The pandemic has taught everyone several lessons in this world; from a baby to an adult, schools to factories, banks to hospitals, taxis to airplanes, from governments to nations.

The fear of death is caressing everyone daily. What was once related to accidents or certain types of ailments has now reversed and become a ticking time bomb with the choking, shocking and devastating Covid-19.

There is a greater role for everyone to play now, including the local authorities (LA’s) or local governments in our country.

There are 155 local authorities (LA’s) or local governments in the country. They are the lowest tier of the government-administered bodies under the states and federal territories, which in turn are beneath the federal government.

Local governments are generally under the exclusive purview of the state governments as provided in the Constitution of Malaysia, except for local governments in the federal territories.

The federal Ministry of Housing and Local Government plays a role in coordinating and standardizing the practices of local governments across the country.

The LA’s have the power to collect assessment tax, create laws and rules in the form of by-laws and grant licenses and permits for any trade in its area of jurisdiction, in addition to providing basic amenities, collecting and managing waste and garbage as well as planning and developing the area within its borders.

The LA’s must evolve with the changing environment.

Shopping, eating, logistics, work, schools, weddings, religious practices, banking, sports and even the movement of people have been contained or controlled.

The LA’s must review their approaches towards their taxpayers and make drastic changes to their current practices and methods.

The business sector is badly affected. Hawkers, markets, night markets or morning markets are all badly hit. The current practice of issuing licenses for business and compounds when they fail to comply with guidelines is obsolete.

The LA’s must play a pandemic-friendly role – reduce the business licence rates; designate proper locations for traders to set up their stalls; build more hawker centers that encourage and provide friendly and hygienic conditions.

The sundry shops, supermarkets and all the traders who trade within housing areas must be allowed to display their goods along the footpaths outside their respective premises. This is to help boost their sales after the long lockdown lull.

Set a time frame for this move, e.g. six months, after which the LA’s can issue summonses to them if they cross the deadline.

Also, the goods must be displayed neatly and in an orderly fashion. Issue the sellers with compounds should they fail to comply with the provided guidelines.

Summonses and compounds aside, the LA’s must support and help these traders boost their sales in order to make up for their big losses during the pandemic lockdown.

Likewise, restaurants and food outlets also need encouragement to recoup their long-lost revenues; allow them to extend their business hours and to place extra tables and chairs in front of their outlets to welcome more customers, thus increase their income.

Again, the LA’s can provide a time frame and clear guidelines for this situation.

Provide more opportunities for the setting up of new businesses such as logistics, food preparations, delivery, locksmiths, cobblers, motorcycle repairs workshops, florists, packing, barbers. Encourage such moves by informing and offering aid to the respective local potential small traders to venture into new business; the LA’s can even provide a list of new businesses that can be launched with the LA’s full support.

The local authorities should also focus on the B20 and B40 residents.

The LA’s must spearhead the initiatives of the NGO’s and individual donors by first identifying the target groups affected by the pandemic and then arranging the assistance and support needed for them on a sustainable basis.

Today, there is no one agency coordinating the support for the B20 and B40 groups, especially in the local areas.

With the LA’s emergence to assist the B20 and B40 basically by coordinating and arranging, this will truly help the federal and state governments in truly reaching out to the poor and needy.

LA’s must speedily come up with measures to help especially those families who were affected by the pandemics.

There were cases where families could not even afford the funeral expenses of a loved one who had fallen victim to Covid-19.

The LA’s, together with local funeral parlors and undertakers, can offer aid and support to a worthy cause like this during the current pandemic.

Such issues should be given fair and equal support, regardless of race and religion, as Muslims and non-Muslims alike are diligently paying their assessment tax to the LA’s.

The recent case in Melaka where there is no gazetted place to conduct last rites or prayers for Hindus along the coastline is sheer ignorance and ignominious on the part of the Melaka government and especially the Melaka Town Council.

These are issues in which the LA’s must work cohesively with the people with no preference or bias to ethnicity or beliefs.

Another prevalent issue among all the urban LA’ s and city councils is the setting up of guardhouses and security systems for residents and their homes. This has become a permanent fixture among urban dwellers for the past 20 years since the police have failed to provide the basic form of security to most residential areas.

This method of private security has quadrupled in most of the housing estates to date. For instance, in my township, my neighbors and I pay close to RM3 million annually to the security companies for their services. The LA’s can assist the residents by providing guardhouses with proper layouts and toilet facilities for the guards.

Also, the LA’s can offer rebates on electricity and water usage for these guardhouses. This will assist the residents and further enhance the working condition of the foreign guards who work around the clock, provide them with proper toilet facility and decent shelter from heat, rain and the cold morning dew.

The LA’s must come out of their comfort zones and study this security issues in a holistic manner; come up with appropriate regulations to enhance the working conditions for guards and improve the well-being of the residents.

Recently, Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ) ordered the demolition of security booths that had not been constructed as per the proper guidelines. This step by the LA may be good, but why has it taken them 20 years to mull over this issue?

The LA should meet with the residents and agree on the appropriate structure and guidelines for better-looking and durable guardhouses.

The LA’s must also work more intimately with those physically challenged and the old folks.

Rather than spending millions on erecting buildings like Menara MBPJ, Menara DBKL and highrise/monumental office buildings for the local authorities and town councils, they should build more special needs schools, i.e. autism centers, handicapped school, and more state-run retirement or old folks’ homes.

The LA’s must move away from these brick and mortar which serve little or no purpose for taxpayers, and build more useful and pragmatic homes for the needy, the old and special children.

I was made to understand that Klang General Hospital needs more ambulances to transfer Covid-19 patients to other hospitals; the Majlis Bandaraya Klang (MBK) can utilize its RM30 million savings to support this worthy cause. The ill-stricken Klang dwellers must not be deprived of this basic facility for their greater well-being.

The third estate of every government is the local government or the local authorities. If this estate is vigilant, proactive and continue to serve in a most professional and dedicated manner, the ruling government will surely win accolades that will be translated as votes.

The poor performance of the local authorities will also mean the government will tumble and suffer at the ballot boxes.

We need new dynamics and leadership at all the LA’s so as to ensure that it is not merely the potholes, poor waste collection, floods, lack of street lights, blocked drains or uncut grass which are the concerns of the people. The people need new thoughts, deeds and action plans on the ground in view of the pandemics and the coming new era.

(Ravindran Raman Kutty is an active social worker.)