Brother
Rocky was kind and generous enough to add a nondescript blogger like me to a dinner session with the Minister of Federal Territories,
YB Datuk Raja Nong Chik bin Datuk Raja Zainal Abidin and his charming wife last night at the Sime Darby Convention Centre. The Minister has a dotcom that you can check out
here.
Rocky has indicated the other, more luminous bloggers who were also present at the dinner
here.
What struck me was the down-to-earth persona of the Minister and his wife. Absent was any air of condescension that tends to waft across whenever one meets a person with power. Maybe it's early days yet. But, that would be an unfair assessment of the Minister, who came across as someone who is sincere and, under no illusions as to the task that is before him.
The biggest single challenge for the Minister must be the cloistered and, comfortable super-bureaucracy that exists in Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur. Putrajaya and Labuan pales in comparison. And DBKL is at the veritable centre of the Malaysian urban universe, the great city of Kuala Lumpur.
From the lofty perch of the leafy Bukit Tunku, Damansara Heights and Bangsar, to the stench of the depths of Chow Kit Market, to the frenetic traffic that criss-crosses Kepong, Jinjang and, of course, Cheras - that is the empire and fiefdom of the DBKL.
If you believe Syed Akbar Ali of
OutSyed the Box and, it is hard to ignore Syed's in-your-face candour and brutal frankness, DBKL practises multiple standards. The level of attentive care and diligence that DBKL displays in Bukit Tunku, Damansara Heights and Bangsar is replaced with abject disdain and neglect in lesser suburbs. That is what he told the Minister last night. The Minister and his aides listened with rapt attention.
But, that point paled in comparison with Syed's pet peeve - the alleged shenanigans of DBKL in the Jalan Masjid India precinct. For that peeve, I shall circumspectly leave to whatever bolts of lightning that good 'ol Syed may choose to throw from his popular blog. I have no doubt that whatever "input" Syed gives on the matter will receive the necessary attention since he gives his views in good faith as a rate-payer.
The governance or, the lack thereof, of Kuala Lumpur is a super high-profile matter. Obviously, the overwhelming number of Pakatan Rakyat MPs in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur is a stern reminder to the Minister that his task is made all the less easy for that matter.
From the standpoint of the ailing rate-payer, the preponderance of Pakatan Rakyat MPs in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur that is being governed under the leadership of an UMNO-BN Minister is a positive tension that should engender better practises by the bureaucratic behemoth that is DBKL. Both sets of politicians from opposite sides of the aisle, so to speak, should put the necessary squeeze on DBKL's bureaucracy. That much still needs to be done in spite of that healthy political tension speaks volumes about the degree to which vested interests have embedded themselves into the DBKL superstructure.
So, our hope is that the Minister will find much common ground with the likes of Wangsa Maju MP,
YB Wee Choo Keong and Lembah Pantai MP,
YB Nurul Izzah Anwar, to place DBKL under intense scrutiny. That level of positive political cooperation can only benefit the ratepayers. And, it is a healthy competition for their voting sympathy.
I wish the Minister all the best in his heavy task and, I hope that he will reach out to the other FT MPs for the benefit of all ratepayers in Kuala Lumpur.
