"The MOI will first deal with those two major public security issues that fall under its portfolio, " said Vice Minister Chien Tai- lang, in response to questions by ruling Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Yang Lien-huan in a legislative committee meeting.

Chien's remarks came after Wu issued the directive Nov. 19 for government agencies to deal with matters of major concern to the public and ordered the Cabinet-level Research, Development and Evaluation Commission (RDEC) the same day to compile a report detailing the top 10 public complaints.

Later in the day, the RDEC reported that according to a survey it had conducted Nov. 23-24, the top ten public complaints were about rampant telephone scams, high unemployment, high consumer prices, high housing prices in urban areas, food safety, lack of parking lots, drug abuse, strays dogs, the high costs for elderly care, and too many traffic tickets.

Many people also mentioned low salaries, high gasoline prices and garbage disposal as their leading concerns, the RDEC said in the statement.

RDEC Minister Chu Ching-peng said Sunday that the report Wu requested will be submitted to him by the end of this year and will focus on issues related to people's daily lives as well as economic and environmental concerns.

Unemployment, hikes in fuel prices, water and electricity rates, food safety and traffic problems are some of the big concerns for many people, he added.

Lu Hsueh-chang, a KMT legislative caucus whip, suggested heavier penalties for burglary -- widely seen as minor crime -- as a means of improving public order.

The government must do everything possible to improve public order if it wants to allay public discontent, Lu stressed.

According to DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin, a recent survey in southern Taiwan's Tainan City found that the primary concerns of the local residents are an increase in consumer prices, the number of road traffic violation tickets issued, and what they called the government's failure to safeguard the livelihood of the average people.

(By Flor Wang)