Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1.1 Introduction The quality of a product or services can be measured by customer satisfaction is based on the quality of goods and services purchased and used. The perceived quality of a service should have a direct effect on satisfaction. Term of satisfaction can be the tool of a customer’s quality experience with a product or service in psychological approach. This quality experience consists of primary components which are the degree to which a product or service provides key customer requirements (customization), and how reliably these requirements are delivered (reliability) (Evans, 1997; Montalvo, 2009). In rapid development nowadays, customers do not only demand the efficiency, effective, economy and transparency in service delivery but they also want public agencies to be more responsive to the users as well as consumers of public services (Drewry, 2005). The close relationship between government and civil society leads democratic practices and facilitates better provision of public services have shown in several studies ( Jamil et al. 2007). Citizens are often sceptical towards the public sector when asked in general and abstract terms, but relatively satisfied with more specific services when demands and needs are well received by them (Christensen and Lægreid 2005). The questions ‘do people’s level of trust is same for all kinds of public institutions? give challenges to government’s respond due to the level of serving people is different each other. With respond to this question, it can be said that citizens trust varies extensively from one public institution to another; it differs according to the type of functions they have to perform and what should be measured in different approach. To improve with greater experience of the service, customer expectations provide an anchor that is adjusted or updated in the light of a customer’s more recently acquired knowledge or consumption experience should be positively correlated to perceived quality, because customer’s ability to predict quality is tall with purchased and used terms. The customer experience, as well as with factors such as the level of observation, the nature of the information and environmental changes should be positive significant with the size of prediction relationship. In reality, service gaps arise when customer perceptions differ from expectations and result of action. The customer expectations are not being met in negative gap while a positive gap implies that customer expectations are being exceeded. The 1 perceived quality of the service will occur when the larger the gap, the greater the disparity between customer expectations. In order to have citizens trust in public institutions, official behaviour and their way of dealing could play an important role. Public institutions should be in the right track in serve to the citizens back due to stewardship concept as government servant. Citizens always asked their demands and necessity and if they are satisfied with their local official’s performance, they may express greater support for the system. However, if local institutions are unable to satisfy their needs, citizens may not only express their support with local governments until the grass-root. At the same time, they may also be increasingly dissatisfied with the way local authorities done in their service delivery works in their boundary (Montalvo 2009). 1.2 Overview Many countries in Asia have experienced rapid development in economic, social and politics growth and led to a rapid rise in their urban populations over the past 20 years. However, the quality of life of an average urban resident remains low even there a significant increase in national wealth and standard cost of living in urban area The commons problems that always occurred in local services are squalor, slums, traffic congestion, flesh flood, illegal dumping and shortages of water and power characterize urban centres in Asia. While the national governments pursue the goals of economic development, it is generally left to local governments to manage rapidly growing urban areas and provide basic services for their residents until the grass-root. Local governments have to meet the challenges of urban growth in partnerships with other stakeholders (internal and external) due to the limited resources and capacities of urban local governments. Regardless to many constraints in getting allocation and grant by upper level, sometimes local governments failed to manage its service delivery in good manner. As a result, the activity of urban management has evolved from its narrow meaning of the functioning of municipal government to the broader theme of focus groups among municipal manpower, Non- Governmental Organizations (NGO’s), and households. Strong political considerations in whose make the vital decisions for the council is politically accountable to the electorate in municipal council is deliberative whose members are elected on none elected member indirectly. In addition, this local council is legally instituted through 2 With reliable performance data in running their business. shortage. Performance in multidimensional concept which is included the measurement depending on its variety of factors (Fitzgerald & moon. knowledge performance approaches and indicators should be followed accordingly (Annelise Venter et al. Effective performance management requires the decisions from the fact-based. It is because public can inquiry the local council of their closeness to the people they serve. interest and pressure groups. lack of products and create a better municipality facilities to deliver efficiently. 2007). business community. It could be argued that the performance of the lack of municipalities is more visible and can’t hide to open public. the media. Performance management in municipalities become important tool because it allows the upper level down to lower level to go beyond a zero tolerance of malpractice. its power. 1996). objective political and administrative decision making process. This close relationship open ups the actual extent of service delivery because people can visibly see waste management being conducted in daily activities. In public sector. 2007). community leader and politicians contributes to the performance of municipal in constantly and continuously interrelated. and multifunction’s. water supplies being provided and electricity being connected. and taxpayers as well as can judge their municipality’s achievements and decide whether they are getting an acceptable return on their rates and taxes. The legitimacy of the political structure and executive departments of municipalities could be in jeopardy if people believe that municipalities do not provide the level of and standard of services as they expect and hope. The several stakeholders such as households. A municipality council is differing than other local authority due to its political structures. its administration community.its elected members or not to administer the municipality as an executive authority in collaboration with local community. The functions of them accordance with political statutory and other relationships among its political structures and has a legal personality (Annelise Venter et al. Other authors such as Macpherson (2001) 3 . there is a vital action in developing performance management as develop in private due to it’s primarily a tool for improving service delivery. municipals councils can measure the effects under their service delivery efforts. inefficiency. economically and effectively on its promises to the citizens. By improving the levels of performance of municipality. such as the general welfare of a community. customer satisfaction and economic contributions for entire (Rogers. responsiveness and democratic outcomes. Municipalities are required to address a wide range of daily activities. The appraisal of people’s performance sometimes is mistakenly regarded. economy as well social. working conditions and other aspects that could have either positive or negative impact on municipal performance. It is providing the strongest linkage to the strategic goals of the institution. Matters are complicated to address due to no single dimension of performance that is projected in the public sector. al (2006) reviews the dimensions of performance in the context of the public sector and divide into five conceptual categories which are outputs. These quantitative aspects can be rather complex and intangible.and Mwita (2000) states that performance should be determined as the outcomes of works process and must be in lined with goal and objective. business community and hence can make performance improvement and productivity measurement extremely in different manners (Wright 1994 & Curtis 1999). and different stakeholders may have widely different perception of success and failure (Carter et. environmental constraints. al. This means. Some of the factors that could affect include lack of responsive and experience among staff. Municipal performance is not a simple task to measure since various quantitative methods and unquantifiable variable have to take into consideration. 