We will resign according to procedure: DBKL political appointees

Interview with Datuk Datuk Rizalman on GE.

POLITICAL appointees who are members of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) advisory board are willing to resign as board members, as long as it is done properly.

Board member and Bandar Tun Razak Umno chief Datuk Rizalman Mokhtar said he understood that when there was a new government, there would be some changes.

“We have no issues with resigning (from the board) if we are asked to do so,” he said, adding that the members’ tenure would expire on Nov 30, 2019.

“By publicly telling us to resign gives the impression that we are refusing, when in fact we were not asked to do so.”

Rizalman was referring to a statement by newly-minted Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad who asked eight Barisan Nasional-appointed DBKL advisory board members to step down, and that Kuala Lumpur MPs should be on the board instead.

Ng says he will serve the public until his term ends next year.

Khalid said there was no moral justification for the present board members to hold on to the posts, and they should make room for elected representatives.

He added that MPs were not part of the DBKL decision-making under the previous administration.

“Our appointments were done in a dignified manner and as per the rules, we appeal to the DBKL management to let us leave with dignity too,” Rizalman added.

Another board member, Seputeh Umno head Datuk Mustafa Kamal Mohd Yusoff, agreed with Rizalman.

“We can resign, no problem. But there should be a standard operating procedure.

“If there is no (official) directive, we will just wait for the tenure to end,” he said.

The board’s MCA representative Ng How Doo said he would con­tinue to serve the public until his term ends next year, unless there were instructions from the FT Ministry with recommendation from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Muhammad V for them to step down.

“As far as I know, DBKL has not received instructions from the ministry,” he said.

Ng said he didn’t mind being replaced if there were more experienced and qualified candidates.

StarMetro reported on June 25 that the Federal Government had directed DBKL to suspend all meetings with its advisory board members until further notice.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz said DBKL had received the directive from the Prime Minister’s Department.

Amin Nordin said no members had resigned and he was waiting for further instructions.

The current board members, where a majority are political appointees, were appointed by the previous administration.

Based on the Rules and Regulations of the Advisory Board of the City of Kuala Lumpur 1989, the board must have 15 members, with the Federal Territories Ministry, Finance Ministry and the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) of the Prime Minister’s Department having one representative each, as well as two representatives from the Selangor government.

The remaining members must have knowledge of local government issues and are professionals with expertise on commerce or industries to represent the needs and interests of the local community.

The DBKL board currently has 13 people from the previous administration.

Out of the 13, eight are political appointees with four from Umno and one representative each from MCA, Gerakan, MIC and MyPPP.

The remaining members are one representative each from the Selangor government, EPU, the Federal Territories Ministry, Malaysian Institute of Architects and Real Estate and Housing Developers Association.