The Coalition of Good Governance (CGG) in a statement today urged the Selangor state government to involve civil society in its appointment of state councillors.
In the statement by CGG chairman Jeffrey Phang, he said the NGO was concerned that certain NGOs and professional councillors would again be left off the list.
The state had previously designated a 25 percent quota of NGO and professionals in the selection of councillors. But CGG noted that last year, many of the ‘quota-fillers’ were members of political parties who were also party position holders.
“CGG strongly urges the Selangor State Government to strictly follow this allocation and to appoint credible NGOs and professionals, who have proven track record and expertise in their fields,” said Phang.
He added that any appointment, removal or transfer of these NGO or professional councillors must be based on clear and transparent criteria fairly and reasonably applied.
Previously, CGG had recommended a set of criteria for the appointment of councillors that was presented to the public as well as the state government.
The criteria included making the appointment of councillors a “participatory process” and assuring the appointees were local residents.
Phang said, “While the Selangor state government had yet to take concrete steps to introduce local council elections, it can demonstrate more openness by including the civil society in its appointment process.”
Professing that CGG “represents civil society”, Phang urged local government and research exco Ronnie Liu to meet with the NGO to discuss the appointments of NGO councillors.
The names of the 288 Selangor councillors are due to be announced today, the last day of the tenure of the current batch of councillors.
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