PETALING
JAYA (Dec 5): Prominent local councillor Derek Fernandez is expected to
be dropped from the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), when the new
board of councillors is announced tomorrow.
Sources said Fernandez, a vocal advocate of good governance and an expert on local government and planning laws will be making way as part of a new state policy to limit the term of councillors to two terms.
Fernandez, when contacted confirmed his tenure ends on Dec 31, and that he had not received any reappointment letter.
He declined to comment on his exit from MPBJ, which he has served since Pakatan Rakyat took over the administration of Selangor in 2008.
Fernandez however is not alone. It is believed that another “noisy” councillor Cynthia Gabriel has also been given the boot, along with sole OKU (special needs persons) representative Anthony Thanasayan.
Other councillors said to be dropped are Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainudin and Chan Chee Keong.
The new policy, while praised so as to allow deadwood to be removed has also been criticised as a tool to remove councillors who are a pain to state leaders.
MBPJ, for instance is notorious for “blocking” development orders and applications that do not follow the law, causing much grief to politicians who want to reward supporters and donors for helping them win their state or parliamentary seats.
Fernandez, for instance was responsible in helping to draft the state’s new billboard policy which basically threw sand into the rice bowls of politicians, civil servants and businessmen who were reaping the benefits of a highly corrupt system that relied on kickbacks and led to indiscriminate mushrooming of billboards.
He also discovered anomalies in the PJ Draft Local Plan Two (RTPJ 2) where fraud was committed to change the status of land throughout Petaling Jaya, one notable parcel, the PKNS field in Kelana Jaya.
Three versions of the Draft Plan popped up where, in the PKNS field matter, one plan indicated it was for recreational purposes while another stated it was for commercial.
The matter was brought to the Selangor Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat).
Due to his legal background, Fernandez was the bell-weather of the council’s legal affairs and was among those who raised the alarm when a senior council staff illegally entered a consent order on behalf of the council, with a billboard company. (LINK http://www.fz.com/content/billboard-firm-takes-contempt-action-against-m...)
It is understood that Mayor Datin Paduka Alinah Ahmad who had rated Fernandez the highest among all the 24 councillors is upset at losing some of the full board members.
“But it is a state policy and political matter, so she has no say,” said a state source.
However the source tells fz.com that those dropped seem to only affect NGO representatives and professionals.
It is understood that the request to remove them was made by PKR which wanted to put its own appointees in their place.
“Change is good but if good councillors are replaced with clowns and 'Yes' men, then we know why,” said the source.
"Also by removing NGOs and professionals, Pakatan Rakyat is basically going back on its promise to voters in 2008 that the local council will comprise non-political appointees," he added.
Sources said Fernandez, a vocal advocate of good governance and an expert on local government and planning laws will be making way as part of a new state policy to limit the term of councillors to two terms.
Fernandez, when contacted confirmed his tenure ends on Dec 31, and that he had not received any reappointment letter.
He declined to comment on his exit from MPBJ, which he has served since Pakatan Rakyat took over the administration of Selangor in 2008.
Fernandez however is not alone. It is believed that another “noisy” councillor Cynthia Gabriel has also been given the boot, along with sole OKU (special needs persons) representative Anthony Thanasayan.
Other councillors said to be dropped are Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainudin and Chan Chee Keong.
The new policy, while praised so as to allow deadwood to be removed has also been criticised as a tool to remove councillors who are a pain to state leaders.
MBPJ, for instance is notorious for “blocking” development orders and applications that do not follow the law, causing much grief to politicians who want to reward supporters and donors for helping them win their state or parliamentary seats.
Fernandez, for instance was responsible in helping to draft the state’s new billboard policy which basically threw sand into the rice bowls of politicians, civil servants and businessmen who were reaping the benefits of a highly corrupt system that relied on kickbacks and led to indiscriminate mushrooming of billboards.
He also discovered anomalies in the PJ Draft Local Plan Two (RTPJ 2) where fraud was committed to change the status of land throughout Petaling Jaya, one notable parcel, the PKNS field in Kelana Jaya.
Three versions of the Draft Plan popped up where, in the PKNS field matter, one plan indicated it was for recreational purposes while another stated it was for commercial.
The matter was brought to the Selangor Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat).
Due to his legal background, Fernandez was the bell-weather of the council’s legal affairs and was among those who raised the alarm when a senior council staff illegally entered a consent order on behalf of the council, with a billboard company. (LINK http://www.fz.com/content/billboard-firm-takes-contempt-action-against-m...)
It is understood that Mayor Datin Paduka Alinah Ahmad who had rated Fernandez the highest among all the 24 councillors is upset at losing some of the full board members.
“But it is a state policy and political matter, so she has no say,” said a state source.
However the source tells fz.com that those dropped seem to only affect NGO representatives and professionals.
It is understood that the request to remove them was made by PKR which wanted to put its own appointees in their place.
“Change is good but if good councillors are replaced with clowns and 'Yes' men, then we know why,” said the source.
"Also by removing NGOs and professionals, Pakatan Rakyat is basically going back on its promise to voters in 2008 that the local council will comprise non-political appointees," he added.
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