Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan

Datuk Dr. Tam Weng Wah“Our records show an increase in thenumber of complaints received from5,347 in 2007 to 8,066 in 2008. Thisdoes not necessarily mean that theperformance of government agenciesand departments have deteriorated butrather the public now have confidencethat their grievances, brought aboutthrough the complaints, will be attendedto accordingly by the agencies”hence affecting competitiveness at large. The rule for the service today is that allletters are responded to within three working days. Not all responses are publishedimmediately by the media due to space constraints. To address this, the PublicComplaints Bureau (PCB) will post a copy of the response on the PCB website.Often termed the “postman to complaints”, PCB has redefined its role to lead inresolution of complaints. In keeping pace with change, we have gone “high tech,high touch” by providing “24/7” access through our website (http://www.pcb.gov.my) which allows complainants to submit their complaints “anytime, anywhere”and at their convenience using the i-Aduan complaints management system. Wewill be implementing i-SPAAA (Integrated Public Agencies Complaints MonitoringSystem) for all ministries by year end. This system will also allow the public tocheck the status of their complaints electronically.i-SPAAA allows us to conduct a more holistic analysis of the recurrent complaintsto determine their root causes and propose remedial measures and preventiveactions by the respective agencies. Ministries will also be posting answers tofrequently asked questions on the system to cut back on time taken both forthe complainant and the officials on recurring complaints. Our records show anincrease in the number of complaints received from 5,347 in 2007 to 8,066 in2008. This does not necessarily mean that the performance of government agenciesand departments have deteriorated but rather the public now have confidencethat their grievances, brought about through the complaints, will be attended toaccordingly by the agencies. It also reflects a more open and vocal society, maturingtowards a developed nation. Ultimately, the best way to defining Malaysia, is throughMalaysians taking part in Malaysia.115