthening economic growth through high-quality public service, especially through speedy approval and implementation, to create an investor-friendly environment.

“Now, Malaysia has become a rapidly developing country in the world with a jump of 11 spots from 34th to 23rd in the World Competitiveness Ranking. Therefore, all local authorities need to move quickly because time is of the essence,” he said in a statement today.

Following that, Loke said KPKT has introduced a performance assessment system based on a ‘traffic light’ rating, as a consideration for the approval of allocations which involves three evaluation components, namely procurement efficiency and compliance (30 per cent); schedule of project's progress and adherence to technical specifications (40 per cent); and timeliness in submitting complete documents for claims and fund disbursement (30 per cent.

“Based on these 'traffic light ranking’, PBTs are categorised as Green for excellent performance with increased funding; Yellow for moderate performance with funding to be reassessed; and Red for poor performance with funding to be cut or cancelled,” he said.

Nga said the ministry has also set the maximum approval times for a development project based on the scale of the project, namely the approval period for small-scale projects is set at 14 days and up to 60 days for medium-scale projects.

“For large-scale projects, the maximum approval period is 120 days, including the open tender process. This ruling is to ensure that project approvals can be carried out more quickly and systematically according to the needs of each scale,” he added.

-- BERNAMA