KUCHING: Michael Kong Feng Nian, Special Assistant to Chong Chieng Jen, has called for local councils in Sarawak to be held accountable for the failures of the MyKiosk initiative, which was intended to support micro-entrepreneurs and boost local commerce.
“Many have openly called for an audit into the MyKiosk project and we welcome any such audit. Transparency and accountability are essential for any public initiative, especially one aimed at improving the rakyat’s economic livelihood,” said Kong.
He clarified that the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) plays only a limited role in the initiative.
“KPKT is only responsible for approving and allocating the funds based on applications submitted by local councils. Everything else from procurement, to construction, to recruitment of tenants falls under the local councils.”
Kong pointed out that under KPKT’s own guidelines, it is the duty of the local councils to manage procurement, execution, and maintenance of the kiosks.
“So when SUPP Miri calls the MyKiosk programme a ‘national embarrassment,’ they are in fact pointing to the failure of Sarawak’s own councils, including MBKS and MCC, which clearly have not fulfilled their obligations,” he added.
He compared Sarawak’s performance to that of Ipoh, where the same programme has seen over 83 percent occupancy among 624 stalls as of April 2025.
“This proves that the programme can work, provided it is executed properly,” he said.
Attributting the core of the issue to poor local governance, Kong noted that many mayors and councillors are appointed based on political loyalty rather than merit.
“This has created a system driven by patronage, not professionalism. Until we reform this, we will keep seeing the same failures,” he stressed.
He called on local councils such as MBKS and MCC to publicly disclose the status of their MyKiosk implementation, explain the reasons behind the low occupancy rates, and present a clear plan for improvement.
By Connie Chieng