M Update, 17/1/2019 – Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen will meet with the Finance Ministry soon to discuss the suitable operating hours for Urban Transformation Centres (UTC) in the state.
This comes after many Sarawakians expressed disappointment with the new operating hours which they said was not optimal.
In the recent announcement, the Ministry has revised the operating hours for UTCs in Sarawak from 8am to 5pm from Monday to Sunday beginning on Jan 22.
“While there is no complaint about the said operating hours on weekends, many have expressed disappointment in the closure of the UTCs at 5pm on weekdays,” he said in a statement today.
“Previously, the operating hours of the UTCs throughout the country were from 8am to 10pm, seven days a week – 14 hours a day.
“Such extra-long operating hours have added to the financial strain on the government’s operating expenditure,” the Stampin member of parliament said.
Sarawak has three UTCs; in Kuching, Sibu and Miri.
The new proposal, Chong said will reduce the operating hours to nine hours a day, with varying operating hours at different locations in the country.
Sarawak folk proposed that UTCs in the state should start operating around noon till 9pm, to cater to those who wish to do their government-related matters after office hours without taking leave.
“I am scheduled to meet up with Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng next week to discuss the optimal operating hours of UTCs in Sarawak,” said the Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs.
Source : NST
