New and old councillors pledge to give their best
By STUART MICHAEL, FAZLEENA AZIZ, PRIYA MENON AND OH ING YEEN
Datuk Bandar Datuk Mohd Jaafar Mohd Atan and Orang Besar Daerah Petaling Datuk Emran Kadir remain in their respective positions.
Out of the seven new councillors, three —Hisham Sariman, Abdul Razak Idris and Sebastian Rao are from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), two — Fakhrul Azman Khalidin and Zainal Said are from PAS while Ruthira Surasan and Prakash Rao Applasamy are under the NGO allocation.
In the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) councillors line-up, there are three empty slots for the Parti Keadilan Rakyat and non-governmental organisation quotas.
Stepping in are four new faces, with three from PKR namely Ahmad Fauzi Mohd Kamis, Fong Teck Sheong and Ahmad Sabri Abu Bakar and a new candidate Lim Fong Len from the DAP quota. There are no changes for the PAS quota.
The ones who have been dropped are Hayati Abd Samad, Nik Md Zain Nik Mohamad, S. Sooria Narayanan, Tew Kon Huang, D. Nallan, Tan Hua Meng and Mohd Kamri Kamaruddin.
Hayati had earlier announced she would not be continuing her job as a councillor due to personal reasons.
Meanwhile, when contacted Nik Md said it was time to give way for others to fill the position.
For Sooria there is no issue about not getting another term as councillor.
“I have given my best since the beginning, so I don’t mind whether I have been reappointed or not.
“I will let the state decide who they want as a councillor for the NGO quota as the job is still open,” he said.
According to MPAJ president Datuk Mohammad Yacob, the council would let the state decide on the remaining slots.
He said two councillors from the previous term had expressed a desire to withdraw from the position.
“We will proceed with the swearing-in ceremony on Friday,” he said.
Meanwhile in Kajang, new appointee Lai Wai Chong is familiar with the duties of a councillor as he has been active in events and press conferences pertaining to residents’ issues.
“Even though being a councillor will affect my job, I’m willing to accept the challenge as I want to help the public.
“I know it will not be an easy job. I have seen how the councillors do their duties and now is my time to be in their shoes,” the 38-year-old from DAP said.
Other new faces include Leow Kian Toon and Mohd Hamidi Nazir from PKR, Lee Shin Moi from DAP, and Mohamad Ali Khair Abdul Ghafar in the NGO seat. There are no changes to the PAS quota.
Those who were dropped are Ong Seng Peng and Mohd Mohyiddin Mohamed Mesbah from PKR, Lee Ah Seng and Cheong Siow Foon from DAP and Datuk Noorhisham Ishak for the NGO quota.
Councillors, both old and new, were surprised when StarMetrointerviewed them as they had not received any confirmation letter.
Ong, who has been a councillor for three years, said he respected the state government’s decision.
“I hope the new councillors will serve the people,” he said. He will continue his duties as the assistant to Kajang assemblyman Lee Kim Sin.
Cheong has previously expressed his wish to not continue his term due to personal reasons.
Mohamad Ali Khair, 37, a strong supporter of PKR who will most likely take over Noorhisham’s zone, said he would continue the work of his predecessor. As the residents’ association chairman of Taman Sri Jati, the former soldier is well aware of residents’ problems
“Cleanliness will be my priority. I will also be of service to the people at all times,” he said.
Lee, 43, is the only new female councillor. She is no stranger to public service as she has been helping out at the DAP service centre.
“I hope to know more about the council’s administration work,” she said.
Leow and Mohd Hamidi could not be contacted.
MPKj president Datuk Hasan Nawawi Abd Rahman could not be contacted for comments.
Over at Selayang Municipal Council (MPS), former councillor Zulnizam Shahrani has good parting advice to give the newly appointed councillors.
Zulnizam, who served since July 2008, said the new councillors should screen the public complaints and act on the more serious ones first to ensure a smooth operation.
“There will be a lot of complaints from residents and councillors should always try to solve the serious ones. They should also not rely on the budget from the council and try to use the councillors’ funds to help out as quickly as possible,” said Zulnizam who was the Zone 21 councillor.
When asked if he was dejected by the decision to not renew his term, he said he accepted it with an open heart especially since his party, PKR has decided to showcase new faces.
He added that he was content to have served since 2008 and implemented several important measures including the installation of the traffic unit in MPS last year.
Zulnizam is one of the five councillors who have been dropped from list apart from A. Rahim Wahab, Tan Hui Chuan, Low Hock Kheng and Roslin Mohd Rosli.
The new faces are PKR Selayang branch women chief Salasiah Disa and NGO representative from Selangor and Federal Territory Women’s Initiative For Research, Development and Advancement Association, Zailah Kamaludin.
Gunarajah George who has been reappointed said he hoped to work together with the newcomers including the three slots that have not been filled yet. A total of 19 councillors have been retained for another term.
The undetermined three slots are under PKR quota, NGO and PAS respectively. According to him, the names have been submitted to Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim but they have yet to be approved.
“I hope the four new faces will be able to contribute to the development of the council because we are here as councillors to make collective decisions with the council president and MPS,” Gunarajah said.
He added that there were a number of pending things that needed to be addressed as soon as possible but he did not foresee a problem with the newbies especially since the majority of councillors had been retained
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