By Teoh El Sen - Free Malaysia TodayVIDEO INSIDE SHAH ALAM: Non-governmental organisations and professionals want the Selangor government to review the recent appointment of local councillors, claiming that some NGOs and professionals have been left out this time around.
The Coalition of NGO and Professional Appointed Councillors (CONPAC) and Coalition for Good Governance (CGG) handed over a memorundum on this issue to Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim today.
The delegation was led CONPAC chairman Tan Jo Hann. The memorandum asks the state government to:
* Reveal the list of all councillors appointed under the promised 25% quota allocation for NGOs and professionals;
* Allow a transparent assessment system so that those who have been dropped have a chance to defend themselves; and
* Include an official from the CGG in the selection committee to ensure fair play.
Tan expressed "disappointment" with the appointments that allegedly did not fulfil the 2008 general election promise of setting aside 25% of the posts for professionals and NGOs.
"These were definitely not fairly allocated because we see a lot of political appointments made... We want established and real NGOs appointed... we are supposed to be free from any political influence," said Tan.
He said that in the Subang Jaya Municipal Council, the number of NGOs and professionals apppointed have been reduced to three from the original seven in 2008.
“In the Kuala Langat district council, the only NGO councillor not affiliated to any political party who was appointed under the quota system has been axed," said Tan.
"We are being picked like sheep. If you like me, I'm in. If you don't like me, I'm out," said Tan, adding that one or two NGO representatives would help a lot.
Jeffrey Phang, chairman of CGG, which is a coalition of over 40 NGOs, said an NGO councillor who is also a politician should not be selected.
"We can't have two masters because it is very hard for them to serve society first. We need councillors who can make decisions that are not based on politics."
Phang also said there is a shift in trend to recruit "yes men" as councillors.
He claimed that local councils in Shah Alam and Subang Jaya had their NGO quota taken over by political appointees or politically connected people who have questionable track record in NGO work.
"One week before the list of appointed councillors was released, we sought an appointment with Ronnie Liu (state executive councillor in charge of local councils).
“When we finally met him, he plainly refused to allow CGG to vet through the NGO list of councillors... this is tantamount to saying the state government has decided to disengage from civil society," he said.
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