Local councils told not to discriminate between villages and residential areas
A PKR assemblyperson has called upon the local councils in Penang not to discriminate against any areas while providing municipal services.
Gooi Hsiao Leung (PKR-Bukit Tengah) said Penang has 471 villages, but they do not get the same level of municipal services as residential areas (Taman) do.
"These are door to door rubbish collection or scheduled maintenance or landscaping services, which are extended to residential areas, but not kampungs," said Gooi.
"All races and communities are ratepayers, and as such, there is a moral duty, if not legal, for the local councils to extend the same level of municipal services to all areas without discrimination or exception," he added.
A PKR assemblyperson has called upon the local councils in Penang not to discriminate against any areas while providing municipal services.
Gooi Hsiao Leung (PKR-Bukit Tengah) (above) said Penang has 471 villages, but they do not get the same level of municipal services as residential areas (Taman) do.
"These are door to door rubbish collection or scheduled maintenance or landscaping services, which are extended to residential areas, but not kampungs," said Gooi.
"All races and communities are ratepayers, and as such, there is a moral duty, if not legal, for the local councils to extend the same level of municipal services to all areas without discrimination or exception," he added.
During his debate, Gooi declared his support for the increase in assessment (to as high as 90 percent per household) rates on the condition that municipal services are improved and local government elections reinstated without further delay.
Gooi said the increase in assessment rate is required by law and its purpose is to improve municipal services.
He said Penangites have no say on how their taxes are used and neither do they have the right to "vote, elect or kick out" non-performing local councillors.
"It goes against the principle of no taxation without representation. We understand that the state had to carry out this exercise, but we must also pressure Putrajaya to bring back local government elections," Gooi told the state legislative assembly while debating Penang Budget 2020.
"Unfortunately, local elections remain for now still a distant and elusive dream," he added.
Gooi said in democratic countries such as the United States, the government and council not only have rights to collect income and property taxes, but there is a limit on how much they can collect.
"To increase rates in that country, residents have to vote and approve it," he noted.
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin (above) had vowed to convince Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to allow elections of local councillors.
Gooi also remarked that the ratio of councillors compared to their area of coverage or size of the council does not match.
"Seberang Perai is the biggest city council in the country with an enormous area of 747 sq km, but with only 24 councillors.
"In contrast, MBPJ has 24 councillors for only 97 sq km, and the whole of Selangor has 288 councillors, while Penang has only two councils and 48 councillors," Gooi said.
"Clearly there is a need to increase the number of councillors," he said.
"Another oddity is that there does not seem to be clear and official demarcated zones in which councillors are supposed to operate or assigned to, unlike in Selangor," he added.
"This is important as this is a way to make councillors responsible and be held accountable to the residents in areas they represent," he stressed.
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