Johor Public Complaints Bureau deals with maladministration issues.
Johor Public Complaints Bureau (PCB) has received some “interesting” complaints over the years, including family feuds and marriage troubles.
Johor PCB director Clement Wong Chen Siong said the bureau, set up in 1971 to deal with complaints about the civil service, had received calls from people accusing their spouses of having extramarital affairs.
“Such cases increased during the movement control order period when Malaysians working in Singapore were separated from their families in Johor.
“We can only explain to these callers that family issues are beyond our jurisdiction and refer them to the relevant channels.
“PCB covers only maladministration aspects of government administration (local council, state or Federal governments).
“Other cases we accept include complaints on privatised agencies.
Wong hopes the public will continue to be the eyes and ears of the government.“The bureau does not handle matters under the jurisdiction of the Public Accounts Committee, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Legal Aid Department.
“Matters pertaining to government policies that have been set and civil claims between individuals and companies are also out of our jurisdiction,” he told StarMetro in an interview.
Most of the accepted cases concerned local councils.
Residents complained about the poor condition of public utilities like unkempt parks, damaged roads and faulty streetlights as well as illegal dumping, irregular rubbish collection and wild animals, said Wong.
“Another common issue is border congestion because of the huge number of Johoreans commuting to Singapore.
“This problem is unique to Johor. There are other border crossings in the country but none see as high a volume as the Causeway,” he said.
He added that Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi had been meeting with the relevant authorities to come up with solutions.
Under normal circumstances, PCB aims to resolve a complaint within 15 working days. In more complex cases, the target is within a year of the case being filed.
Wong explained that some cases involving government budgets like roadworks would take a longer time to tackle.
“Last year, 1,597 cases were activated, and out of that number, 875 (58%) were resolved within 15 days.
“As of July 3 this year, PCB activated 912 cases and 478 (71%) of them were resolved in the 15-day frame,” he said.
He urged the people to continue being the eyes and ears of the government to ensure that satisfactory services were provided.
“This requires channelling accurate information including providing photos, videos and specific locations to help us get to the root of an issue quickly.
“We will try our best to find a solution as we strive to deliver excellence to enhance people’s well-being,” he added.
Wong noted that the bureau would usually advise those wanting to file a complaint with PCB to first deal with the authorities concerned.
He said there were times where PCB had to decline a complaint when third parties tried to use the bureau for personal or commercial gain, which could also implicate it in court cases.
There are various platforms to lodge a public complaint; online via the Public Complaints Management System (Sispaa) at pcb.spab.gov.my or the Respons Rakyat mobile app.
Other ways are by calling the Malaysia Government Call Centre at 03-8000 8000 or the Johor PCB office at 07-223 0900 or 07-224 4467.
The Johor PCB office is at level 13, Menara Public Bank, Jalan Wong Ah Fook, Johor Baru.