2004). To ensure that quality improvement in place. Byne at. 1995). some of which may be in unsettled disputes. 4 . low quality of municipality’s leadership and municipal institutional factors (Annelise Venter et al. a performance orientation is required that should become a way of looking the entire municipal context. 1993). institutional performance is general concepts and refers to municipal performance in particular are multifaceted because they are influenced by various issues and factors from politics. Groote (2002) explains that the terms ‘performance management’ and ‘performance appraisal’ are sometimes use interchangeably. Performance management can be regarded as an umbrella term for the tool and method of municipal management in municipal council. efficiency. resource management. Wider factors could influence performance level in municipalities even differs each other because a compressive system performance measurement and models such as Balanced Score Card and Service Quality (SERVQUAL) can be implemented (Palmer. 2007). effectiveness. they have to look at variables such as municipal instructional structures and systems. As already indicated. the level demands for a particular municipal service or the effect of certain policy programmes may only be measured after weeks or couple months. al (2006) are about concept of accountability. Democratic outcomes as the fifth dimension according to Boyne et. they have to concern on various factors in measuring the satisfaction from local people. Poor performance may arise out of. The last two dimensions could be regarded as more easily quantifiable.Outputs at the first dimension refer to the quantity and quality of services provided by municipalities such as water provisioning. For example. the more responsive municipalities are seen to be. it is poor performance in particular that needs to be improved. In other hand. the levels of community satisfaction. 5 . probity and participatory. housing matters and sewage systems. The realization of outcomes or goals must define in response to municipal policy directly in achieving outputs (Parasuraman. Furthermore. While performance by municipalities in general even good performance must be constantly improved to meet the needs of stakeholders and improve their quality of life. Local business. In order to do this. 1988).g cost per premise constructed) and relative concept that goes accordingly with productivity. efficiency as second dimension is connected with cost per unit of outputs (e. The responsiveness dimension of performance is more complicated since it’s involving the perceptions of recipients of services which are subjective to measure. The higher the level of satisfaction with services received. it is important that causal and contributory reasons for poor municipal performance can be analyzed. i) Poor systems and processes ii) Inappropriate institutional structure iii) Lack of skills and capacity iv) Absence of appropriate strategies and v) Inappropriate institutional culture The core business will improve in municipalities as long as they received on constant feedback from recipients of services and service culture can be created through the establishment of local partnership (e. This is may be the most difficult dimension to measure since desired outcomes may only be analyze after period of time.g public-private partnerships). The effectiveness dimension refers to the achievement of objective specified per service delivery output to target groups. i) Transparency An institution (such as municipal) can communicate the services and products it supplies. and within the allocated budgetary funds constantly approved by the council of a municipality. 6 . efficiency and economy of processes and how various core business activities contribute to the institution’s performance. providing information about specific services. According to Osborne and Gaebler (1992). In this way. identifying service gaps or conducting customer satisfaction surveys. responsiveness is created and public trust in the municipality will be improved indirectly when take all consequences. Transparency may then result in various forms of rationalization and logical decisions. municipality’s service delivery involves the visible products and reliable provision of goods and services to the community. These functions should lead to positive outcome which is both for the institution as a whole and the people who staff it. common questions could be asked about the effectiveness. This outcome simply depends on too many factors and stakeholders. Furthermore. This is particularly the outcome of the municipality’s activities of the final affect envisaged. In spite of this difficulty. as well as the cost involved through performance measurement. In this term. The focus groups including communities should be call upon in setting the indicators and municipalities must develop methods to report back to communities on what should be performed and how they coop with it. Its effect may be too long to carry out meaningful analysis due to many parties involve in decision making. a municipality’s performance is difficult to measure and subjective to find the best tool to deal with. To establish that in reality public policy makers in municipal should ensure that all systems that support the implementation of the budget in service delivery are effectively in line.community-based or organizations or NGO’s for example may assist with the establishment of a customer front desk. and De Buijn (2002). As already describes. these outcomes including. performance management can be performed in a number of functions. This needs to be conducted in accordance with integrated structural plan and strategic plan. By involving communities in daily activities in developing municipal Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) increases the accountability of the municipality. According to De Buijn (2002). ultimately should lead directly to better citizen satisfaction. Municipal councils should asses the economy. is presented clearly. learn through improved system. efficiency and effectiveness of its operations. Measures may be applied to municipal services as a whole or to the processes involving in delivery particular services. the means of service delivery as comply with an accountability to the public. A methodology for evaluating local government performance in municipal services. best way to communicate. Quality has become a vital factor for the development of municipal services and an important method for better customer satisfaction. iv) Incentives for increased output Performance measurement should reward increased and improved output. iii) Learning Performance measurement is a best tool to learn in organizational behavior on continuous basis. municipal councils are able to project that rates and taxes are being directed to priority areas. 7 . A few models such as Balanced Score Card and SERVQUAL always explain the significant between quality dimensions and satisfaction in respect of improving the relationship between public administration agencies and citizens. best leadership. learn from mistakes. there seems to be directing significant between the introduction of performance measurement system and rise in an institutional output. Well or not a municipal deliver is depending on its constitutional mandate and obligations and by looking at performance measurement exercised at municipal level. Research conducted with citizens are the basis for the series of public policy actions that are aimed at improving administration service quality. processes and environmental changes.ii) Accountability Through performance reviews. in line with the council’s development planning in excising concept of accountability. The transparency created may teach an institution what does it well and where some room and space can be improve. which. based on quality and satisfaction dimensions. deal with stress and pressure. Usually municipal performance targets are included in annual reports. This enables managers to exercise internal marketing for understanding employee requirements. Stershic (1990) recognized that “employees are the critical link in delivering service quality and customer satisfaction”. In the context of this study. And for ‘universal’ services such as recycling and street cleaning. the employees within the organization are equally important towards delivering the service quality. assurance and empathy. and how they affect their area as citizens. assurance and empathy) are most important in exceeding expectations in level of customer’s satisfaction (Mori. thus. followed by responsiveness.Service quality can be defined as a judgment concerning overall excellence or superiority service while customer satisfaction is defined as a judgment whether a particular product or service provided is able to achieve customer requirement (Schneider and White. studies have shown that reliability is the most important dimension. all these relationships take place within the context of democratic local accountability. central government or even council members. Moreover. with referring to Malaysian local authorities (LAs). responsiveness. after all. The factors are distinguished by their influence’s level on expectations-reliability. public. the experts on what it feels like to use a service. Parasuraman. which are: tangibles. i. developed with the service industries in mind. They face pressure. assurance and empathy and tangibles. Customer satisfaction can show that what go wrong are the little things. Customers are. it cannot pick and choose the most profitable. From the staff attitude to the right information. where people feel as if they have not been treated with care. 2004). 