The efficiency of local authorities in providing services in the Kuala Lumpur city: A community perspective

The goal of providing efficient services does figure prominently in the Kuala Lumpur city’s quest to emerge as a world city by 2020. This implies that all areas governed by local authorities (LA) should be capable of providing a conducive environment for the wellbeing of the local public. However, because the territory of the Kuala Lumpur city involves LAs of different statures and status (municipality, city council, district council) the effort to formulate a system of urban services that could satisfy the needs of various segments of the city population proves to be a very challenging one. Questions arise as to whether services provided by the city’s LAs truly meet the efficiency standards conceived by the local public; which services are more efficient than the others?; should only higher order or basic services be provided? This paper analyses findings from a field study which administered questionnaires on 698 members of the local communities in the 13 LAs of the Kuala Lumpur city area. The analysis indicates that the local public’s conception of a city’s efficiency in providing services consists of a rank order starting from the conomic component, social amenities, infrastructures and utilities, designs, image and landscapes, transportation and communication, housing, and commerce. This is then followed by the efficiency of manufacturing and industrial services, tourism and cultural services, governance, environmental and on-line services. The paper concludes that the consideration of such community perspective is of utmost importance in enhancing the efficiency level of a city governance itself.