StarMetro, Monday June 15, 2009 Several names tipped to be among those dropped
Topping the list of those expected to be dropped is A. Thiruvengadam, MBPJ councillor who dropped a bombshell recently when he claimed that the Pakatan Rakyat-led Selangor government was using a political quota system for waste management contracts.
Waiting: Supiramany is likely to be dropped. Popular MBPJ councillor Anthony Thanasayan, who was appointed under the disabled quota, is also expected to be dropped.
MPAJ councillors Fazlul Rahimi Maarop and S. Supiramany are also expected to be given the chop after serving only one term while Ab Rahim Ad Wahab and Datuk Mazlan Hassan from the MPS are also likely to be dropped after they were linked to some controversial actions.
When last year’s list was announced, there had been several controversies surrounding a few of those appointed to the MPAJ, with allegations that some of the councillors had police records and there were also questions about the NGO quota.
Ampang MP Zuraida Kamarudin, who had come under fire last year for endorsing some of the appointments, said the panel would go through the same process to vet this year’s candidates.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that several councillors had offered to quit, citing personal reasons.
Heavy workload: Leong does not wish to serve a second term. MPKj councillor Carmen Leong had said that she did not wish to serve a second term as some officers in the council had not been cooperative. She is also said to be disappointed with the Selangor state government, which she claimed was not prepared to replace senior council officers who were corrupt or were known to have abused their powers.
She also said the heavy workload and some unreasonable residents had prompted her to quit.
MBPJ councillor Francis Chang confirmed that he had volunteered to make an exit as he wanted to focus on his engineering business, especially during these trying times.
“I feel that I will no longer be able to give the people the best service in the coming year because business is getting more competitive, so I think I should make way for another candidate who can dedicate more of his time to this important post,” the councillor who takes care of issues in SS2, Petaling Jaya, said.
StarMetro, Monday June 15, 2009
Mixed reactions to major changes
SPECULATION is rife that as many as 60 of the 288 local councillors in Selangor will be dropped when the new list is announced at the end of the month and members of the public seem to have mixed responses to this.
Shah Alam resident Yusuf Husin strongly feels that the councillor serving his area should be dropped as the councillor has never made his or her presence felt in the neighbourhood.
“It has been more than a year and I still do not know who it is. The councillor should have been here to find out more about our problems,” the retiree said, adding that he felt that the Taman Sri Muda area, where he stayed, had been sidelined.
He said the residents had to put up with basic problems like clogged drains, uncut grass and dengue.
“These are the basic services that they had promised us when they were appointed last year but nothing has been done since,” Yusuf said.
Yusuf is not alone and many other people throughout the state felt that their councillors could have done much better jobs.
Petaling Jaya resident Hamzah Ismail said the councillors should realise that they were the closest to the grassroots and should always make themselves available.
He believed the public should be allowed to choose their representatives at the local councils.
“I believe the current batch of councillors are no different that the previous ones (from BN). They just wear different labels,” he said.
However, other residents felt that the new councillors had given their best and it was not fair to pass judgement on all of them based on a few bad apples. They felt that each should be assessed individually.
A resident who only wanted to be known as David said the councillors should be given more time as one year was insufficient to assess their performances.
“There is no point in changing the councillors year after year if they do not have enough time to show what they can do,” David, who stays in Shah Alam, said.
At the same time, not many people were aware of the roles and responsibilities of the councillors.
Under the public administration scheme, the local council is the third tier of government after the federal and state governments.
Councillors serve as the eyes and ears of the councils so that they can serve the people and, at the same time, advise the council on what is going on.
An appointed councillor is someone who has a wide experience and expertise in local government matters.
Section 10(2) of the Local Government Act 1976 states that councillors shall be appointed from among persons the majority of whom shall be persons ordinarily resident in the local authority area who, in the opinion of the state authority, have wide experience in local government affairs or who have achieved distinction in any profession, commerce or industry, or are otherwise capable of representing the interests of their communities.
Although it is the duty of a councillor to represent the whole community, he also has a duty to serve the local government as a member of its administration.
A councillor must know what is going on in his area and help solve any problems or answer any queries that the community may have.
The councillors are among the decision-makers for policies and practices of the council and are responsible for helping the people understand the policies and projects of their local councils.
Councillors, therefore, are important because they are supposed to be the voice of the community and play a vital role in the functioning of a democracy.
FACTS AND FIGURES
Total number of councillors: 288
Women: 49 (17% of the total line-up)
Partisan (PKR, DAP, PAS): 71.9%
PKR representatives: 82 (28.5%)
DAP representatives: 76 (26.4%)
PAS representatives: 49 (17%)
Professionals, NGOs, disabled and Palace representatives: 81 (28.1%)
Each council has 24 council members headed by the council president or mayor.
Monthly allowance: RM500 to RM650
Additional RM50 or RM100 paid for attendance at the monthly full board meetings or committee meetings
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