2004).e. internal customers. 2002. Keys of customer satisfaction are the factors which is influencing people’s levels of satisfaction. the study of internal customer satisfaction must not be overlooked. 2002). Nevertheless. A local council serves all the people living in its area. a focus on customer satisfaction helps to get things right. Some people are direct customers of services such as schools or libraries. everyone is a customer. Therefore. others have a wider interest in public services. Although other researchers rarely focus on them. “service provider” refers to management staff including employees of LAs which involves day-to-day tasks as implementers. In general. Process factors (responsiveness. they are able to meet the needs of the customers. 8 . interference and challenges by many parties such as politicians. where people are voters as well as consumers (Putnam. reliability. One of the most widely reported measures of customer satisfaction is the SERVQUAL set of service dimensions. Stershic stresses that obtaining and understanding the employee perspective is essential in managing customer satisfaction. 9 . the local government has undergone a series of changes especially. community building. Community Leaders and Local Authority staff can be a powerful way of building diversity into strategic planning from the start (Center for Policy Research. Municipal services or city services refer to basic services that residents of a city expect the city government to provide in exchange for the taxes which citizens pay. the evidence is clear that staff feel more motivated where they work for an organisation with a strong customer focus. 2002). citizens are looking forward to have improvement in public administration.. In other words. schools. Basic city services may include sewer and refuse. A more sophisticated approach to customer satisfaction can help target different groups. water. the central government is under greater pressure today than in the past to shift some of its power to local units of selfgovernance that can be a workshop for citizen participation. To meet the needs of everyone. “By. social mobilization. interpret and satisfy more precisely citizens‟ needs and demands for public goods and services” (Evans 1997. in their role and responsibilities as democratic institutions. customer segmentation identifies key groups of service users such as NonGovernmental Organizations (NGO’s). rather than being adaptable to different needs. it is easy to end up focusing on the average customer. Community Leaders and Local Authority staff can be a powerful way of building diversity into strategic planning from the start (Center for Policy Research.bringing the government closer to the people.improving services in a cost-effective way. 2002). political and social development (Dahal et al.. It has expanded the horizon of local governance system as a whole and emphasized the need of effectiveness and efficiency in service delivery mechanisms. 2002). conflict resolution and economic. public officials are expected to have a greater ability to recognize. streets. With the implication of these kinds of democratic decentralization reforms. leadership development. In turn. food inspection and other health department issues and transportation and in abroad local matters as well as the provision of a service such as waste disposal and cleanliness. In this matter. Over the last couple decades.. Customer segmentation identifies key groups of service users such as Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO’s).. the Households. the Households. Tendler 1997. Montero and Samuels 2004 & Montalvo 2009). The first local government legislation introduced were regulations issued under the East India Company’s Charter and these were followed by the Indian Legislation Act and the Municipal Rates Act in 1848 to establish municipal committees in the areas of Penang. The basis for the modern system of local government in Malaysia (at that time Malaya) was introduced by the British in 1801 when a ‘Committee of Assessors’ was set up at Penang and charged with the responsibility of planning and implementing urban development. Malaysia. Some of the critical services operated by UK local authorities have been privatised in Malaysia. only relevant to a smaller local taxpaying constituency as compared to the United Kingdom and this coupled with low government grants (and even an intention longer term to phase out federal government grants) are thus lower on the scale of priorities for both Federal and State government.1. receive a higher level of government grant in support of their services in comparison to Malaysian local authorities (Phang. The functions not only include mandatory functions but discretionary functions as well. 1980). on the other hand. also. from the point of view of local taxpayers. inherited a British legacy in terms of local government objectives and style and has been influenced deeply by the British precedent (Norris. local authorities in Malaysia have been given wide powers within the Local Government Act of 1976. such as refuse collection and disposal and are totally outside local authority control.3 Experiences of develop and developing countries The UK has a long and well established system of local government evolving from the ancient boroughs through the establishment of the modern municipal corporations in 1835 and various special purpose boards from the 1850s. In 1897. 1970). After restructuring of local government due to report of Royal Commission of Inquiry in 1967. In contrast. 1985). Local authorities in the UK provide and manage major service in their areas and therefore need to account for a significant use of resources. Seremban Municipal Council was established as the Health Board by only providing basic amenities to Seremban dwellers as well as the establishment of Sanitary Board in Kelantan and Sabah running with the same functions. Local authority accounts in Malaysia are thus. local authorities in Malaysia only provide smaller scale activities or service less vital to the wide body of the citizenship if compared to the UK counterpart. UK local authorities. Malacca and Singapore (also known as the United Settlement) ( Nahappan Report. The mandatory functions include all critical 10 . On this basis local government is seen as the agent of central government. the authority to undertake public activities. municipal services. Political participation has been maintained through the strong community identity underpinning commune local government. local government has been seen as rational from an administrative point of view as it allows for the efficient provision of public services at the point of service need under the direction of the centre. street lighting and activities pertaining to public health. and non representative bodies. Although there are special-purpose local government bodies (e. Britain's leaning towards the utilitarian administrative efficiency purpose of local government is reflected in the fact that even its lowest-tier authorities may have bigger populations than some other countries' county/province level authorities (Phang. First.. have no independent governing 11 .functions such as refuse collection. Local government's role in the political system has been considered primarily in terms of its relationship with central government. if elected locally. which are either appointed from above or. 1995). more important are those that carry out a broad range of public activities within a defined area and population. and the basis upon which services could be provided according to local needs. France may be taken to typify the stress on both bases for the development of local government. the ability to enter into contracts. Areas of local government authority usually include public schools. housing and commercial activities. the right to sue and be sued. which are elected locally and have decision-making authority. An important distinction among types of local government is that between representative bodies. relationships with the centre have been based on the partnership of free democratic institutions. Secondly. Observers from a liberal democratic standpoint have stressed two bases upon which such relationships have been formulated since the nineteenth century. and a strong