RECENTLY, there were reports about the Selangor government’s intention to change the state’s village headmen and village development and security committee (JKKK) members.
Many of them have been holding the positions for too long and no longer have anything constructive to contribute; there is an urgent need for a change of the guard.
Term limits are also essential for local government.
With the absence of local government elections, which was an electoral promise reneged upon by Pakatan Harapan (PH), an effective and proactive lineup then becomes crucial if developments and progress are to continue for the benefit of the residents, and not for vested interests.
Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, the state ruler, when appointing Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari for a second term, directed him to bring Selangor back to its former glory.
What His Royal Highness implied was for the administration to focus more on local government affairs, especially cleanliness, in tandem with Selangor’s developed state status.
New villages and traditional kampung need good administration to ensure that the residents’ needs and expectations are given top priority.
Many of the village heads and JKKK members have outlived their usefulness and need to be replaced.
Many of them have been around since they were appointed in 2008 when PH took over Selangor, and they continue to hold their positions despite complaints and not being helpful to the residents and ratepayers.
To be frank, selected local government appointees such as JKKK members cannot be as effective as elected members could be – hence the need for local government polls.
This is the main reason why the JKKKs have to give way when confronted with opposition or indifference from the municipal authorities when it comes to lobbying for development projects, reducing wastage and unnecessary expenditure, and other municipal issues.
MPs and state assemblymen need to recommend capable and active residents for the village administration, and not just their cronies and party supporters, who are mostly “yes-men” and have nothing new to offer.
JKKKs need to keep a tab on the MPs’ and state assemblymen’s annual allocations to ensure that they are fully utilised, as the government wants, for development and progress of the local community.
MPs and state representatives are known to misuse their allocations, and the JKKKs need to demand transparency and accountability when it comes to allocations.
Most of the local government problems such as unsanitary conditions, flooding, unkempt public areas, spread of disease, lack of supervision of contractors and eateries, poor maintenance of facilities and amenities, and other issues in Selangor can be traced to inefficient and incompetent village leaders and JKKK members.
Members of the JKKK need to be multi-racial to reflect the villages’ demographics.
They should not be mostly Malay or Chinese but be inclusive of other races, even if they are of a negligible minority.
Presently, there are two JKKKs in Selangor: one appointed by the Selangor PH government, which began in 2008; the other, the federal JKKK, which was appointed by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government when it lost power in Selangor.
The federal government, then in BN hands, added another layer of JKKK to ensure that BN maintains a political presence in the state.
There is no need for two JKKKs – they must be merged and streamlined for better effectiveness and to reduce expenses.
The village headman and the JKKK members should be given reasonable monthly salaries and allowances to ensure that they dutifully attend meetings and discussions.
Gone are the days of working voluntarily without any expectations of any payment or emoluments.
Attending meetings must be made compulsory. The attendance register concerning this must be conveyed to the state government.
Lack of salaries is what keeps away capable people contributing to their local community.
Resident associations must be given reasonable allocations to work in tandem with the village authorities.
MPs and state representatives need to be fair when providing their allocations for projects to the JKKKs, and should not be communally discriminative.
With a lot of development in villages – mostly haphazard and unplanned – taking place, opting for a more proficient group of JKKKs can ensure a better scheme of things.
Some JKKKs comprise negative and questionable characters. It is time to weed them out to enable a more respectable membership.
It is also hoped that in the new line-up of village administrators, there will not be any recycling of past committee members.
New membership in JKKKs should be open to all to enable those interested in wanting to contribute to the community to come forward.
Appointment of JKKK members should not be a secretive and closed-door affair like before.
The best and competent residents should be recruited to enable the local government to be dynamic and transformative.
This will ensure that long-disappointed residents and ratepayers’ hopes for change and a better Selangor will finally materialise. – The Vibes, November 10, 2023
V Thomas is a reader of The Vibes
