PETALING JAYA, Dec 3 — The Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) has been urged to review the distribution of councillor zones to ensure fairer workload and improve service delivery.
Zone 24 councillor Farhan Shah Ridzuan said the current distribution does not reflect actual workloads, as there are significant differences in population size, area size, and land use between the different zones.
“For instance, the population of Zone 1 is almost 15 times that of Zone 16, while Zone 24 is over four times larger than Zone 10’s,” he said in a statement today.
Zone 1 (Damansara Perdana, Bandar Sri Damansara and Damansara Damai) has a population of 149,079, while Zone 16 (Sections 18, 1 and 1A) has only 9,700 residents.
Meanwhile, Zone 24 (PJS 5, PJS 6, PJS 8 and PJS 10) has 41,153 residents, compared with Zone 16 (Sections 16 and 17), which has 9,939 residents.
Farhan Shah said these gaps impact councillors’ ability to perform their duties, especially in terms of work in the field, response rate to complaints, and infrastructure maintenance.
He added that areas like Zone 24 face the added challenge of having some of the most densely populated communities in Petaling Jaya, meaning allocations have to be divided among more recipients.
In view of this, Farhan Shah urged the zoning review to consider five factors — population density, geographical size, land use composition, the number of People’s Residential Programme (PRR) projects, and workforce needs based on workload.
He believes the move would not only ensure fairer administration, but also allow councillors to better focus on their duties based on the actual needs of their respective zones.
“I am confident this review will lead to a more equitable and efficient distribution of administrative responsibilities, ensuring every community in Petaling Jaya receives proper attention and benefits from more responsive and comprehensive services,” Farhan Shah said.