relationship between the operations of local government and the interests of the state has been maintained through the office of departmental prefect. local highways. Almost all such local government bodies share certain characteristics: a continuing organization. Hence. recreational parks. and the ability to collect taxes and determine a budget. school boards in the United States). Discretionary functions include all development functions such as providing amenities. local government has been considered important to the encouragement of political education and participation.g. and some aspects of social welfare and public order. including the United States. increasingly reliant on state and federal funding to carry out their expected duties. although it has retained more authority in rural than in urban areas. in 1986. with wide authority to overrule local councils and supervise local expenditures. while the powers of others were restricted. The British system of local government. In both rural and urban areas the local government's relationship to the state is a complex one of shared authority and carefully defined areas of legal competence. provides the channel of centralization. The prefect.authority. codified by Napoleon I. where incorporated municipalities have most of the local power. while fearful of losing their traditional degree of local control. Local governments are pulled two ways. 1997) were in the structure of local government. Despite differences among states. Variants of this system are found throughout Europe and in former French colonies. The “first wave” reforms (Gerritsen and Osborn. instead of a strong executive. A special feature of the British system is its use of an extensive committee system. The county remains the usual political subdivision. the system stresses local government autonomy through elected councils on the county and sub county levels. The French system is among the most non representative. 12 . while hastening government reform. funding. being both the chief executive of the department and the representative of the central bureaucracy. local governments of the United States follow the general principles of the British system. which has a locally elected mayor and municipal council. for supervising the administration of public services. forms of participation. Largely reformed in the 19th century and extensively restructured in the 1970s. reaching from the central government's ministry of the interior through the centrally appointed prefect of the department to the municipality. those of France and Great Britain have served as models for much of the rest of the world. This system was marked by less central government interference and greater local budgetary authority than in other systems. It stresses clear lines of authority. However. except that a strong executive is common. Australian local government has been undergoing extensive and virtually continuous reform for over 25 years. is the most representative of the major types. which has been the model for most of that country's former colonies. Its basic structure. While most countries have complex systems of local government. six major county governments were abolished by Parliament. powers and responsibilities. developed out of the need of revolutionary France to curtail the power of local notables. such as education. electricity and water are the responsibility of states and territories. redundant and even unnecessary. in utilities such as water and electricity. Roads and Rubbish. The principal activities of municipalities and local governments in Australia are to provide community infrastructure (roads. many of which have been delivered by state government organizations. State (or Territory) Government and Local Government. drainage. There is diversity between the states in these arrangements.and the occupational structure and workforce management. police services. aged and community services. central Government grants were reduced from 20 per cent of their total funds 13 . public and environmental health and human services (broadly defined). etc.Rates. as a general rule.). most of the “major” services delivered by local government in other parts of the world. Their financial independence increased significantly between 1986 and 1995. They are caricatured as being concerned only with the 'three Rs' . ii) Services provided by municipalities and local government institutions which in some states or areas of states may have included utilities but which for the most part are in community infrastructure. each state determines whether specific services are delivered either by state or local government organizations or by both. In New Zealand. although LGAs that encompass large cities such as Brisbane and Gold Coast Cities command more resources given their larger population base. Their limited powers. government has a two-tier structure (central and local government) modelled on the United Kingdom system with the British distinction between urban municipalities (cities and boroughs) and rural districts and counties. In Australia. As a result of this federal structure and the subordinate role of local government. However. Local authorities fund most of their own activities. public transport. land use planning and development. All local governments are approximately equal in their theoretical powers. they have 3 main tiers of government: Federal Government. land use planning and development. In the context of the governmental structures of Australia it is therefore necessary to distinguish between: i) Services provided for and to municipal areas. small outlook and dependence on other bodies to continue operation means local government in Australia is often criticized as being petty. infrastructure. public and environmental health (including refuse collection and waste management) and local human services (such as libraries. Following the reforms in the late 1980s. municipal. police or urban fire services. This is due to two reasons: firstly.4 per cent. 1993). land drainage (storm water). discussed in greater length below. Rates (taxes on property) are the primary source of funding for local government (Anderson and Norgrove.to 2. housing. sewage and refuse collection and disposal. Lord Mayo's Resolution of 1870 encouraged the introduction of an elected President in the municipalities. There are two kinds of statutory provisions creating a municipal authority. the Constitution does not demarcate the power and the duties of the municipal authorities and secondly in the absence of any clear-cut demarcation. regional parks. and pest control water supply. Municipal bodies are the creation of the British. Local government is not involved in education. Twelfth Schedule of the Seventy-Fourth Constitutional Amendment Act (1992) in India envisages enabling people to participate in development processes at ward. and electricity supply (corporatized). The extent of the municipality's power as well as the extent of government control over a Municipality/Municipal Council depends on the statute enacted for its creation. forestry (frequently corporatized). which are the responsibility of the central Government. Since then the structure of municipal bodies has remained by and large the same even though the number of urban areas has increased and their problems have become more and more complex. 1996). Urban local government bodies are synonymous with municipal government have a long history in India. public passenger transport (corporatized). pollution control and licensing. it is obvious that state governments control municipal authorities (Gangadhar Jha & Mohanty B. airports and seaports (corporatized). district and metropolitan regional level in urban planning. pre-schools (discretionary operation and funding aid). social welfare.. local government comprises regional and territorial councils. local roads and car parks. including town planning . The 12 regional and territory councils are responsible for overall policies for urban and rural planning. Presently. regional transport planning and public transport funding. the statutes confer wider controlling and supervisory powers on the state government. regulation of 14 . The first such body called a Municipal Corporation was set up in the former Presidency town of Madras in 1688 and was followed by the establishment of similar corporations in Bombay and Calcutta in 1762. sanitation conservancy and solid waste management. active form of participation is more important than simply being interested in politics (Christensen and Lægreid 2005). public health.4 Malaysian case Like in other developing countries. gardens playground. Citizen’s participation in public affairs fosters the quality of democratic governance and participation can be enhanced through affiliation or formal association with some groups in society. pay taxes and comply in general” (Jamil et al. planning for economic and social development. It can be assumed that this level of trust with local institutions leads citizens to become more satisfied with the service provisions of municipalities of Nepal. the administrative system of government of Malaysia is always under pressure to make more effective. provision of urban amenities and facilities such as parks. On the other hand. The research findings of a number of studies conducted in the past 15 . public amenities including street lighting. 