SHAH ALAM, Sept 17 — Selangor’s planned survey of local authorities should be conducted periodically using a consistent methodology to track changes in public satisfaction and identify areas for improvement, said an urban planning academic.
Universiti Putra Malaysia’s (UPM) Urban and Regional Planning/Community Development lecturer Mohammad Mujaheed Hassan said assessments conducted by an independent body can provide a clearer picture of the public’s actual experience.
However, he said the assessment should not focus solely on key performance indicators (KPIs), such as response times or compliance levels.
“Instead, we need to see whether the performance on paper is actually translated into public satisfaction,” he told Media Selangor.
On September 9, state executive councillor for local government Dato’ Ng Suee Lim said the Selangor government plans to conduct a survey next year to assess public satisfaction with local authorities.
He said the study will be carried out by an independent body to strengthen the agencies’ service delivery.
The assessment will take into account differences in the categories and administrative scopes of local authorities. The independent body will determine the methodology, including the preparation of questions, sample selection and appropriate indicators.
Mujaheed said the findings should not be used to rank the performance of local authorities but as a basis for identifying gaps and areas for improvement.
“This survey is not about finding which local authority performs the worst or merely producing a ranking, but identifying service gaps and what needs to be improved.”
He said the findings should be translated into action before a follow-up assessment is conducted after a certain period to determine whether the improvement measures have been effective.
Mujaheed explained that a one-off assessment only provides a snapshot at a particular point in time, whereas periodic surveys allow public satisfaction levels to be tracked from time to time.
“If it is conducted periodically using a consistent methodology, we can see whether public satisfaction is increasing or declining each year.”
He said performance assessments should also consider a balanced perspective, namely the local authority’s ability to carry out its responsibilities and the actual experience of residents receiving its services.
“People are not too concerned about who the president of the local authority is or how often it changes. They want good roads, rubbish to be collected, drains to be maintained, street lights to work and action to be taken when they lodge complaints.
“Leadership is important, but service delivery should not be overly dependent on one individual. The system itself must be strong and able to continue functioning effectively even when there is a change in leadership,” he said.
