Call for more Indian reps in city council

MORE Indian representatives are needed in the Pasir Gudang City Council (MBPG) to better address the needs of the community, says councillor S. Mahendran.

He said the state government had recently swapped MIC’s seat at MBPG with the Muar Municipal Council, leaving only two Indian councillors remaining at MBPG.

“We previously had three; now there is only me, in charge of Kota Bestari, and R. Vijayan in Sierra Perdana.

“There should be at least four of us in MBPG; two in the Pasir Gudang parliamentary constituency and another two in the Tebrau parliamentary constituency,” he said when met after the swearing-in ceremony at Menara Aqabah.

Meanwhile Vijayan said their request for additional Indian councillors was fair.

He pointed out that there were more than 28,000 Indians in Tebrau and over 22,000 in Pasir Gudang.

“Having four people to manage is better, or else we will have too much work to cope with,” he said.

However, he acknowledged the political decision had been made.

“So like it or not, we will abide,” he said, adding they would continue to provide their service to the people in Pasir Gudang.

Pasir Gudang mayor Datuk Asman Shah Abd Rahman said the city council had no say over the selection of councillors, as appointments were made by political parties.

“We only appoint based on the list of names approved by the state government during the previous Johor State Government Council (MMK) meeting.

“Our aim is to ensure the appointments are seamlessly done so they can be part of this year’s budget decision-making.

“The city council also needs to ensure people would continue to be able to get in touch with MBPG through their zone councillors on any issues,” he said.

Asman Shah said there were 11 new councillors this year, while only 13 previous councillors were reappointed.

Meanwhile, newly appointed councillor Lim Ming Ter said his agenda was to ensure the safety and health of the community in Rinting 1.

“I believe the best approach would be to ensure the surrounding area is safe,” said Lim, who is an accounting lecturer.

Desa Rakyat Perdana councillor Sim Shaw Fong said he hoped to be able to represent the community and help mitigate their issues by working together with MBPG.

“I hope to be able to form the community committee soon so that we can channel information from the public back to the city council for them to take action,” said Sim, who is a technical manager.