Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Surely there are thousands of village heads - how come only 510 came to listen to Najib?

Village Heads and Chiefs - These are all government selected and appointed, not persons who have been democratically elected by their communities. They, in fact, would be best described as Najib's or BN's cronies - and it is a joke to hear Najib telling them not to have their own set of cronies or favorites...Why not? They learn from their 'masters', the people that appoint them - and, of course, they too will develop their own set of cronies. 

If you really want to get rid of cronyism, then you must restore the right and power back to people in the villages, tamans, new villages - and allow them to democratically elect their own leaders. Make sure that there is at least one General Meeting at the Village levels where the leaders and their committees will have to report back to the people as to what they did, and also of course this accounts..

REFORMS NEEDED
Democratic Election of Village Heads and Chiefs, and their executive commitee
Annual General Meetings - Reports, Accounts, Minutes, etc
Elections could be for 2 or maximum 3 year terms

Democratically elected Village Heads and their Committee shall be given monthly allocations of RM1,000, whereby RM500 as allowance for the Head, and the remaining to be spend for the activities of the Committee and the Community - phones, electricity bills, water, Indah Water, Office, internet, etc

With a population of 28 million, given that villages/tamans/new villages have about 5,000 - that means 5,600 Village Heads/Chiefs, and if given RM1,000 per month, it is about RM5.6 million, and that is reasonable..

Now, Najib met 510 village heads and chiefs from all over Peninsular Malaysia - what happened to the rest. Did they boycott the meeting with the PM? Or were only the closest of cronies invited to this meeting? 






Najib: Village chiefs shouldn't play the crony game
  • Hazlan Zakaria
  • 2:52PM Jul 10, 2012
 
Village chiefs must stay away from cronyism in order to uplift the image of their institution, said Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

“Do not have factions around you. Do not have people around you (that you favour).

“Don’t put your gang (friends) first. As leaders you must be fair,” he told 510 village heads and chiefs from all over Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur today.

Najib was opening a seminar on how to strengthen the Peninsular Malaysia Association of Village Heads and Chiefs.

The prime minister also called upon the village heads and chiefs to mirror the loyalty that their predecessor once gave to the Malay sultans by serving the present civilian government loyally.

“Village chiefs had served the Sultans and now the present government under the umbrella of the Malay rulers.”

Above being loyal, Najib also wants them to be the conduit between the government and the rakyat in order to explain and implement the policies and programmes of the powers that be.

“You must ensure that it reach all target groups.

“I want village chiefs and heads to support the implementation of the national transformation.”

Stressing his recognition of their vital role in as “father” to local communities and hard work, Najib also agreed to consider rising their allowances and government pay grades.

“About the allowance and others, I understand, I support. Give me time, tomorrow during the cabinet meeting, I and (Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department) Jamil Khir Baharom will table it.

“I shall consult with the Finance Ministry and if it is feasible, I shall announce it when it is time.

“But when, I cannot say... But I hope that when the time comes, you will also help to fulfill my request, too,” he said.

Allocation of RM500,000 for the association

Najib also announced that the government will give an allocation of RM500,000 to the association for its activities, a considerable jump which is more that double from the RM200,000 granted to them last year.

Jamil Khir was also present during the launch of the seminar by Najib, he being one of those who had conducted briefings to the village heads and chiefs.

Fuad Jamaluddin, the president of the association, had earlier asked for an increase of allowances and pay grades for the 528 village heads and chiefs in the peninsular, citing the huge scope of their duties which is considerable as opposed to the meagre RM200 allowance they are currently receiving.

The village heads and chiefs are another electoral segment being approached by Najib as he braces for the upcoming general election, with an event featuring groups almost every week.

Prior to this Najib had held consultations and distributed what is seen to be pre-election goodies to taxi drivers, small and medium scale businesses, students and others. - Malaysiakini, 10/7/2012, Najib: Village chiefs shouldn't play the crony game

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