Story by Danny Ooi
Pix by Darwina Mohd Daud
COUNCILLORS on the two local authorities – the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) – can look
forward to higher fixed allowances in carrying out their duties.
Exco for Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Chow Kon Yeow said the monthly fixed allowance for Penang local councillors
has been raised from RM1,500 to RM2,500 each effective January this year. Chow said this at a press conference at Komtar on Jan 6 to announce
the lineup of 48 councillors, 24 each at MBPP and MPSP respectively. Among them were five new councilors for MBPP and nine for MPSP.
With the revision, Chow said each councillor is entitled up to RM4,000 per month, up from RM3,000 previously. This includes the RM2,500 fixed
allowance, up to RM1,200 in attendance allowance and RM300 telephone allowance. “Many councillors treat their posts as a full-time job. This
increase is necessary due to their heavy workload and rising cost of living,” he said after announcing the lineup of new councillors for the 2016
term. The tenure of the councillors’ appointment took effect from Jan 1 and ends on Dec 31 this year. The swearing-in ceremony for the MBPP
councilors was held at its premises at the Esplanade on Jan 7. Seven new councillors elected were Grace Teoh Koon Gee, D. Kala, Gan Ay Ling,
Shahul Hameed M.K. Mohamed Ishack, Ahmad Razaaim Azimi, Wong Yuee Harng and Saiful Azwan Abd Malek. A total of 24 councillors
participated in the swearing-in ceremony in the presence of Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Deputy Chief Minister 1 Datuk Rashid Hasnon, Deputy
Chief Minister 11 Prof. Dr P. Ramasamy, Chow, Penang Island mayor Datuk Patahiyah Ismail, exco members and assemblymembers.
Lim stressed the importance of discipline following an incident where two MBPP workers were nabbed last month for alleged involvement in drug
trafficking.
Meanwhile, Teoh, 48, described her appointment as a blessing. “It’s a heavy burden and responsibility that accompanies my new job as a councillor,”
said Teoh, who is a former publicity officer. “We expect to get a lot of demands from the public to solve their problems,” she told Buletin Mutiara.
“I will do my best to serve the council,” she added. Harvinder Darshan Singh, who was retained for the eighth term, said: “Work hard, be diligent
and disciplined and above all be friendly when carrying out your duties.”
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