MBPJ Councillors steamrolled, to what end?

On May 30th, 19 Councillors of the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) walked out of an ongoing Council Meeting after Petaling Jaya Mayor Mohamad Azhan Md Amir refused to heed their concerns regarding the procedure taken in granting approval for a development project on Lorong Sultan, wherein approval has been granted despite an appeal by the applicant still pending before the State Appeal Board.

According to a joint statement by the Councillors released on the same day, this decision was made by MBPJ despite the disagreement of a majority of the members present at the OSC Meeting on May 17th, when this matter was discussed. Further, the Councillors have maintained that this decision is in stark contravention of the relevant laws governing local authorities and MBPJ’s previously established practice in similar cases, which would set a dangerous precedent for future cases and possibly expose MBPJ to future legal challenges.