DAP national chairperson Tan Kok Wai says it is not unusual for politicians to issue letters of support or recommendation, depending on the purpose.

He said this after it was reported that Ramadan bazaar lots along Jalan Masjid India in Kuala Lumpur were only approved by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) after a letter of support was issued by Bukit Bintang MP Fong Kui Lun.

“There is nothing wrong in issuing support letters for various purposes, but not all.

“For instance, at my service centre, there are many people coming to seek help, especially those financially poor people who are seeking our support letter to write to the welfare department or charity organisations.

“Fong was helping people out of good faith, sympathy, because he was told in times of financial need for those people who are hawkers, who have to make a little bit more earnings to cope with increased expenditure during the festival period,” Tan said to Malaysiakini today.

The Ramadan bazaar issue cropped up after Bukit Bintang Bersatu Youth chief Mohd Noorhisyam Abd Karim was accused of misusing political connections to secure rights to 80 bazaar lots at Jalan Masjid India and renting it out for as high as RM5,000 per lot.

DBKL had only charged him RM6,238 for all 80 lots.

Noorhisyam has denied scalping traders or collecting more than the cost as payment.

According to DBKL, it did not want to issue the bazaar lots along Jalan Masjid India initially due to congestion but had only done so after receiving Fong's letter.

Fong (photo), meanwhile, had said he issued the letter after he was told no payment would be collected and that it was to help traders who could not get licences to participate in the Ramadan bazaar.

'Final decision with council'

The Ramadan bazaar issue had raised questions over the use of political support letters to influence bureaucratic decisions, a common practice under the previous BN government.

Tan, who is also the DAP Federal Territories chief, said it was “irresponsible” of DBKL Licensing and Petty Traders Developmental Department director Anwar Mohd Zain to say that he had to approve the application for bazaar lots because he received Fong's letter.

“So are you (Anwar) actually saying that the MP is more powerful than the mayor?

“Why does he consider Fong more powerful than the mayor?” he said.

Tan, pointed out that MPs like himself, often write to the local council or relevant authorities to get them to act on local issues such as clogged drains, potholes and broken streetlights, but it usually takes them a while to fix these issues.

“So why in this particular case is the letter of support so powerful that when you receive it, you have no choice but to approve it?” he questioned.

As the local council, they need to conduct their own study from various angles on the effects of approving 80 stalls in the city, he said.

MPs can send in a letter of support to the local councils with the reasons why they support a particular event or activity, he said, but the final decision still rests with the local council.

Support letters not unusual

DAP’s Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh (photo) also expressed a similar sentiment about support letters not being unusual.

“I have written support letters for poor residents, objection letters for residents’ associations and appeal letters for organisations when there is an injustice.

“A support letter on its own is not wrong. An appeal or objection letter can also be wrong.

“It becomes wrong when there is a conflict of interest or when the writer stands to gain financially from it. That should be the ultimate test,” Yeoh said in a posting on her Facebook account.

She also suggested that such licenses or business approvals should all be handled by DBKL, and that political parties and its members should not get involved.

Applicants for licenses and business approvals also need to play a role by reporting any untoward incidents to MACC or local authorities, she added. 

“Corruption takes two hands to clap. Those who are greedy and those who prefer conveniences over following due process."