A lack of understanding of the functions and jurisdiction of the type of government and its agencies was a deterrent to the people’s bid in exercising their rights as citizens, he told reporters at the 40th anniversary dinner of the Klang Commercial Athletic Club, here.

One example was the issue of traffic congestion, where the people usually blamed the Ministry of Transport for the problems but mostly it would be under the jurisdiction of the local municipality, he said.

Besides, he said, people always thought that potholes on the road were under the jurisdiction of the ministry but actually it should be under the local government authority (for council roads) and the state government or the Ministry of Works (for trunk roads).

Ong said what made matters worse was that even state assemblymen or members of parliament could not also differentiate the multi-level jurisdiction of government and its agencies at the federal, state or local government.

For example, the issue of public transportation alone was handled by 13 federal government agencies and one clear-cut example of public transportation handled by the Ministry of Transport was the railway operated by KTM Bhd, he said.