KUCHING: On his third day in office, the Minister of Local Government Datuk Dr Sim Kui Hian announced a creation of 525 new posts to enable the local authorities to work better for the public and pledged to better facilitate the councils for greater efficiency.
“One of the things that I discovered when I visited the various councils is that they are not equipped with the facilities that you expect them to have. Just like in a hospital, if you don’t provide it with the same facilities as other hospitals, you can’t expect them to operate at the same level.
“There must be a checklist to make sure all the facilities are there because we want all local councils to operate at the same level so we must provide them with same level of facilities.”
He also pledged to review the laws pertaining to local government that were legislated since the state’s independence in 1963 to ensure they are still relevant.
Dr Sim, whose late father Tan Sri Datuk Amar Sim Kheng Hong’s first ministerial appointment was minister of local government minister, said he would look at all the laws very comprehensively as those laws that were relevant in 1963 might not be relevant today.
“In the olden days, the laws then were the latest but now some of them may be totally outdated,” he said during the handing-over of duty by former minister of local government and community development Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh to him yesterday.
As the frontline service provider of the state government, Dr Sim expected the 23 local authorities under his ministry to go beyond focusing on ‘drains, rubbish and street lights’.
Dr Sim said he would also want to look into other alternatives besides landfills, adding the government should seriously look into adopting environmentally sustainable technologies in terms of waste management.
On illegal gambling, reflexology and cybercafe outlets, he said his ministry needed cooperation from other enforcement agencies to combat the menace.
On government funding, Dr Sim said he could not accept an excuse that the government had no money.
“The Health Ministry has a budget of RM29 billion per year, Education Ministry has RM43 billion budget a year but Sarawak only has between RM5 billion and RM6 billion. So there is no such thing as no money, it is how we fight for it.
“We also need help from other ministries like Health Ministry, Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry and Rural and Regional Ministry. We must have continuous and regular dialogues, not only with the ministers concerned but everyone at all levels because it is the personal touch that makes the difference.”
He believed if there was cooperation between the state and federal ministries and agencies, there would be substantial reforms achieved in the next five years.
Dr Sim also said his ministry had to address the staff promotion issue which was far behind their counterparts at the federal government level. He believed if the staff were well looked after, they would be able to perform better.
“I also expect that this ministry and all local councils to read the Blue Ocean Strategy book. We need to think and deal with things outside the box.”
As to the reserves of local councils, he said there was no point for them to keep so much reserve for the future when the people were now suffering.
“I always believe that if you know how to make money, you don’t have to worry about giving money to your children. You must teach your children how to make money instead of worrying about reserving money for your children.”
Dr Sim said he looked forward to everyone in his ministry and the local councils to step up, step forward and move together as a team but at a very fast pace.
“We are so far behind so this is an opportunity to make a difference so that in years to come when we are no longer in power, we can be proud that we have made a difference when we are in a position to do something.”