(Petaling Jaya, Monday): Two UMNO’s PJ councllors, Halimaton Saadiah Bt. Hj. Bohan dan Megat Firdouz B. Tan Sri Megat Junid had on last Wednesday MBPJ Full Board meeting criticized Bukit Lanjan State Assemblywoman (ADUN) YB Yong Dai Ying for bringing up petty matters in the full board meeting.

The two had accused Yong that the Council’s ful board meetings are meant to discuss issues related to the Council’s policy, not any other petty matters.

They were of the opinion that Yong should instead bring these matters to the different departments or committees set-up by the Council to look into, and that she should not numerously bring these matters up in the full board meeting, as if they are not discharging their duties as councilors entrusted to look after that area.

Halimaton, Megat Firdouz and another councilors from MIC, Krishnan a/l Narayan Redy are responsible to look after Kota Damansara and Bukit Lanjan, in which Datuk Mokhtar Dahlan and Yong Dai Ying are ADUNs for these two state seats. Datuk Mokhtar Dahlan is even the Selangor Government Executive Council (Exco) members.

Yong was later interviewed said that she had highlighted these matters to the different departments and committees but there was no actions being taken by the council to tackle the problem until she has to keep raising these matters several times in the full board meeting.

She even mentioned that: “Even though issues on policy is important, but do you also mean that a community hall which is left idle for years is not important? Policy when discussed is the same, you see, is there any solutions for the billboard fiasco?”

She claimed that the community hall is left idle very long. Although the residents had complained to Megat Firdouz and Halimaton, they have to switch to her as no actions had been taken by the two.

She also implied that although she and Mokhtar Dahlan are allocated three councilors to help them (Halimaton, Megat Firdouz and Krishnan), she have never seen them serving her constituency. Instead she found that they were more focused on Kota Damansara. Yong also disclosed that although each councilors is allocated RM10,000 as councilor allocations, but she has never saw them putting these money in use for the people in Bukit Lanjan.

I am disturbed and shocked by Yong’s statement as this has exposed MBPJ’s inefficiency and at the same time exposed another failure of appointed local councilors who failed miserably to discharge their duties.

Among the questions that we need to ask are:

1. Why there is not action taken against the many complaints made by Yong Dai Ying when Yong is an elected representative? If there are no actions taken on the complaints made by an elected representative, then what about complaints made by others?
2. Can Yong release a list of abandoned projects from MBPJ in her area? Though Halimaton and Megat Firdouz claimed that Yong should not discuss petty matters in full board meeting, the people still deserve the rights to know more on any abandoned projects and poor services of MBPJ.
3. Yong also claimed that each councilor is given RM 100,000 allocation every year to serve the people. Therefore, it must be made accountable that:
   1. Whether other councilors, especially non-UMNO councilors are also given the same amount of money?
   2. Where does the money come from? From MBPJ, state government, federal government, internal allocation from their parties or personal allocation from MPs or ADUNs?
   3. Can the two councilors and other councilors come out with an itemized bills of how they utilize the allocations since these are public funds?

As an elected representative, since Yong has taken the initiative to expose part of the wrongdoings in the council and the councilors, Yong should continue to expose all these wrongdoing and malpractices by trying to find an answer for the above-mentioned queries.

(31/07/2006)