How & where to complain to MBPJ without getting ignored
Complained to & demanded MBPJ for action or compensation but received no reply? Here's my garbage truck story that might save you a lot of trouble.
For over a year, my car was being damaged by the MBPJ (Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya) garbage truck almost every single time it passed through the road where my house is. The waste collectors were told many times to be more careful but they ignored with the "come sue me lah-not like I have anything to lose" attitude. At first, it was just scratches and then small dents and one day, it got to deeper dents and longer scratches from the front to the back of the right side of my vehicle.
Within this one year, I had made several complaints on MBPJ's official website but no action was ever taken nor was there even a response. I tried calling their main phone line to follow up on my complaints but as you all know, it's never easy to get through. Even when I finally got through, their moody operator told me to call the department in charge, Jabatan Kesihatan Persekitaran, and it was their turn to not answer the phone.
When it got to the point where the damages were more severe, I decided that it's time to get off my butt and take drastic measures. First, I went to the MBPJ's Complaint Department to lodge the complaint in person. I had also enquired why they didn't react to my previous complaints lodged online 'cause if they did, I wouldn't be here. But as expected, the answer was "not sure, I dunno". They gave me a copy of my complaint and told me to go to the Jabatan Kesihatan Persekitaran's office to seek for compensation. That's at their other office somewhere else but I didn't mind making the short trip 'cause there was no way I could be any more pissed at that moment. An employee of this Jabatan Kesihatan Persekitaran department I was talking to dared to say that it's completely not their fault, don't blame them for not receiving my past complaints, put the blame of their garbage collection contractor and come back again when I have a police report, photos of the damages and the bill for the repairs. I was surprised that I didn't scream "what the fuck is wrong with the whole of MBPJ?!" when she said all that to me. It's like they don't fucking have a system.
Worrying that I wouldn't get my money back if I paid for the repairs first, I called the insurance company for advice and they informed me that by law, insurance companies cannot assist in accidents between a normal car and a lorry or motorcycle but I could claim from the truck's insurance by myself. First, I would need the registration number of the truck, which I couldn't remember, so I called MBPJ's Jabatan Kesihatan Persekitaran to ask for it and as expected, they don't have it either. After a few days of my persistent followup calls, they said that their contractor don't want to provide the number 'cause they refuse to admit that they damaged my car (thankfully I didn't get my car fixed first). I reminded them that MBPJ is the employer of their contractors and they have the right to insist them to reveal the number for police investigation. And again, their answer was, "not sure, dunno lah, I talk to my boss first, call you tomorrow." And as always, I was the one who had to call.
I had no choice but to seek for help from DAP. They contacted MBPJ for me and even sent them my formal complaint and demand letter directly on my behalf but after 3 weeks, there still wasn't any action or reply and my car was still being damaged by the trash lorry of theirs. DAP then advised me to voice out my issues at this "open session" meeting/event which Adun Y.B. Rajiv Rishyakaran and some MBPJ heads would be present to address issues and to hear the people's complaints and suggestions. Realising that this was my last hope, I had to make time to attend it. Right at the end of the session, I went to the mic and just complained about it all with almost a hundred PJ residents listening as well.
Eventually I was stopped from hogging the mic and was told to settle my car issue with Encik Fauzi, the Head of Jabatan Kesihatan Persekitaran MBPJ. Apparently he didn't receive anything that DAP sent for me so I had to go to his office to submit everything to him directly. Most importantly to him was that I had a police report along with photos of the damages. He called the contractor and kindly told him to settle the issue as soon as possible. On the next day itself, the contractor brought me to an auto repair shop and paid for the repairs beforehand. Their garbage truck has started to honk at parked vehicles that are obstructing the road. My problems were finally solved. The head of MBPJ's complaint department Tunku Nazaruddin admitted that their complaint system is still "not that efficient" and advised everyone to email complaints directly to him at naza@mbpj.gov.my or phone his mobile at 012-284-9146. He also openly promised at the open session that he WILL answer the phone and attend to our emails.
For those of you who're having problems with MBPJ, I sure hope you don't have to go through as much trouble as I did just to get a reaction from them. But if all else was to no avail, you may need to go to this extent. Public complaining, public exposure, public humiliation, whatever you call it. Unfortunately in my case, I had to otherwise I wouldn't had gotten the matter resolved.
