Although, my posting is about the MBPJ, it really is relevant for all Local Councils in Malaysia. In my quest for reform, I have picked the MBPJ as a example...
With reference to my earlier post entitled,Meeting of Local Council (MBPJ, etc) should be open to the public..., I have been informed by a Local Councillor that MBPJ Local Council meetings are OPEN to the public..[It would have been so much better if the response was posted as a comment to the said Blog post...]
Local council meetings are open to the public. why dont you come over and watch the proceedings.Well, this is good news indeed...but WHEN are these meetings held, and what is the agenda.
Off I went to the MBPJ website, and searched for the information about when these meetings were held, and I could not. Finally, I found the pull down menu under 'Berita & Peristiwa'[News & Events], under the item "Peristiwa" [Events], a page called 'Kalendar Aktiviti' [Activity Calendar], but alas, the only item there was 'Jadual Mesyuarat Majlis Bulan Februari 2009' [Program for Local Council Meeting for the Month of February 2009' - and that is all. This is November 2009.
I did a website search for Mesyuarat Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya - but I found nothing about meeting dates.
Open to the Public - But when the information about meeting dates are not publicized, when the Agenda of the Meetings are not publicized, and the fact that Members of the Public are allowed to watch[or maybe participate] in these meetings are not there. These information should be highlighted on the website of MBPJ, and also made known to the public.
It is of little good to say when questioned whether the meetings of the MBPJ are open to the public, but the fact is that relevant information are not disclosed. I wonder how many people are aware of this fact.
Giving meeting dates and times is also not enough - the Agenda must be provided, and then people will come. I am sure SUARAM, Environmental Groups, Consumer Groups, HR Groups, Resident Groups will come when they know something of relevance is going to be discussed.
If one wants members of the public to attend, then it also becomes important to have these meetings, especially the full MBPJ meeting to be held at a time suitable for the ordinary lay person to attend.
If these meetings have always been open to the public - then all the more reason why the approved minutes of these meetings should be available on the MBPJ website - but alas it is not. Are there 'secrets' that the MBPJ do not want others to know?
I noticed that the one things that the MBPJ is open about is about who managed to get the tender for the various different projects....[But were even residents in the locality of the projects consulted on these projects - i.e. whether they want it or not, or whether they are happy with the plans that MBPJ is seeking tenders for...?]
The said local councillor had also this to say -
As far as opening committees to all and sundry under the name of freedom of information is taking this principle to the absurd end. As an example lets say, the health committee in MBPJ is deciding whether a certain restaurant has breached some rules and regulations, so before we could even decide on whether it has really flouted or not, you are saying anyone including the restaurant owner can come and sit with us and may influence us and find out exactly who says aye or nay.
Of course, these committee meetings should also be open. If everything is above board, nothing wrong for even that restaurant owner to be there hearing how the decisions were being made. What is wrong? Remember that all are equal before the law, and entitled to equal treatment before the law...Being present, he would be better able to understand the issue, and know what needs to be done. Other people will also benefit much from this...
Why the secrecy? Is it because some local councilors may have told the said 'restaurant owner' and/or his friends that he would be fighting for an exemption - and he does not want them to see that in fact, he did not say anything? How can he 'influence' the said committee? If things are done in secret, then the chances of influence is more real...but if all was done in the open and above board, then there will be less hanky panky. Special preferences for Pakatan people? Higher standards for BN people? Special preference for family and friends? Is that it? Is that what councillors and these committee want to hide?
When meetings are open to the public and the media - there will be less chances of abuse of power, favouritisms, etc...
That is why we have all been fighting for freedom of information, transparency and accountability...
And we certainly do not want Local Councillors who are interested in giving favours to certain parties, and not others... Local Councillors serve the whole PJ community, and all their actions must be guided by the regulations/laws in place and good sense...
Let there be no secrets - total transparency and accountability please...
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