By Ling Hui
KUCHING, March 8: The Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government (MPHLG) is a ministry with high visibility, therefore it has recevied the most complaints from the public.
Its minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian said MPHLG bears huge responsibilities because it supervises and monitors three agencies and 24 local authorities.
The three main agencies are the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), Sarawak Sewage Services Department (SDD) and the Sarawak Housing Corporation (HDC).
“Our agencies are on the frontline and unfortunately has the most number of complaints, but not with the most amount of money.
“This is a high-visibility ministry,” said Dr Sim when officiating MPHLG’s Integrity Day held at Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUN) here today.
Meanwhile, touching on the open tender process for development projects in Sarawak, Dr Sim said some have been abusing the system.
He said irresponsible companies bid for projects with very low costs so that they could get a cut of the cake when re-selling the projects to subcontractors.
“So, we need the public to understand that sometimes, we want to be as transparent as possible, but people abuse the process of open tender,” he said.
Among those also present were MPHLG deputy ministers Dato Pengguang Manggil and Michael Tiang as well as deputy permanent secretary Elizabeth Lo. — DayakDaily
