MPS jumped 29 steps, now the sixth best in the country.

SIBU, 13 Sept: Sibu Municipal Council (MPS) recorded a proud achievement when it climbed 29 steps to sixth place out of 42 municipalities across the country in Local Authority Star Rating (SPB-PBT) 2026.

More proudly, MPS maintains a five-star rating with an overall score of 91.95 percent, thus emerging as the highest ranked municipal council in Sarawak.

Its chairman, Clarence Ting said the achievements at the national level proved MPS's ability to be on par with local authorities in Peninsular Malaysia.

He said that the sixth position was a result of joint efforts by council members, management and all MPS workers in improving management as well as quality of service delivery to the community.

"As citizens of Sarawak, I am very proud that we have been able to achieve this position at the national level. This shows that we have done something equivalent to the local authorities on the Peninsula", he told reporters after the closing ceremony of the 2026 Borneo Cultural Festival at Tun Tuanku Bujang Square, Sibu, last night.

According to Clarence, MPS performance shows a consistent improvement as the overall score increases from 87.60 percent in 2022 to 91.55 percent in 2024 and then 91.95 percent in 2026.

He said, the 2026 assessment includes 13.24 per cent management component, 41.25 per cent core services, 13.33 per cent customer management and 14.13 per cent community participation, besides MPS gaining full marks for Public Service Core Competency (PSCR) component and National Audit Department (KAN) certification.

Clarence said the achievements were not individual achievements, but rather a result of the commitment of all workers and councillors, stressing that community feedback is crucial to identifying weaknesses as well as room for improvement.

He said the five-star rating was also not an end point as there are still some areas to be considered, including worker training and job satisfaction, OKU facilities, renewable energy, rainwater harvesting, recycling, library consumer satisfaction and development of command centre.

Following the focus were efforts to gain recognition of smart cities, implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) initiatives and analysis of recurring complaints, while Clarence also recognized former MPS Municipal Secretary Yong Ing Chu for his contributions.

The SPB-PBT 2026 decision was announced by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) at the National PBT Convention and World Level Environmental Health Day Connection 2026 in Penang, yesterday, with MPS becoming the only municipal council in Sarawak to earn five stars, while Bau District Council also received the same rating for district council category.-TVS