Saravanan tells KL MPs to work with ministry

The 10 Pakatan Rakyat members of parliament in Kuala Lumpur have been urged to stop their political games and start working for the betterment of the city folks.

The time for politicking, especially after their overwhelming victory in the last general election, is over and now is the time to set down to serious work, said Deputy Minister of Federal Territories M Saravanan in a statement today.

"It is now time for us to work together to better serve the people who have given us their mandate by electing us to Parliament," he said.

He said that when the Federal Territories Minister Zulhasnan Rafique organised a meeting for the 10 MPs recently they complained in the media that the meeting was called on short notice and that they were not keen to attend it if it was held just to "get-to-know" each other.

"One particular MP, it was reported, even went to the extent of saying he was persuaded by his party leader to attend the meeting held at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall building on April 4.

"After the meeting, attended by all of them, after making a fuss, they claimed the meeting was unfruitful and that it was held just to say hello," he added.

No immediate results

He said the meeting was the first called by the minister who wanted to meet the newly-elected MPs and naturally it was to get acquainted with each other as "we will be dealing with them for the next four to five years."

"Of course, they cannot expect one meeting to yield immediate results and must understand that not all problems can be solved in a three-hour meeting.

"If this is the way the MPs intend to behave, then I feel sorry for the people who elected them, as the MPs must understand that being an opposition MP does not mean you oppose everything the government does, including attending a meeting.

"They should be matured to know this is the way the government operates and they should embrace the system to bring good for the people," he said.

He said the voters had given their mandate to the MPs hoping that they would serve the people better but the actions of the MPs were as though they were more interested in furthering their political agenda rather than doing good for the people of Kuala Lumpur.

Saravanan hoped the opposition MPs would give the minister and the ministry an opportunity to improve the lives of the people in the federal capital.

"We are making efforts to turn Kuala Lumpur into a world-class city and this will only be successful with the earnest cooperation of all parties, including the MPs," he added.

At the March 8 general elections, Pakatan won 10 of the 11 parliament seats in Kuala Lumpur.

If Kuala Lumpur was a state, it would have fallen to the opposition.

But Kuala Lumpur is a federal territory and is governed directly by the BN-held federal government.