1993).al. industrial and commercial purposes. 2007). if government failed to deliver the services as expected. cremations. citizen distrust the institutions and their level of satisfaction may be very low. protection of environment and promotion of ecological aspects. cremation grounds and electric crematorium. Government’s failure to perform may erode public confidence in public institutions and may impede representativeness and inclusiveness in the delivery of public services.. fire services. It can be said that citizens who are members of political parties or trade unions have greater trust on governmental institutions than those with no affiliation. 1. parking lots. roads and bridges. water supply for domestic. It has been widely expected that positive attitude towards politics and democracy is necessary for having trust with public institutions and to enhance the quality of governance. In order to have trust in public institutions. urban forestry. urban poverty alleviation. efficient and trustworthy in delivering goods and services to the people. Research has shown that Nepalese citizens have quite high trust for local government institutions such as the Village/Town and District Development Committees (Jamil et. burials and burial grounds. bus stops and public conveniences and regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries (Gangadhar Jha & Mohanty B. “Distrust is the result of a gap between citizen’s expectation and government’s actual performance.land use and construction of buildings. Distrusting citizens may be less inclined to obey the law. vital statistics including registration of births and deaths. 2007). 1978. district councils. Total Quality Management. a result of merger between Ministry of Housing and Rural Development and the Department of Local Government. public places. and special authorities (MHLG. public drains. as one of its intended outcomes. housing loan scheme and legal clinic. p. municipal councils. info and statistic of Local Authorities (PBT) by state. 2009). the establishment of the Multimedia Super Corridor in 1996 had. JKT is responsible to manage Cleaning of public streets. The JKT official website features JKT profile. The main function of the Jabatan Kerajaan Tempatan (JKT) is to guide and facilitate the Local Authorities (Pihak Berkuasa TempatanPBT) with planning and implementation of socio-economic development programmes and municipal services. 224). In Malaysia. 16 . Main functions are provision of adequate housing for all citizens. Kementerian Perumahan dan Kerajaan Tempatan (KPKT) established on May 24. Complaints Systems. Computerized Accounting. ISO 9000 and Benchmarking. setting up of local authorities. The response has been to push initiatives aimed at improving the quality of public service delivery. Under public cleansing. A separate initiative. Quality control initiatives have been introduced to LGAs throughout the past decade under the banners of Counter Service. planning and implementation of MHLG policies. provision of efficient fire and rescue services. Client Charters. The current trend of new public management principles is organizing efficient and effective service delivery and better service provision and management at the local level in demands. Malaysia has 3 levels of government are Central. complaints.twenty years have shown that public service provisions are ineffective and overly expensive (Crew 1992. announcements and services. the enhancement of service quality at local levels in Malaysia. especially at the local government level. public toilets. State and Local and there are 149 local councils in Malaysia made up of city councils. licensing. The Malaysian Federal Government established a unit called MAMPU to introduce ‘best-practice’ initiatives to LGAs. and assist their capacity-building through providing training programs and operating procedures guidelines. and strengthening and implementation of Town and Country Planning Act 1976. Jabatan Kerajaan Tempatan (JKT) is department under the MHLG. Quality Control Circles. there has been growing media attention on cases of public sector customer grievances. The MHLG official website features tribunal for homebuyer claims. The Ministry was renamed the Ministry of Housing and Local Government on July 18. prosecuted and find developers. recycle and solid waste and public cleansing management. 1964 as the Ministry of Local Government and Housing (MHLG). sanitation and nuisance. preparation and sale of food. Goal a) Solid waste management system to a comprehensive. burial places and crematoria. The department is also responsible for implementing the full privatization of the PSP. The basic law and regulations practiced in Municipal Council as other local authorities is Local Government Act 1976 which is governs the powers and responsibilities of local authorities: control of public places. strategic planning and solid waste management (PSP) integrated macro level. sustainable and accepted by society that emphasizes environmental protection. and ensure the health and quality of life of the community. Cut the grass at the edge of curb civil and public places. National Solid Waste Management Department (JPSPN) was established under the Solid Waste and Public Cleansing Management Act 2007 (Act 672) was passed in Parliament on 17 July 2007 and gazetted on August 30. Town and Country Planning Act. and Uniform Building. Section 19 of the prohibits development that is inconsistent with the Local Plan. operations of markets. the State Structure Plan and Regional Plan. The Act empowers the executive to the Federal Government to meet its obligations regarding the management of solid waste and public cleansing. JPSPN play a role in policy making. public markets and beaches. integrated. and Transfer the dead. Building and Drainage Act. intermediate treatment and final disposal. By-Laws in local services was closet to all duties of local authorities such as Section 18 of any land use inconsistent with local plans. efficient and cost-effective to preserve natural resources. Draft Local Plan in detailed map and written statement which contains the proposal for use and development 17 . pollution of streams. Road Transport Act 1987. the Street. 2007.public hawker centres. JPSPN functions as a regulatory body to ensure delivery of services and public cleansing PSP is integrated. In other hand. approve and license the services and facilities and public cleansing PSP. preserve the environment. Macro policies are prepared for the National Physical Plan. selection of affordable technologies and ensuring public health and b) Perform BSE on the waste management hierarchy that gives priority to waste reduction through 3R. National Solid Waste Management under JKT has a few goals and objectives to run the local services such as follows. as well as responsible for drafting the regulations as contained in the (Act 672) and set the standards and specifications. cost-effective. to integrate solid waste management system at the national level. Only 13 cases or 5. Among the more critical services is solid waste management. Subsequently. there has been a pressure to improve the performance of the public sector over time. based on a principle of maximum disclosure. and being responsive to citizens’ needs and concerns is the key to effective and efficient service delivery. Few reports of specific allegations of corruption in local councils are mainly due to opaque processes of what actually takes place. defence and international relations. the Public Complaints Bureau under Prime Minister 18 . 2001. All development projects (buildings. there have been a number of government circulars showing what is expected in improving the performance and the current premier has introduced the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) for the public sector (MAMPU. these Local Plans become Law. In Malaysia. Transparency International Malaysia Public Opinion Survey. Mayors will be judged by how well these and other services are provided to their municipality’s residents. environment and infrastructure. densities. Else. police and road transport department. run women and children’s clinics but no local authority provides that today. 