‘Allow us to elect our own village heads’ - End political appointments, end KLEPTOCRACY, end 'rewarding' fellow party members with government funds?

 ...residents of new villages and traditional kampung also want to elect their local community leaders...They believe that a society that elects its leader can expect them to be accountable and get more involved in community participation.

UMNO-BN appointed 'village heads' ...so did Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor, Penang and possibly Kelantan...Will Pakatan Harapan be different? 

Well, in Selangor, the State Pakatan Harapan government said not this time as not enough time to prepare for elections...then a month later, the insincerity is shown by the increasing of the term of 'village heads' from 2 to 3 years... So, if there is going to be any elections, it will only happen in about 3 years...WHY?

State Local Government, Public Transport and New Village Development committee chairman Ng Sze Han said for this term, however, local community leaders would continue to be appointed as the tenure had ended and there would not be enough time to prepare for a proper elections. 

So, Selangor(was the MB then still Azmin?) seems happy with maintaining the practice of placing 'political appointees'...and they are all paid...and it cost the government  

... the ketua kampung received a RM1,200 monthly allowance. The total allocation for allowances for ketua kampung came up to RM6.4mil last year.

So, through this 'political appointment' system, the Pakatan Harapan parties continue to take the peoples' monies(government monies) and pay their people...If these people were doing this for free, it may be OK.

In a particular village, there are many people --- some belonging to PH parties, some maybe PAS or BN party members, some not being from any political parties. With the 'political appointee', he/she certainly does not represent the people of the village ...and as such will not be really the 'village head' of the people of the said village, will they...

Being a political appointee from DAP or PKR, will the people in a village or taman accept them or liase with them as their village/taman as 'village heads' ? Will these political appointees be accepted as 'village heads' or be able to listen and/or work with villagers  if they do not support PKR or DAP? Chances are not - but if the village heads are democratically elected by the people in the village/taman, then it will be different?

Maybe when it comes to village heads and Local Councillors, maybe no one should be allowed to contest as political party candidates - just as a villager/taman resident, that may be better...and maybe make it a more effective peoples' representatives.

Political parties as part of their machinery normally will assign their members to work with communities in different areas/villages/tamans - this they can appoint but they should not be 'village heads' or maybe even local councillors...If they are to be paid for their political work, then the political parties pay...not the government using peoples' money.

The 'village heads' also have the power to not object to proposed development in the area...say, they wanted to bring in a large housing project, a incinerator or even a factory like Lynas, ...most likely, the village heads would be consulted, and they would likely say as directed by the political masters...when really, they should have had a consultation with all residents(irrespective of political affliation) and communicate the peoples' decision...

The UMNO-BN way of doing things must be changed...Pakatan Harapan must do it...return the power to the people...let them choose their own leaders democratically....NO MORE POLITICAL APPOINTEE 'Village heads'...Local Councillors...

The disrespect of people must end...

STOP politically appointing village heads...and local councillors...

* Have you ever heard of these politically appointed 'village heads' even calling for meeting with residents and deciding together...

*  Peoples' rights to decide for their community(village, taman, kampung baru) should be restored about 60 plus years of being denied this fundamental democratic right...

REMEMBER the practice of 'political appointment' is a way of using government monies to enrich party members/cronies ...a form of 'KLEPTOCRACY'...corruption?

 

‘Allow us to elect our own village heads’

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Wednesday, 4 Jul 2018

IN VIEW of recent calls for local government elections by parties under the new Government, residents of new villages and traditional kampung also want to elect their local community leaders.

They believe that a society that elects its leader can expect them to be accountable and get more involved in community participation.

State Local Government, Public Transport and New Village Development committee chairman Ng Sze Han said for this term, however, local community leaders would continue to be appointed as the tenure had ended and there would not be enough time to prepare for a proper elections.

Furthermore, the campaign cost would also burden the candidates, he added.

StarMetro spoke to heads of neighbourhood associations and leaders in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor on why elections at that level was vital and its effects on society.

Kuala Lumpur

Federal Territory Residents Association Council president Mohd Zainuddin Amran believes that community engagement is critical in getting residents to come together and work towards solving neighbourhood issues.

That is also why Mohd Zainuddin wants to push for the election of community leaders in Kuala Lumpur.

“Like Selangor and other states which have the JKKP (the Village Development and Security Committees), we had something similar in Kuala Lumpur called MPPWP or the Federal Territories Residential Representative Council, which came under the purview of the Federal Territory Ministry,’’ he said.

“It was established after the 13th general election, whereby each parliament constituency is divided into zones, and each zone is represented by a community head or ketua kampung who are also called chairman,” said Kampung Malaysia Raya RA chairman Mohd Zainuddin Amran.

He added that he also served as chairman of Zone 9 under the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary constituency.

Mohd Zainuddin is pushing for the election of community leaders in villages.

Representative or leaders of both the JKPP and MPPWP are not elected. The MPPWP has since been suspended. 

“They are usually political appointees, hand picked or endorsed by the area’s MP or district officer that is aligned to the political powers of the day; an arrangement that is open to bias and conflict of interest,’’ said Mohd Zainuddin.

He suggested that MPPWP be revived with changes made to the electoral process 

“We need to elect our leaders; it is the best system to ensure transparency and accountability, particularly from middle-class suburbs in the city who don’t normally get the attention like their urban neighbours,’’ he said. 

Mohd Zainuddin is hoping that new Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad would revive the MPPWP and allow the residents to elect their leaders who can be the link between residents and the local authority, government agencies and MPs. 

