Cynthia Gabriel: Our Work Cannot Be Interrupted & Threatened By Acts Of Violance
- 9 years ago
(TMI) In a joint statement, the councillors expressed shock and concern over a video clip showing traders pushing Oon about and barring his way into his office in council headquarters.
“Although there may be differences of opinion, the matter can always be discussed in an orderly manner,” the statement said.
In the incident on October 9, a group of traders barred Oon from entering his office. He was shoved about before he was rescued by Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) enforcement officers, who cleared the way for his passage through.
Councillor Lee Suet Sen said the traders had reacted violently to being moved from SS9A/13 to SS9A/12.
“They had come to MBPJ to demonstrate against the decision when Oon appeared,” he said.
Oon said he saw the group of traders at the foyer when he arrived at about 3pm that day.
“I went to greet them and was going inside when they stopped me. I told them that I was a councillor and they had no right to stop me from going into my own office. They shoved me and I stumbled backwards and that was when the officers stepped in,” he said.
Oon said the relocation of the bazaar was unanimously decided upon on March 27 at the council full board meeting.
“The reasons are because the bazaar causes disruptions and traffic problems in the area, and the lack of parking space,” he said.
Moreover, Oon said, 26 stalls were allowed in the new location, compared with only 18 in SS9A/13.
Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San said the leader of the group of traders was Saminathan Kitchan.
“They had written to the menteri besar (Mohamed Azmin Ali) and the mayor (Mohd Azizi Mohd Zain), saying they had no confidence in the new location. But the new location is merely a kilometre away from the old one,” he said.
Lau said SS9A/12 was just as good as the old location and all it needed was time for the people to become aware of it.
He said the incident proved the risks and heavy responsibility of the job.
“The monthly allowance is not proportionate to the councillor’s job responsibilities. I is time the state government reviewed the allowance scale You pay peanuts, you get monkeys and we don’t want monkeys running the council. The RM1,500 basic allowance is simply not enough,” he said.
Lau said a councillor was paid about RM2,000 “all-in” a month.
“I think the cap should be a RM3,500 basic allowance,” he said, adding that the councillors had written to propose a review of the allowance scheme.
The Malaysian Insider previously reported traders objecting to the relocation of the annual Deepavali bazaar from Jalan SS9A/13 to Jalan SS9A/12, which they said was not good for business.
“There is nobody there, no pedestrians. The old place is next to the Seri Setia market so there are people walking by every day,” said Saminathan Kitchan, the bazaar traders’ representative. – October 14, 2015.
“Although there may be differences of opinion, the matter can always be discussed in an orderly manner,” the statement said.
In the incident on October 9, a group of traders barred Oon from entering his office. He was shoved about before he was rescued by Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) enforcement officers, who cleared the way for his passage through.
Councillor Lee Suet Sen said the traders had reacted violently to being moved from SS9A/13 to SS9A/12.
“They had come to MBPJ to demonstrate against the decision when Oon appeared,” he said.
Oon said he saw the group of traders at the foyer when he arrived at about 3pm that day.
“I went to greet them and was going inside when they stopped me. I told them that I was a councillor and they had no right to stop me from going into my own office. They shoved me and I stumbled backwards and that was when the officers stepped in,” he said.
Oon said the relocation of the bazaar was unanimously decided upon on March 27 at the council full board meeting.
“The reasons are because the bazaar causes disruptions and traffic problems in the area, and the lack of parking space,” he said.
Moreover, Oon said, 26 stalls were allowed in the new location, compared with only 18 in SS9A/13.
Kampung Tunku assemblyman Lau Weng San said the leader of the group of traders was Saminathan Kitchan.
“They had written to the menteri besar (Mohamed Azmin Ali) and the mayor (Mohd Azizi Mohd Zain), saying they had no confidence in the new location. But the new location is merely a kilometre away from the old one,” he said.
Lau said SS9A/12 was just as good as the old location and all it needed was time for the people to become aware of it.
He said the incident proved the risks and heavy responsibility of the job.
“The monthly allowance is not proportionate to the councillor’s job responsibilities. I is time the state government reviewed the allowance scale You pay peanuts, you get monkeys and we don’t want monkeys running the council. The RM1,500 basic allowance is simply not enough,” he said.
Lau said a councillor was paid about RM2,000 “all-in” a month.
“I think the cap should be a RM3,500 basic allowance,” he said, adding that the councillors had written to propose a review of the allowance scheme.
The Malaysian Insider previously reported traders objecting to the relocation of the annual Deepavali bazaar from Jalan SS9A/13 to Jalan SS9A/12, which they said was not good for business.
“There is nobody there, no pedestrians. The old place is next to the Seri Setia market so there are people walking by every day,” said Saminathan Kitchan, the bazaar traders’ representative. – October 14, 2015.