2005).of land in an area. health department. It has been criticized for stifling dissent and reducing transparency in government workings. environment department. Georgetown City Council provided a public bus service. The provision of municipal services is the core business of municipalities. found that municipal councils were seen as more corrupt than: the land office. and Malaysian Administrative and Modernization Planning Unit (MAMPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department spearhead the efforts in this respect. including “documents concerning national security. there has been no serious effort in introducing an effective and efficient measuring method to appraise the performance of the public agencies and including local government. judicial office. Another is resolving public grievances. There have been calls for a Freedom of Information Act allowing greater accountability. covers issues of open spaces. roads. An ongoing study on the effectiveness of the local government in Malaysia found that local government officers and councillors indicated that they are largely responsible and accountable to the State and Federal agencies as well as the people they serve. Increasing centralisation of Malaysian government functions in the past.4% of arrests for corruption in the public sector were local council officers (Anti-Corruption Agency). intensity of development. Once passed. Official Secrets Act 1972 forbids the dissemination of information classified as an official secret. On the other hand. drains) must have prior approval of local authorities. creating diverse difficulties for MPSPK as the service provider to cater the needs of the community. It has changed from a sleepy one main road town to the fastest growing town. A number of poorer districts authorities have been faced with lack of funds to pay the companies due to higher cost of private provision of services. Sungai Petani was again upgraded to the Municipal Council on 2 July 1994.5 Customer satisfaction on municipal services in MPSPK Due to the extensive expansions of the business activities. the private companies which undertook the provision of the solid waste disposal and urban cleansing services are paid by the local authorities. State and local governments are the closet to the people (Olsen & Epstein. local authorities have to bear the burden of having to pay some of the privatized services-especially the privatization of solid waste management and related cleansing services. the District Council of Kuala Muda (MDKM) was formed due to the enforcement of the Local Government Laws Act 124 (Temporary Enactment) which was enforced according to Section 3. The District Council of Kuala Muda (MDKM) was responsible to administer the whole district of Kuala Muda in terms of the planning. Local Government Act 1976 (Act 171). licensing. infrastructures preparation and other related fields to ensure the development of the city and the harmonious life of Kuala Muda in general which included 19 . 1. On 1 February 1978. 1997) and as such it is highly necessary that public servants in these entities are held accountable to the people they serve. Sungai Petani as it is commonly called by the locals is the 2nd largest town in the state of Kedah. Later in 1953. development projects and licensing. health. The recipients of the services are the best the right stakeholders who could evaluate the performance of their local government. the administration of Sungai Petani Town Board was established. planning. However. The early establishment of the system of the local government in Sungai Petani started after the enactment of the Local Council Ordinance 1952.Department identified that about 17% total complaints received are attributed to local governments throughout the country. Sungai Petani Municipal Council (MPSPK) area has developed tremendously. MPSPK is now fully responsible on the development control. building control. With the upgrading of the status. Under the interim period of privatization plan. inefficient. The last objective concerned by MPSPK is to ensure all complaints made by customer will address accordingly. Many municipalities including MPSPK. The population in 2000 shows the increment to 358663 residents while in 2005. & Chen. the total of MPSPK population is 421530 residents. ranked City Council the lowest (14th) with a score of 61. Zhu. Semeling. Padang Lembu. wasteful. the next objective of MPSPK is to increase the quality of services and department image as well as to ensure all enforcer officers not wrongdoings in their job. There are a few objectives has been pointed by MPSPK in running their business by first is to upgrade the by-laws practiced by having some amendments if needed and to ensure the implementation of laws run accordingly with statutes and framework. The Malaysian Customer Satisfaction Index (MCSI) for service sector industry. Gurun. 2007. Tanjung Dawai and Pinang Tunggal. are unable to deliver services to residents especially in sanitation.f. Bedong. however. Much has been written about how IT could be and has been used to enhance service quality eg (Ali & Green. The size of Sungai Petani area is 963.6 Problem Statement Malaysian LGAs have been often criticised for their poor services.7 km/s.6 which is below the average national score of 67. Sungai Lalang. & Nassir. Husain.8 points (Abdullah. which consists of 16 Mukim and the areas covered are Sungai Petani. 20 . In 1980. 2003). cleanliness. Walter Wymer. However. The drivers for this research have arisen in response to a numbers of perceived weaknesses in service delivery identified in various sources. and unresponsive and not citizen friendly (Hazman. this study proposed to facilitate a better understanding on what makes customers satisfied and how this can be measured in MPSPK in running their business. the focus of the literature has been qualitative in nature. the number grows up to 388733 and recently in 2010. The Public Complaints Bureau under the Prime Minister’s Department revealed that about 17% of total complaints on civil service are on local governments. bureaucratic. 1. Thus. 2008. drainage and culverts matters. Many complaints rise up in daily activities around MPSPK territory. This might be because of lack of manpower or lack of capacity to provide a good service at an affordable price. Jeniang. Rosacker & Olson. Kota Kuala Muda . 2006). On the other hand. the population of Sungai Petani is 192308 residents but the numbers of population is slightly increased to 254372 residents in 1990.Daerah Kuala Muda & Bandar Sungai Petani. 2002). Tikam Batu. Kaplan & Norton (1992) introduced the concept of balanced scorecard measures of performance. In some cases. retention and satisfaction. Empirical studies on the relationship between IT and service quality especially among LGAs in Malaysia have never been addressed.For example. Foster & Gupta’s (1994) study is among the earliest studies. Shirley-Ann & Frances (2003) highlights a number of problematic issues relating to the use of IT in enhancing service quality provision in the public sector. adequate resources and up-to date technologies. often focus first on raising minimum standards. According to Beale and Pollitt (1994). The consumer-orientation of the citizen’s charter program empowers citizens to redress when services are not as promised (Barron and Scott. there are three types of standards: (i) minimum standard: it is that standard which must be reached in respect of all or virtually all 38 service interactions. it has been found that the complain system has not worked properly. In every charter documentation. the importance of monitoring customers’ complaints. The contemporary management–driven quality improvement systems. And it has been expected that standardization in services helps to raise the citizen’s trust with institutions. is one of the philosophies. Mark. in the accounting literature which emphasises the importance of monitoring customers on the premise that an organization should value customers as an asset. and (iii) standards of best practice: it represents what can be attained with highly trained and motivated staff. Chooi-Leng. (ii) average standards or norms: it is the level of services that most service provider may be expected to meet most of the time. & Paul. acquisition and loss of customers. One of the four dimensions of the balanced scorecard focuses on customer perspective and the importance of monitoring the rate of customer acquisition. Likewise in total quality management (TQM). Working of the complaint system is essential to maintain the standard in services. their study did not attempt to answer how IT can be used to enhance service quality provision and the focus was not specifically on LGAs. However. (2000) examined how IT can support quality management practices of 110 public sector organizations in Malaysian. 1992). there is provision of grievance or complaint handling in which citizens as customers of public services have rights to complain about the services if they feel that something has gone wrong in the course of service delivery. In citizen charter. by contrast. raising the standard of services are always of the central concern. especially 21 . This may be due to two reasons either the institutional incapability or lack of willingness of citizens about improvement in public services. 