DAP parliamentarian Jeff Ooi is against politicians helming councils via appointments.

He has disapproved ruling coalition Pakatan Rakyat's decision to appoint politicians as head of local municipal councils both in Penang island (MPPP) and mainland (MPSP).

He prefers that civil servants be appointed to the positions for now unless the third vote is restored to elect politicians as council presidents.

jeff ooi displeased The Jelutong MP pointed out that past experience under the previous Barisan Nasional administration proved that politicians could mess the position and the implications from their actions and inactions would have far reaching consequences.

He cited the previous tenures of former state Gerakan chief Tan Gim Hwa (1990-95) and current chairperson Dr Teng Hock Nan (1995-99) as MPPP presidents as benchmarks for people to judge on whether the appointment of politicians as council heads would bring the desired results.

"The appointment of politicians as council heads has proven to be an anointed appointment. I don't agree with it even though the Pakatan Rakyat state leadership may have decided on it.

"The implications left behind by Tan and Teng as council presidents are there for all to see," he told a press conference in George Town today.

Even though Ooi advocates local government elections, in which politicians would helm municipalities, nonetheless he was unimpressed with having politicians appointed as council heads.

"I would prefer professional and dynamic civil servants as council presidents," he said.

The state Pakatan Rakyat council decided late last year to appoint politicians as council heads.

The current MPPP and MPSP presidents are from the civil service and their terms would expire in the first quarter of the year.

Prefers permanent appointments

It is learnt that the state government would appoint interim presidents to helm the councils until new permanent appointments are made in May, something that Ooi disagrees with.

"I prefer permanent appointments now since both council heads were already on study leave until their respective terms expire," he said.

He reasoned that interim presidents would delay the approvals for planning permission, licences and various development projects since they would lack understanding of local issues to do so.

"Under the current economic recession climate, such delays would be fatal to state government's drive to stimulate growth and employment opportunities," Ooi said.

The parliamentarian also suggested delineation of council constituencies for all municipal councillors to improve services for the people.

Although the state government has stated such a plan last year, he expressed disappointment with the prolonged delay in its implementation.

"By allotting a constituency to each councillor, the public's problems and issues can addressed and resolved effectively and speedily," he said.

He pointed out that council-related problems constituted a major concern for electorates since the issues affected their daily lives.

The performance of both MPPP and MPSP, he cautioned, would have a bearing on the public approval rating for the Pakatan state government.

"If councils perform badly, the state government's popularity would suffer," he warned.

On the appointment of representatives from non-government organisations as councillors, Ooi suggested for the state government to retain those who performed well while replacing those with poor report cards.