The Star (Used by permission) - Sunday March 16, 2008

The Star= <= strong>(Used by permissio= n) - Sunday March 16, 2008

Check and balance with elected council= lors

BY M. KRISHNAMOORTHY AND DAVID TAN

Sunday Star catches up with past reps = who are all for bringing back local government elections.

IT is time to have elected councillors comprising citizens who want to serve the community and are elected to do s= o as they will be more effective and accountable to the people.

Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) president S.M. Mohamed Idris, who advocates this, is among the rare breed w= ho served as councillor on the island from 1955 till 1966, during a period when councillors were elected from political parties.

This became a talking point when the Opposition, during their election ceramah, vowed to bring back elect= ed local councillors, if it won the elections.

Honoured:= Devaki feels that her lifetime of hardwork has been acknowledged in winning the Woman of the Year award.

Recounting his experiences as a counci= llor in the then George Town City Council, Idris, 81, says the job of a councill= or was more meaningful then.

“Councillors in those days had m= any more functions. They managed and regulated the transportation system, water= and electricity supply, collection of rubbish, the health services, and the fire brigade.

“We even formed a band for the c= ouncil and organised regular lectures on local culture.”

He says the selected councillors could= then choose from among themselves the head of the municipal councils, unlike the current practice where the heads are appointed by the state government. &nb= sp;

The consumer activist adds that counci= llors should not be picked from members of political parties but drawn from citiz= ens who were willing to serve and capable of making positive contributions.&nbs= p;

Tan Sri Devaki Krishnan, who holds the record of being the first woman to contest and win a seat in the municipali= ty of Kuala Lumpur, is all for the revival of local council elections. <= o:p>

Annual Ra= ya affair: Tunku enjoying eggplant and dried fish curry at his home in Penan= g. Second from left is Devaki.

She represented the Bangsar area as on= e of the 12 elected councillors in the 18-member council until 1955. (The six appointed councillors were representatives from the business sector and from minority groups including the Eurasians and Ceylonese.)

Devaki says ratepayers were deprived of getting candidates who could best serve the community under the existing sy= stem of appointing local councillors.

“Local authorities face many pro= blems because councillors are not represented by the people. Many of them sit in councils not knowing the people’s woes,” she adds. <= /o:p>

Devaki says she is grateful to Datuk O= nn Jaafar, the founder of Umno who left the party to set up the Independence of Malaya Party (IMP), for persuading her to go into politics. She was then a = teacher in her 20s.

She recalls that much of the campaigni= ng was done on a mobile stage – a lorry with fluorescent lights, which carri= ed four chairs and cone-shaped speakers.

The sari-clad Devaki had to be very ca= reful when climbing a ladder to get to the back of the lorry.

“We had rallies at many places l= ike the Kilat Club, Bukit Bangsar, the railway quarters at Sentul and Sentul Pasar.

“Each rally would begin with Onn’s speech, followed by an MCA representative after which the then Railway Union president R. Renumal would speak.”

Devaki says the speeches were on the IMP’s manifesto and about what the people could gain by supporting it.

Among her achievements as a councillor= was to get piped water supply and standpipes for people in Kampung Abdullah Huk= um and Kerinchi.

“I had to attend to many complai= nts from the people. Residents in Bangsar and Brickfields who complained about having to travel far to post their letters got letter boxes set up nearer to their homes.”

“The main concerns were to fight= for the rights of the constituents but my rapport with the British president of= the council and the OCPD helped to resolve many problems.”

“I needed a lot of help so I wou= ld sit with Datuk Onn and another lawyer, one Mr Ramani,” she shares, adding= that the IMP head office was located behind the Sultan Abdul Samad building.&nbs= p;

“Those days there were strong ti= es among people of all races and religions.

“In school we had religious stud= ies. I had to study the Old and New Testament and achieved an A for the subject in= my Form Five although I continued to be a Hindu.

“My parents were open to idea of= me gaining knowledge of other religions,” she says.

Dr Goh Ban Lee, a former appointed councillor on the island from 1989 to 1995, says it is not possible to rest= ore the election process to pick councillors unless the Barisan Nasional-led federal government amends the laws on local government.

Dr Goh suggests that the DAP-led gover= nment in Penang introduce a more democratic way of selecting councillors from the public by forming an independent committee, comprising representatives of non-governmental agencies and businessmen, to recommend the councillors to = the state government.

“The independent committee can p= ick the councillors from the public. They could be businessmen, professionals, = or members of political parties.

“The committee can also recommen= d the head of the councils to the state government,” he added. <= /o:p>

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