2003). although elections are held to elect people’s representatives at the Federal and State level. wasteful. Public sector organizations. due to poor management and incompetence and not to mention sheer arrogance. In the case of developing countries like Nepal. are not immune from these pressures to improve customer service on a continuous basis. LAs are allegedly bureaucratic. As such it’s not surprising to say that most of the local governments are also uninterested to disseminate information to their residents on how their revenue is spent fearing that they will burdened with too many unwanted complaints and queries. local authorities must now play a more effective 22 . The citizens are also ill-equipped with what can be expected from their local governments although their awareness on this respect has been rising over the time. over the years. The expansion of local government functions in wide area raises one fundamental issue.root level since 1970’s due to resolution of Athi Nahappan Report (1970) where the staff bearers are appointed by the State Government which is the statutory owner. Hence.by eliminating „faults‟. the Local Authorities (LAs) in Malaysia have been soundly criticized for poor services. Due to the importance of the local services that the LAs provide. institutions are struggling to maintain the minimal standards for services and as said by Beale and Pollitt 1994. but not in the grass. lack of financial and human resources and often times. and those operating in local government specifically. 2006). and unresponsive and not citizen-friendly. municipalities in Nepal are fighting to eliminate the faults by the implementation of Client Charter. they are subjected to daily barrage of questions and complaints directly in the press and through higher ups at the state and federal levels (Hazman Shah. Some of these pressures arise internally within local authorities from a genuine desire by managers to improve the quality of services provided to local citizens. And the charter suggestions about the complaint system appear to fall in the categories of promoting best practices (Beale and Pollitt 1994). how can local authorities became an effective machinery to facilitate national growth and enhance the nation’s competitive edge? Nowadays. services are fraught with problems (Ambrin. Not so many studies or surveys have been conducted to measure customer satisfaction towards Malaysian local service. In Malaysia. inefficient. Furthermore. This view is on the contrary with the statement by Plastrik (2000) who proposes that the performance of different local governments must be publicised in the form of balanced scorecards. Department of Health have two parts consists of Urban Planning Unit and General Health Unit in managing the urban affairs and health affairs. For all complaints due to public road or drainage problem they promise to investigate and prepare report in seven days before action will be taking into next level. Majlis Perbandaran Miri (MPM) and Majlis Daerah Kerian (MDK) in perhaps to collaborate between stakeholders in promoting the greater local services. These pressures come on the form of new demands and challenges to increase and improve service delivery of local government of their roles at local. 2005) among government agencies. In MPSPK. cleanliness. national and abroad. this unit as well as run their activity of cutting grass at least once a month in housing area and once per week in crowded public area and urban area. they promise 23 . In 2000. Started from that. The client charter for Urban Planning Unit is ensuring the collection of refuse and garbage are three times per week in housing area and everyday collected in urban and commercial areas. development control and managing the urban system and its environment as a tool in measuring local government performance through Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)(MAMPU. this unit also will run the cleanliness of drainage and culverts at least once a month in housing area and three times per week in urban and commercial area.role in urban planning. This amount should be pump on the municipal services of garbage management. In this unit as well as their client charter is to investigate and take action on any complaint due to cleanliness in within a week from the date of complaint has been lodged. 2009). many local authorities including MPSPK tried to follow as what been achieved by those local authorities but sometime failed to provide well due to some constraints on manpower and finance. Their promise for any complaint in pollution or illegal activity will investigate and action will take into place within two weeks. In unit of General Health in MPSPK. In the mean time. Department on Engineering have a client charter in professional doing their business which is effectively and efficiently in cost and time. An uncollected assessment rate in 2009 is RM18 million become a serious problems in MPSPK. Majlis Perbandaran Petaling Jaya (MPPJ). In other side. they do have the client charter in solving all the complaints made by residents. lamppost and street maintenance but failed to collect due to tax avoidance among tax payers (Sinar Harian. Ministry of Housing and Local Government (MHLG) implemented the Local Agenda 21 (LA21) programme into four local authorities which are Majlis Perbandaran Kuantan (MPK). In other hand. E-Idaman Company was appointed by Federal Government through “Perbadanan Pengurusan Sisa Pepejal Negara” (PPSPN) to manage waste disposal. Many complaints have made over residents in its area because of unlimited demand for urban space and support service. these activities have led to be more focused on promoting the better service to the customers. Refuse is not collected in time. the scope and functions and responsibilities of MPSPK are expanding every day. The common complaints always made by citizens in MPSPK are garbage and refuse uncollected on time. The private organizations which undertook the provision of the solid waste disposal and urban cleaning services are paid by the MPSPK but still have been faced with lack of funds to pay to the organizations due to the higher cost of services. shortage of money and manpower will lead to ineffective and inefficiency of service delivery. Time by time in local newspaper always critiqued the way LAs run their business and failed in service delivery to the grass-root recipient’s. 2009) can be seen as follows. waste management is not well served. lamppost is not functioning and so forth. 2010). problem of cleanliness such as cutting trees and drainage always stuck when flood come over. Thus. they have to bear with the burden of having to pay for some of the privatized services especially the privatisation of solid waste disposal and related cleaning services. In MPSPK scenario. In last client charter for this department is all the problems regards to quality and safety in selling of food or meal will be handling within three days. many complaints have been lodged to MPSPK due to unsatisfied of services among customers (MPSPK. All promises in client charter actually nice on paper but when it comes to implementation.for any complaint regarding wild dogs problem will take action within three days as well as action will be take if there any problem and complaint due to vector controlling in three days. Thus. cleanliness problems. cleanliness and drainage matters in four states in northern region (MPSPK. This privatised happened due to rapid growth and the pressure to fulfil multiple needs of local citizens and private sector community. Figure 1: Total Complaints/suggestions/inquiry from March until June 2010 in MPSPK ITEMS MONTH/ ACCEPTED CANCELED NOT YET DONE 24 . As per month. in December 2009. and drainage and culverts stuck housing area as well as in urban and commercial area and so many things come up. This closing of the public road led 25 .4% ) 140(56.YEAR COMPLAINT / SUGGESTION / ENQUIRY COMPLAINT / SUGGESTION / ENQUIRY COMPLAINT / SUGGESTION / ENQUIRY COMPLAINT / SUGGESTION / ENQUIRY JUNE 2010 167 0(0. In April.0%) MAY 2010 350 2(0.7 %) cases. From this figure shows the up and down the total complaints accepted by MPSPK from March at 90 complaints/suggestion and inquiry has been lodged by residents and only settled at 69 (76.3%) 69(76. a small problem led to big matters such as private contractor which is MMC-Gamuda so sudden asked MPSPK to close public road in Jalan Kuala Ketil go to Pekan Lama just because of their project having problems.6%) which is worst achievement and fail to perform in dealing with the customers.4% ) 161(96. Some of customers felt that they are not well treated by its local government because they paid the assessment rates as what others done but the quality of services still not up to standard. just 167 cases accepted which shows the decreasing of complaints/suggestion and inquiry made by customers and only settled at 6 (3. Sometime. the complaints/suggestion and inquiry accepted is 248 cases and only settled at 140 (56.6% Source: MPSPK. 350 cases were reports in May 2010 by customers but 133 (38%) cases only settled by MPSPK and shows the highest complaints/suggestion and inquiry received and unsettled cases was increased drastically.5%) by MPSPK which is shows the increasing of cases accepted and unsettled cases.0%) 21(23. 