Promise of better DBKL feedback after dialogue

JUST when we thought that the catchphrase "Rakyat di dahulukan" was nothing but a lot of hot air (or ​had ​taken a backseat), Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Utama Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor informed residents of Taman Tun Dr Ismail at a Bicara Rakyat @TTDI dialogue on Friday that the interests of the rakyat come first.
He said: "You the rakyat are our bosses; we, ministers and our staff are your servants." He said that his office and that of his officers are always open for the residents to discuss matters.
To reinforce his statement that he meant business, he provided his phone number (and that of his deputy) to enable residents to contact him directly. What a turnaround!
TTDI residents have been frantically trying to seek an appointment with the FT minister for the past one and half years to discuss issues related to the proposed mega housing project at Taman Rimba Kiara comprising eight blocks of high-end condos, but to no avail.
Now he tells that the TTDI residents can have an immediate meeting with him to discuss the matter.
That was not all. Based on the requests of the residents' association, he agreed that DBKL will share official minutes of meetings held with stakeholders including the one held with TTDI Residents' Association last year to discuss the Taman Rimba Kiara project. (Despite repeated reminders, DBKL has yet to send the minutes to the RA).
In addition, all correspondence sent to DBKL will be duly acknowledged and an official reply will be provided within a month.
Will all these promises be kept? Can this gesture be sustained in the long term? Only time will tell.
While the residents' association feels that this new approach is a huge step forward in terms of collaboration with DBKL, the cynic in us whisper that the election is just round the corner and so we wait with bated breath for the promises to be fulfilled.
Within a standard governance system, there is nothing out of the ordinary about agreeing to our request for a meeting and a copy of the minutes of the meeting. After all, we are taxpayers and their paymasters.
I do hope the chief secretary to the government will make it mandatory for all ministries and government agencies to reply to letters published in the media as well as distribute minutes of meetings with stakeholders to all present at the meeting.
Dr Pola Singh
Exco Member
Taman Tun Residents' Association