Apologise, Nga tells critics who labelled MyKiosk project a white elephant

New Straits Times

3 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming has demanded that critics of the ministry's MyKiosk initiative issue an apology.
He made the call after the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) found no elements of corruption or abuse of power in the project.
"There were allegations that this was a white elephant project. Because of that, the ministry took the initiative to invite the MACC to investigate. When the anti-graft body did not come, we went to them.
"We provided all the necessary documents for the MACC to conduct a thorough investigation. Last week, the MACC issued a statement confirming there was no abuse of power, no criminal elements, and no corruption. So, to those who threw stones, do not now hide your hands.
"On behalf of all the ministry's staff who have worked tirelessly to serve the people, I demand that those who made baseless accusations apologise.
"We believe the sacrifices of civil servants must be respected, not met with unfounded allegations," he said during the question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Nga said this when responding to a question from Onn Abu Bakar (PH–Batu Pahat), who inquired about the implementation statistics of the MyKiosk 2.0 programme.
Meanwhile, Nga said that in 2023, an allocation of RM50 million under the MyKiosk@KPKT programme was used to provide 3,189 kiosk units.
Last year, RM100 million was allocated for MyKiosk 2.0, which involved the construction of 4,054 new kiosk units.
"In line with the ministry's commitment to continuous improvement based on traders' feedback, the design specifications for MyKiosk 2.0 have been modified to be more environmentally sustainable and equipped with better facilities, without any increase in rental rates.
"As of July this year, the occupancy rate for MyKiosk@KPKT (2023) stands at 2,926 units (91.75 per cent), while MyKiosk 2.0 (2024) has reached 3,518 units (86.78 per cent)."
In another development, Nga said that a traffic light system will be implemented to evaluate the performance of local authorities.
"I admit that there have been some shortcomings in implementation, which is why this year we are introducing reforms through a traffic light system. Local councils will be evaluated based on this system.
"If the indicator is green, it means excellent performance and their allocation will be increased. If it is yellow, the allocation will be reviewed. If it is red, the allocation will be cancelled," he said.