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Why MyKiosks project appears to be a flop

 


Every Saturday, while I drive past these five MyKiosks at Persiaran Angsana, Bandar Sri Damansara, I think of the RM150 million allocated by the Ministry of Housing & Local Government for this grand project. 

Although this is supposed to be a noble project to help hawkers, its implementation is obviously the reason why it is successful or it is but a flop. 

The minister, Nga Kor Ming should understand that the implementation tasks can be delegated to the local government, but overall, it is still his responsibilty to ensure that his pet project is successful and achieve its intended objectives.

You simply cannnot delegate a task and expect it  to magically produce the results. 

It is the same with the efforts to rebuild the habitat for wild monkeys beside Jalan Gallagher. The lady who has successfully implemented the idea of restoring the habitat of the wild monkeys so that they return to the trees, has sent his political secretary a call for help to mobilise the respective people to assist with the implementation of the project, but there is not a single response. 

Nga cannot expect a volunteer to pay for the bins and collect the food stuff to temporarily feed the monkeys until the trees have grown and start bearing the fruits. Her rationale is very simple: restore the habitat, and the monkeys would return to their habitat where they can find enough food. No monkeys would want to venture out into the streets if they have a safe haven with plenty of fruits that they can continue to eat.

I would have wished a number of these issues he could have taken up seriously, but since the modus operandi is for it to be raised in parliament, and the minister will answer in parliament, then, I have no choice but to ask if the Opposition would be kind to raise these issues. 


After all, RM150 million allocation for the MyKiosks project is a lot of money. If the hawkers are not using it, we want to know why. 

In one feedback that I received, I was told that the boxy kiosks are hardly suitable for the hawker who rented it becasue she claimed she could not deep fry her banana fritters in the box. In the end, she only used it as a store room. Is the kiosks designed to be a store room when it is occupying public spaces? Nga has to explain. 

We are not talking about return on investments. Nga’s idea of a rental of RM350 a month for a kiosk is attrative,  but what is the take up rate like? Why are so many of the kiosks, for example, are located in places that hardly attract many people? Why are they not placed in children’s play grounds or people’s recreational parks? 

What about placing them in every the recreational park in every housing estate? I have personally requested my council director of landscaping to place one just beside a bus stop and next to the recreational park in my area, and he agreed to request for it. Can Nga make sure that if the director fails to do it, at least, he directs his staff to reach out to the director? 

If Nga wants it to be successful, can he ensure that the local authorities do not restrit the hawkers from selling drinks if they are selling noodles? For a project like this to be successful, the hawkers must at least be able to make enough to justify their rental of the Mykiosks. If the number of people are in the hundreds, it is justitiable to have dedicated kiosks selling only drinks, but not when it is busy for only an hour or two during lunch. Local authorities must work together with the hawkers to choose a suitable spot before installing the kiosks; otherwise, they end up as white elephants. 

I hope by end of this year, I will have some positive things to say about the kiosk project. Meanwhile, Nga has to be humble and accept criticisms but more importantly to engage with people more openly if he wants feedback instead of operating in his own bubble or even eyes looking somewhere else when shaking the hands of people. 

Here are some possible locations I have suggested instead: 

Please put the kiosks in these places: 
1. Lake Gardens
2. ⁠Kepong Metropolitan Park
3. ⁠Tasik Titiwangsa 
4. ⁠Jalan Petaling 
5. ⁠Bukit Bintang 
6. ⁠planetarium 
7. ⁠Changkat Bukit Bintang
8. Zoo Negara, 
9. Batu Caves
10. Templer’s Park

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