WHAT DO YOU GET FOR PEANUTS?

By TEH ENG HOCK

It has been 14 months since our MBSJ city councillors were sworn in, with approximately another 10 months to go.

Many of you have personal opinions on the performance of some, if not all, councillors. Some may have excelled; others may have fallen short. These are subjective views, and we can debate them another day.

Many of us are also clamouring for the third vote. The first two votes are cast in the general and state elections. The third vote, last held in the 1960s, is a local government election at the city council level, where we, the constituents, elect our councillors.

There have been discussions about bringing back the third vote in recent years, but I am unsure of the policymakers’ progress. Hence, I’ll leave it at that.

Today, I want to highlight the allowances received by MBSJ city councillors. They are paid peanuts.

Subang Jaya residents are a highly discerning and demanding community, which is to be expected in a metropolitan or hyper-urban setting. It is difficult to deceive them. Fluffy statements or empty promises are not easily forgiven or forgotten.

As a community leader with zero allowances, I experience firsthand the high expectations of Subang Jaya residents. As a native of Subang Jaya, I too have high expectations. But I can sometimes get away with dropping the ball because I don’t earn a single sen. The community can be tough but more forgiving and appreciative of volunteers.

This leeway is not extended to our city councillors, who receive a monthly allowance from MBSJ. Hence, the community expects them to answer calls and respond to messages round-the-clock, channel complaints to the relevant departments, and resolve issues promptly.

For these superhuman efforts, our councillors are paid a meagre RM2,500 a month, not much more than the national minimum wage. They can earn a little more through meeting allowances.

We can argue that this is their monthly allowance, not their salary. This means councillors should have day jobs with decent wages to support themselves and their families. If that’s the case, they wouldn’t be able to respond to the communities during office hours (let alone round-the-clock) or attend meetings with various MBSJ departments and sub-committees unless we commission civil servants to work evenings too.

In essence, being a good city councillor is a full-time job. The same applies to an MP, who according to the Members of Parliament Act 1980, receives a basic salary of RM16,000. A state assemblyman in Selangor earns RM11,500.

If the role of city councillor is a stepping stone for future MPs and ADUNs, then the system is broken, and we will suffer from a shallow pool of political talent in the future.

At RM2,500, we cannot attract professional talents or bright young minds. Those willing to sacrifice and take up the appointments would mostly be financially independent or retired, or be a passive business director. Let’s hope we don’t attract those who want to use the position to “cari makan” in unscrupulous ways.

A year ago, ADUN Subang Jaya Michelle Ng and ADUN Pandamaran Leong Tuck Kee raised the matter at the Selangor State Assembly, to which Selangor state exco Datuk Ng Suee Lim said the last revision of allowances was in 2017. Subsequently, the Menteri Besar stated that the revisions are not a priority for the state government.

There will be lasting impacts on the local government if this is not corrected. We all know what happens when we pay peanuts.

*The journalist-turned-PR strategist is currently serving as SS17 Rukun Tetangga chairman and MPP Zone 1 committee member, and a former PIBG committee member of a school in Subang Jaya.