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Winds of change in the city?
15/12/2008 NST By Nuradzimmah Daim
With the new mayor already in office, the people of Kuala Lumpur are
expecting changes in the city.
KUALA LUMPUR: The new mayor of the capital city will make not make empty
promises to the 1.6 million people in the city.
For a start, Datuk Ahmad Fuad Ismail has promised to listen to all parties.
Top on his agenda is to meet Pakatan MPs next week to listen to their side
of the story. Next on his itinerary are meetings with various associations
representing residents, the business and the manufacturing sectors.
"We may bring back the meet-the-people session, but we need to have a
mechanism to do it, and meet them in groups," he said at his first press
conference at City Hall yesterday.
Meet-the-people sessions were last held about five years ago.
Fuad's first day at office started at 7.40am with a closed-door meeting with
his 22 department heads. The meeting, which is said to have focused on the
operation and administration of City Hall, ended at 1.30pm.
He then rushed to meet Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Zulhasnan
Rafique. The meeting lasted about one-and-half hours.
Fuad stressed on improving the delivery system.
"We cannot address all the complaints immediately. But I have told the
directors to immediately reply to anyone who complains to us. Let them know
the progress of their complaints," he said.
Asked if he could handle the post which has always come with public
criticism, he said: "What is there to stress about? I think the public wants
the same as what the government wants -- a world-class city."
Fuad, 55 was the Subang Jaya municipal council president about ten years
ago. He is known to be a man of integrity, and one who speaks and acts fast.
He is also known to openly criticise reporters for not knowing their facts.
During his tenure, Subang Jaya residents were a happy lot, They had praised
him for his immediate attention to their problems and issues.
As the top person in City Hall, will he be able to handle the thousands of
staff members and the seemingly endless complaints?
"When I was in Subang Jaya, it was a challenge because I was inexperienced.
After my tenure there as well as in the Local Government and Housing
Ministry, I learned and gained experience.
"The difference between the ministry and City Hall is that the former is
more about policy-making. Here it is about their implementation.
"Operations including licensing, enforcement, valuation are nothing new to
me, but there are issues that I need to discuss with the directors. They
might be good at their jobs but lack direction.
"I agree there are endless complaints. But it could also seem that way
because the people who are happy with City Hall might not be their stories,"
he said.
He was also bombarded with questions on whether here would be a reshuffling
within City Hall.
"I cannot be coming in and changing everything immediately. I have to be
fair (to the staff). Give me one month and I'll get back to you on this."
The press also requested to be allowed to sit in during the monthly Advisory
Board meetings.
"If the press can sit through the entire meeting, why not?. But let me
discuss this with the directors first," he said.
The board meeting has only been open to the board members. Members of
opposition parties had in the past also asked to be allowed to attend the
meetings.
Fuad was appointed by the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd
Sidek Hassan last Friday. This is a departure from the norm as the
announcement is usually made by the FT Minister.
Fuad has been secretary-general of the Housing and Local Government Ministry
since Jan 12, 2006. He was Subang Jaya municipal council president for seven
years and then general manager of the Penang Development Corporation for
almost three years.
He has a master's degree in international relations from the University of
Denver, United States and earlier studied history for his bachelor's degree
at Universiti Malaya. |