Concurring with Mohd Zainuddin Brickfields RT chairman S.K.K. Naidu said an elected representative would also provide an independent view on matters pertaining to the city. 

“Some of our wakil rakyat are holding ministerial positions and will be our voice in Parliament, thus the need for another independent voice is required,” Naidu said.

“While our leaders fight and lobby over national issues at federal level, the city’s ratepayers want a voice at grassroots level.

“We are concerned about uncollected rubbish, clogged drains and broken manhole cover, and need attention too and who better to bring that attention to our council but an elected rep,’’ he said. 

Prior to the MPPWP being scrapped, it had over 1,000 members with 57 MPPWPs spread out over numerous areas in Segambut, Titiwangsa, Kajang, Seputeh, Wangsa Maju and Cheras.

Each MPPWP chairman, deputy chairman and secretary were paid an allowance of RM850, RM450 and RM350 respectively. 

Selangor

Villagers of Kampung Baru Seri Dengkil, a Chinese new village, want to elect their own ketua kampung citing non-performance and poor service as reasons for their dissatisfaction.

Lim Ming Juin, secretary of Persatuan Kebajikan Komuniti Dengkil, a non-governmental organisation said the previous ketua kampung did not socialise with the community.

He said the ketua kampung received a RM1,200 monthly allowance. The total allocation for allowances for ketua kampung came up to RM6.4mil last year.

A villager Chong Mun Cheong said they wanted a vocal individual to bring the community’s problems to the attention of the state government.

Sivakumar says the community’s wish to elect their own leader should be respected.

The individual, he said, should know the community and the history of the area, as well as know the channels to approach when it came to solving issues.

Villager Muniandy Apayo hoped the leader would help the village get much needed amenities such as a overhead pedestrian crossing connecting the village to shops across the main road of Jalan Banting 

Semenyih as traffic on this road was getting heavy.

“The children would also like a playground because the existing one next to the multipurpose hall is always locked.

For these facilities to be approved, the village needs representation,” he said.

What political appointees say?

Sepang Utara community head Datuk Sivakumar Arumugam, who is from DAP, said if the community wished to elect their own leader, it should be respected.

“This way, if the candidate does not meet expectations, there is no one to blame,” he said.

However, he added that the elected person should be familiar with the area assemblyman and administrative processes, otherwise it would be difficult to serve the people.

Former Sepang PAS committee member Ahmad Pozi Darman, who is Kampung Bukit Bangkong village head, said: “For now, villagers don’t have a channel to make this decision (choice of village head) because the decision lies in the hands of the political parties.

As a PAS member, Ahmad Pozi says he is stepping down as village head.

“The assemblyman will pick the candidates whom he thinks is capable for the post of ketua kampung,” he said.

He pointed out that those who want to protest against the chosen candidate could not do so if it was a political appointment.

Due to Pakatan Harapan forming the Government after the elections, Ahmad said he would no longer be continuing his tenure.

“If I wanted to continue I would have to switch sides. I am loyal to PAS so I will step down,” he said.- Star, 4/7/2018

Ng congratulating the village heads after the presentation of appointment letters. — AZLINA ABDULLAH/The Star

Longer term for Selangor village heads

THE TENURE for Village Security and Development Committee (JKKK) heads in Selangor have been extended to three years from two years previously.

State Local Government, Public Transport and New Village Development Committee chairman Ng Sze Han said the extension would facilitate cooperation between the village heads and the state government.

Ng said the maximum number of years allowed for each term was three years and the state decided to utilise the entire time frame.

This, he said, would ensure better planning for development and programmes in villages.

“The JKKK heads also acts as the middleman between the state government and the people. They are key in ensuring our policies and programmes reach the masses,” he said.

Village heads will be sent for training to ensure they are aware of the state government’s procedures.

Ng said the state government will send them for basic leadership courses as well.

He said this after presenting 77 JKKK heads with their appointment letters at the Selangor State Secretariat yesterday.

Of the 77, 41 are from Chinese New Villages, 19 are from fishing villages and 17 are from planned villages (Kampung Tersusun).

Similar to councillors, the village heads are also political appointees and their names were submitted by DAP and PKR for the posts.

After a selection process, the Selangor State Executive Council (MMKN) approved 46 names from DAP and 31 from PKR.

There are eight female village heads in the line-up and Ng said the goal was to increase the number of female leaders in all capacities and roles.

“We need to change the mindset of the people and it is part of our Pakatan Harapan manifesto to have more representation for women. Our goal is to empower more women,” he added.

The appointed female village heads meanwhile are more than ready to accept their roles and expect not to have any major problems leading their communities.

Kampung Baru Seri Sungai Buloh chief head Hoo Sook Wan who has served for three terms said, she has not had any trouble in the past as a woman leader.

She said she has been diligently focusing on improving the traffic congestion in her village.

“Prior to Pakatan Harapan coming to power, some roads in the village were under the Federal Government while others were under the state government, so it was difficult to resolve traffic issues,” she said.

With the recent change in leadership, she hoped to meet those who could help her resolve the issue in the village.

“There is a solution to this problem and that is to use an alternate route. It is just a matter of getting the support from the new ministers,” she added.

Aside from trying to eliminate traffic congestion, Hoo is focused on improving infrastructure in the village.

The only Indian female in the list is Kampung Koskan chief M. Kalai Wani, who said she was proud to serve her small community in Hulu Selangor.

“My main focus is on children’s education as it is a basic requirement for villagers,” she said when asked what her goals were for her first term. - Star, 4/8/2018