New ‘traffic light' performance system: Local councils rated red will face cuts, those rated green get more funds, says housing minister
KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — Housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming has warned local councils that poor performance under the new 'traffic light' grading system will carry consequences, including funding cuts.
According to Harian Metro, Nga said the assessment system, which came into effect earlier this month, is meant to improve public service delivery and promote accountability and transparency across all 156 local authorities nationwide.
'If you fail, I will submit your name to the director-general of public services and that has serious implications,' he said.
'Any local authority rated 'red' will have its funding withdrawn. If it's rated 'yellow', funding will be reduced. But if it's rated 'green', funding will be increased,' he told reporters after an event in Subang Jaya today.
Nga added that mayors or council presidents and secretaries of local authorities rated red would be required to attend counselling and undergo performance improvement training.
The minister said the grading system was designed to ensure that government resources are used effectively, with every ringgit spent justified through return-on-investment and cost-benefit analysis.
Earlier, Nga officiated the prize-giving ceremony for the Seri Kembangan public market design competition.
He said the ministry received 91 submissions from local firms and professional architects.
An expert panel of seven judges, including community representatives, shortlisted the top 10 designs.
'Each shortlisted entry received between RM5,000 and RM50,000 in cash prizes, along with certificates for the best designs,' he said.
Nga added that the winning entry would be appointed as the consultant for the RM12 million market construction project.
'This competition was judged based on a system comprising 90 per cent evaluation by an independent panel of professional jurors and 10 per cent by community representatives, including assemblymen and local councillors,' he said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Annuar Zaini replaces Farhash as 7-Eleven chairman
Annuar Zaini is a board member of Socso and a senior adviser to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission. (Bernama pic) KUALA LUMPUR : 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Bhd has appointed Annuar Zaini, 73, as its new independent and non-executive chairman. He replaces Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, who resigned on May 30, a day after the company's annual general meeting. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, 7-Eleven said Annuar is a seasoned civil servant and corporate figure with over 40 years of experience. He is currently a board member of Socso, chairman of Country Annex Sdn Bhd, MRCB Land Sdn Bhd and UDA Holdings Bhd, and senior advisor of international affairs to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission.
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Rental aid for Putra Heights gas explosion victims extended to next April
The explosion on April 1 sent flames more than 30m high, with temperatures reaching 1,000°C, and left a 9.8m-deep crater at the site. SHAH ALAM : The Selangor government will continue providing rental assistance to victims of the gas pipeline explosion at Putra Heights in Subang Jaya at least until April next year. State housing and culture committee chairman Borhan Aman Shah said the RM2,000 monthly rental assistance will ensure victims have appropriate shelter until their homes are repaired. 'Initially, the state government agreed to provide rental support for six months, but we have decided to extend it for up to a year or more, especially for homes that were completely destroyed, as rebuilding will take time,' he said in a statement today. 'For houses that were partially damaged, assistance will also continue until repairs are fully completed. 'The aid will only be discontinued once the occupants are able to return to their homes.' Borhan said the state government will monitor the progress of the repair to ensure efficient use of funds allocated for the assistance. On April 30, menteri besar Amirudin Shari announced that the Selangor government had allocated RM2.73 million in rental assistance to 455 families affected by the incident, covering six months from April. The Petronas gas pipeline fire on April 1 sent flames more than 30m high, with temperatures reaching 1,000°C. The blaze took nearly eight hours to extinguish and left a 9.8m-deep crater at the site.
Free Malaysia Today
2 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Madani economic reforms earn 50% score from Khairy
The number of people who pay taxes in Malaysia is disproportionately smaller than our peers, said Khairy Jamaluddin. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : Former minister Khairy Jamaluddin has given the Madani government a 50% score for its performance on structural economic reforms since its formation in November 2022. Khairy pointed to three key areas that he believed demanded changes – widening the tax base, rationalising subsidies and pension reforms. He said the unity government has yet to carry out meaningful tax reforms to widen its revenue base, which he added was significantly lower even compared with peers in terms of gross domestic product. 'The number of people that pay taxes in Malaysia is disproportionately smaller than our peers, and that creates a problem for the government because your revenue base is too small. That's why we introduced the GST (goods and services tax),' he said, referring to the tax scheme introduced by the Najib Razak government in 2015. He pointed out that the planned expansion of the sales and service tax has been repeatedly delayed, while maintaining that a consumption tax like the GST was the way to go. (Government figures show that GST raised RM43.8 billion in 2018, while SST for 2024 is estimated at 44.7 billion) On subsidy rationalisation, Khairy said the biggest hurdle was targeting the RON95 petrol subsidies, which cost Putrajaya RM20 billion in 2023. The former Rembau MP said the last major reform needed was pension reforms, which is expected to balloon to around RM30 billion in the next decade. 'And it's going to rise because of the number of civil servants retiring, and life expectancy has also gone up,' he said, adding that the solution was getting rid of pensions for new government hires and shifting to EPF contributions. 'So if out of three big structural reforms, it's one and a half. So it's 50%,' he said in an episode of the Game of Impossible podcast with former minister Idris Jala and his son, Leon. The government is set to implement targeted subsidies for RON95 in the second half of the year, though details have not been released yet. Putrajaya has also announced that new civil servants would no longer get pensions but would contribute to EPF and the Social Security Organisation. Khairy reiterated that these reforms were important to ensure the country had enough funds for public services like health, education, and transport. 'You don't have enough money to make all the changes you want,' he said.
