Thursday October 8, 2009
Mixed reactions to list
Stories by BAVANI M
KUALA LUMPUR residents who want to see more representation from community heads and NGOs on the City Hall Advisory Board have had their hopes dashed for yet another term.
The recent appointment of the final six members of the board has drawn a myriad of reactions from KL folk, who have described the appointments as absurd, ridiculous and inappropriate.
“No doubt it is politically motivated, but to engage three political appointees from one constituency strikes me as odd to say the least,” Federal Hill resident Pook Li Yoon said.
Out of the six members appointed, three are political appointees from the Federal Territory constituency of Batu.
They are: Batu Umno chairman Yahaya Mat Ghani, Batu Gerakan division chairman Lim Si Pin and Batu MIC division chairman Ramanathan Chinnu,
Tough duties: Former City Hall advisory board member Datuk Dr M.Thambirajah (right) talking to some traders. “There should be representation from all 11 Parliamentary constituencies in Kuala Lumpur. Right now, the board comprises people who are not only pro-development, and may have vested interests, but they also may have political influence as well,” Pook said.
Coalition To Save Kuala Lumpur chairman Tan Sri Aziz Abdul Rahman said if the board was to be made up of politicians, then the system that allows them to be there must be a democratic system.
“They (advisers) must be elected by the residents of Kuala Lumpur who are trusting these people to make the right decision for them,” he said.
“Where are the transport experts and environmental people they had promised to include? This line-up is ridiculous,” C.S Tan commented.
Permas (Persatuan Masyarakat Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan) president Tan Jo Hann said the current line-up does not in any way reflect the citizens representation.
“The Federal Territories Ministry should emulate Selangor’s example of setting up a task force comprising professionals, consumer groups and NGOs to help the people,” he said.
Lim Si Pin conceded that it was strange that three political appointees were picked from Batu, but considered his appointment as a blessing.
“The way I see it, Gerakan has three seats in the Federal Territory — Kepong, Segambut and Batu. All three border each other and my job is co-ordinate the service centres for all three areas.
“I consider it a blessing (appointment). We lost all three in the last general election and this appointment is an opportunity to continue to serve the communities concerned,” Si Pin said.
Meanwhile, Federal Territory PPP chairman A. Chandrakumanan expressed disappointment over the fact that PPP was once again left out of the line-up.
“We have been lobbying for a post for the past 15 years and it is frustrating that once again they have left us out,” he said, adding that PPP has some 42,000 members in the Federal Territory and that the party has been championing the people at the grassroots level for years.
It is no secret that the DBKL’s advisory board has been criticised in the past for being redundant. Some doubt whether board members would be able to play an effective role given that it has no authority on policies, while the mayor has the legislative power to overrule their recommendations as per Section 10 of the Federal Capital Act 1960 (FCA).
While members only get a paltry sum of RM600 each time they attend a meeting, there is much jostling to be appointed as member as there have been cases of board members trying to influence decisions on the awarding of contracts and approval for business licenses.
On Monday, Federal Territories Minister Raja Datuk Nong Chik Zainal Abidin presented the newly appointed board members their appointment letters.
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