2010 Figure 1 indicates the total complaints per month since Mac 2010 until June 2010. In June.7%) 106(42.8%) MARCH 2010 DONE 90 0(0.7% ) 215(61.5%) 133(38%) 6(3.6%) APRIL 2010 248 2(0. Many parents wonder how come these premises can run their business while the place is not suitable at all in housing area. 2008). It shows that citizens don’t have any choice unless should waiting a long time to get a better local services while they paid the charges imposed by its local authority without failed. After waited almost 9 years and many discussions has been made year by year between Persatuan Kereta Sewa dan Teksi Sungai Petani and MPSPK. The weaknesses of enforcement and ineffective surveillance towards premises opening and closing not follow the rules given led to increasing of social illness among teenagers in Taman Orked. many customers not satisfied due to cleanliness problems faced by them in Bandar Puteri Jaya even complaints already lodged to MPSPK. a few accidents happened due to a hole in the middle of the public road and even complaint has done by households to MPSPK and over newspaper but no action has taken to address this problem. refuse and dumping from households. Failed to take action may cause to accidents to residents (Metro. An example is happened in Sungai Layar neighbourhood when drainage always stuck by waste. The operation of this premises since 2008 makes parents worried because most of time and money of teenagers spends there. Even though MPSPK always down to field make cleanliness of that matters after report been lodged. According to some residents.to many complaints over customers when they have to go long way while the ordinary way is just around the corner and the flesh flood maybe faced by them if the main road is closed. In the mean time. a new taxi stand provided by MPSPK in Central Square to easy access by taxi driver and passengers. The same thing was happened in Taman Bandar Utama when their housing area surrounded by water reservoir abundance by housing developer led to dangerous diseases such as dengue and chikungunya. They were upset because no action has been taken by MPSPK to address their problem (Metro. Many things become worried among customers as what their complaints through newspaper and lodged but no action taken by MPSPK in controlling the safe city in its area. 2009). 2009). The usual problems always rise up among customers is drainage problem that never ending stories in local services. the problems can be 26 . More than 1000 households and premises in suffered day and night since 2007 because of one farming area opens up last three years and makes air and water polluted. In Taman Keladi. it is not solved the problem. Some complaints have been to MPSPK but no results until nowadays and the premises open and close as they wish (Berita Harian. 7 Purpose of the Study The main purpose of this study is to map out level of customer satisfaction with municipal services in MPSPK. The problem of uncollected garbage and refuse become serious especially in weekend and festive seasons such as Hari Raya. The answer given by MPSPK is they no longer in charge to the dustbins because it’s already privatised to private company (Metro. and build on this to serve people more. cleanliness. 2008). ii) To identify an approach to service delivery.8 Scope 27 . i) To identify the differences between the ways different communities feel about their area and municipal services (disposal. This study was carried out to achieve four purposes specifically. Usually the number of complaints and reports increased so sudden in festive seasons and sometime the compactors having technical problems to move out the refuse and garbage (Zubaidah Hanom Mohd Yusuf. 2009). This accident can be avoided if MPSPK and their stakeholders sit down together in finding ways to give better services rather than point fingers to others. To show that customers not satisfied with the municipal services can derived from one accident happened in Perumahan Rakyat 2 (PPR 2) Paya Nahu in 2009 when a mother riding a motorcycle with two children’s died near to garbage dustbin. 2009). iii) To determine an opportunity for building a national picture based on detailed local understanding in policy making and performance management. iv) To examine the complex issues which contribute to satisfaction. drainage and culverts).solving when the drainage system be upgraded (Berita Harian. 1. Deepavali and Chinese New Year when shortage of manpower in charge during led to smelly and contagion of diseases from uncollected refuse in housing area. The victim just crashed with garbage dustbin which is improper placement in its neighbourhood even though the problems were rise up to MPSPK. 1. It further provides an overview of theoretical framework and conceptual parts of good governance and municipal services of the study along with the variables that has been chosen in the study. data collection methods and data analysis techniques.9 Thesis structure The thesis is made up of eight chapters. resources and physical development. Chapter Five: This chapter describes the methodology applied for conducting the thesis. management. Chapter Three: This chapter explains the concept of municipal services in Malaysia from its evolution in local government. restructuring and development until nowadays. core business. The discussion on theoretical part has been done with the help of theory of organization and political science concept which is in lined with customer satisfaction. It focuses on the research design. Chapter one: This chapter deals with the introduction of the thesis. Chapter Four: This chapter comprises of case study of Majlis Perbandaran Sungai Petani kedah (MPSPK) from its profile.Due to larger population in local government. The 28 . It also comprises of significance of the research and the organization of the thesis. MPSPK staff and Households. states the research problem and highlights the purpose of the study. It explains the background of the study. These focus groups will become as respondents regards to their experiences in using municipal services whether they are internal customer (MPSPK staff) or external customer (Community Leaders and Households). This development wills covers until the laws and regulations practiced in local authorities including municipal council from 1801 until its implementation recently. Chapter two: This chapter discusses the theoretical perspective used as the framework of the study. 1. All aspects will portray the picture of MPSPK environment in details especially in knowing what the currently practiced of performance indicators applied among them. the study just focusing on Northern Local Authority by selecting Sungai Petani Municipal Council (MPSPK) of Kedah as the case of the study and having three group of segmentation such as Community Leaders. Based on the discussions. is highlighted as well. Chapter Eight: The final chapter is about summary and conclusion of this study. 29 . This chapter also provides short glimpse of Malaysia and its Local Government System. If they are satisfied with municipal services then they will definitely prefer the services delivered by it otherwise they may prefer alternative sources. 1. It recapitulates the thesis and provides a brief discussion on to what extent people are satisfied with the municipal services. Chapter Six: The chapter provides a detail analysis on its impact on the level of citizen’s satisfaction with the services with two sets of independent variables in focus group which are the households and community leaders to identify the differences between the ways different communities feel about their area and municipal services (waste management. What would be the people’s preference if services have to be provided by the alternative sources such as voluntary organizations and private companies? will answer in this chapter. This focus group in this study is conceptualized as performance based trust which is collectively determined by one factor which is business communities or industrialist by looking at their roles and contribution to municipal income.10 Summary This chapter in brief presented the introduction and background of the research along with the problem statement.study followed the quantitative and qualitative approach in which questionnaire survey and interviews will use to collect data. drainage and culverts). An overview of the organization of the thesis has also been given in this chapter. It provides reasons why the quantitative method was preferred and how they will measures. cleanliness. and the significance of the study. And to map the extent of relationship between dependent and independent variables were formulated and the analytical framework is developed for further analysis. The next chapter discusses on the theoretical aspects of the study based on municipal services principles practice in Malaysia. variables of the study are determined. Chapter Seven: This chapter deals with one set of independent variable which is NGO’s as a one of focus groups in measuring customer satisfaction on municipal services. objectives.