Gerakan president Dr Lim Keng Yaik said today that no elected representatives will be appointed members of local councils effective next year.

He made it clear that Gerakan members who are members of Parliament or state assembly representatives would not be appointed as councillors in the future.

"If you are already an elected rep, why do you have to sit as a councillor? You might as well give a chance to someone else, so I can use a councillor to be prepared as a potential state assembly rep," he told reporters after attending the Gerakan Deepavali and Hari Raya open house held at the party's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Bernama quoted Lim as saying that the position of local councillor was a good stepping stone for Gerakan leaders to become state assembly representatives.

"Most of our state assembly reps in Penang had served as councillors before. It was part of their training," he said.

Over the past week, some Umno state assembly reps in Klang who are also councillors in the Klang Municipal Council came under close scrutiny for their less than honourable activities in building their residencies without submitting building plans.

Varsity starts next year

Meanwhile, Dr Lim, who is also Minister of Energy, Water and Communications, said the party's Wawasan Open University would begin its academic programmes next January.

The university will also provide scholarships to 1,000 eligible students whose household income is below RM3,000.

For a start, the university will offer two degree programmes - in the fields of Science and Technology and Business Administration.

"A student needs only spend RM16,000 to complete the whole degree programme at the university," Lim said.

The Gerakan-initiated Wawasan Open University hopes to give students who failed to enter university a second chance.

Gerakan secretary-general Chia Kwang Chye said in September that the university would serve those who are too poor to enter private universities as well as mature students.

"It is not a conventional university but an open university that is affordable to the masses, and allows those unable to enter university a second chance. Most importantly it brings affordable education to the younger generation," he said.