The Johor Bahru City Council and its mayor must be ashamed of themselves for having to be woken up from their deep slumber by Dr Wee Ka Siong, the MCA division chief for Johor Bahru, and the Tanjong Puteri parliamentarian Shahrir Abdul Samad.

If they do not get up from their sleep and get down to work Wee claimed the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) would come down very hard on them. This sort of threats from Barisan leaders often fall on deaf ears for no action will be taken because bribery and corruption are often the order of the day in municipalities and local councils.

The councilors are not elected and are therefore not responsible to any body. They just can’t be bothered for they are protected by the party they belong to. They have been appointed by Umno as a sort of reward for supporting the corrupt Barisan government. They are totally unaware of the workings of local government, or if they do, choose to ignore the various bye-laws that govern these institutions.

Looking at our city deteriorating day-by-day into lawlessness and filth one wonders how soon Johor Bahru residents will become slum dwellers. Municipal services are simply not forthcoming for reasons best known to the MACC. Yet nothing is done. When questioned about this state of affairs, the answer is that nobody has complained to warrant any investigation!

Must the municipal authorities wait for someone to lodge a complaint before they can act? Are they blind to all the irregularities and non-compliance with municipal bye-laws with regard to buildings, illegal structures, maintenance of streets, walkways and pavements, licensing of hawkers, city cleansing and a whole host of services that has to be provided by them for the rates and taxes they collect from the public?

Can they not act on their own with all the relevant staff who oversee the various activities of the municipal council? It’s not that complaints have not been made but that they have fallen on deaf years for so long, so much so that the public cannot be bothered any more knowing that no action will be taken no matter how many or how serious the complaints may have been.

The philosophy of the nominated councilors is like that of the three monkeys – ‘who see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil’ so long as ‘bananas’ keep coming their way. Why rock the boat by having local government elections and upsetting the apple-cart that is providing them with such goodies for doing no work. Only a fool would want to do that.

Najib and his Umno/Barisan know full well the kind of employees they have in local government and the nominated councilors who are appointed for supporting them in letting our towns and cities rot away little by little without an iota of accountability. Things have come to such a head that the local citizenry believe that there is no government at the local level and people can do what they like without any fear of prosecution or punishment for breaking any laws that contravene city council and municipal regulations.

This writer once asked a motorist why he was parking his vehicle on an expensively paved walkway for pedestrians in the heart of the city and within sight of the central police station, and his arrogant response was – ‘mana ada gomen’ - in short ‘where is the government?’

You will get the same reply from anyone who is breaking the by-laws etc anything illegal. The authorities are just foolish and ignorant and incapable of managing municipal matters or have had that much money shoved into their mouths to shut them up. Another saying that goes –‘monkey see, monkey do’ – does not apply to these monkeys we have as municipal councilors and employees in Johor Bahru in that these monkeys can see but strangely cannot do.

What holds them back is anyone’s guess. Yes, they look south over the causeway, go shopping, sightseeing and enjoying themselves in squeaky clean and safe Singapore yet in our own city we have nothing but filth all around. Our uncovered drains are choked and flooded every time there is a shower.

There is rubbish strewn all over the place, litter everywhere, pedestrian malls and walkways parked with all sorts of vehicles from tourist buses to motor-cycles while main roads have become bus stops and terminals causing much inconvenience to all and sundry and nobody obeys any traffic regulations whatsoever rendering the city like any ‘cowboy town’ of the old Wild West.

Aren’t the authorities ashamed of themselves when they cannot deliver the services expected of them but choose to remain in office for its benefits rather than serving the public? Wee Ka Siong and Shahrir Abdul Samad have warned that the Umno-led Barisan government is losing its popularity because of the delivery system of its civil servants and municipal employees and councilors are not measuring up in their services to the public.

Unfortunately for the Johor Bahru municipality and its nominated councilors, the residents of this city have another city to compare with what they have here.

It is Singapore where everything and anything is squeaky clean, safe and efficient and its employees work as hard as they are expected to do. Roads are swept, garbage cleared regularly, traffic lights work, drains free of rubbish and free flowing, buildings properly maintained, no illegal extensions whatsoever without permission, walkways, pavements and pedestrian malls free of clutter and no business is allowed along five-foot paths nor in vehicle parking lots.

What a difference to live in a city like that. And still Singaporeans can complain and get away with it. But here in Johor Bahru one can scream for all one’s worth - the monkeys in charge will not hear you because they simply cannot do anything to help. Najib has already said that local governments are already working very well without elections so why waste time and money for unnecessary politicking. Is that the truth? Your guess,

Very few people know who the mayor of this city is neither his name. He was surely not elected to hold that office. Umno/Barisan put him there as a reward for his services to the party and not to the people. The citizens have no one to take their complaints to and are beginning to hate themselves for not having booted out Umno/Barisan in Johor Bahru at the last elections.

This may well happen come the 13 th general election which is not a long way off. The government is aware of the general feelings of the public already told by Wee Ka Siong of the MCA and Shahrir of Umno. Time is running out. Either drastic measures are taken to stem the tide of public opinion against the municipality and its councilors or face the wrath of the electorate at the ballot box.