Aznan (seated centre) with new MBPJ councillors (clockwise from left) Loh, Kusaaliny, Wei Kiat, Mohamed Hamka and Nurashikin. — Photo: CHAN TAK KONG/The Star
AGE does not matter when it comes to being a councillor in local government; you just need a heart to serve, says Loh Y Lun, 23, the youngest ever councillor in Selangor.
He is one of five new Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillors for the 2024-2025 term.
On Thursday, 21 councillors were sworn in.
Loh, who is also special assistant to Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lim Yi Wei, is currently pursuing his post-graduate studies in Public Policy.
The DAP member said his focus would be to ensure the 29 public parks in SS2 get upgraded.
“They are a bit rundown, and with the help from the assemblyman’s office, we hope to upgrade the parks,” he said, adding that cleanliness in the area also needed to be addressed.
As the assistant to Lim, he said he had met with higher government officers and stakeholders as well as made site visits to look into SS2’s drainage issues.
The other four new councillors are Kusaaliny Mahendran and Tan Wei Kiat from DAP as well as Mohamed Hamka Mohamed Juma and Nurashikin Ali from Amanah.
The 16 reappointed councillors were Bryan Ng Yih Pin, Chan Pak Keung, Ermeemarianna Saadon, Mohd Iksan Mohamed Din, Norah Mansor, Ahmad Akhir Pawan Chik, Sugumaran R. Anamalai, Suriase Gengiah, Tang Fuie Koh, Terence Tan Teck Seng, Wong Swee Sang, Leong Chee Cheng, Yip Sean Yi, Quratulain Atiqah Norzahirul Anuar, Nalina Nair and Ong Yew Thai.
Wei Kiat, 31, from Kelana Jaya, who has a background in nutrition and community health, said his focus would be to assist the business community with licensing issues they faced.
Nurashikin, 38, from Taman Dato Harun, whose background is in accounting and finance, said she would focus on auditing and implementation of legislation.
Kusaaliny, 24, who is Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran’s political secretary, said she understood the ins and outs of the city council after sitting in full board meetings for three years.
“As Petaling Jaya DAP youth chief, I want to help young people start businesses and help people who cannot speak Malay or English, as it is hard for them to navigate government departments,” she said.
Mohamed Hamka, 58, said his main agenda would be to address cleanliness and traffic issues in Kelana Jaya.
According to deputy mayor Aznan Hassan, MBPJ had three more councillor seats to fill.
He said that while most of the new councillors were much younger, they had experience in assisting senior councillors.
