Govt orders DBKL to suspend advisory board meetings

PETALING JAYA (June 25): The Federal Government has ordered Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) to suspend meetings with its advisory board indefinitely, reported The Star.

A source told the daily that the government had issued the directive, an unsurprising move given that over half of the 15-member board comprised political appointees from the Barisan Nasional regime.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Tan Sri Mohd Amin Nordin Abd Aziz confirmed that DBKL had received the directive from the Prime Minister’s Department.

However, he said no members of the board had resigned yet and he was awaiting further instructions.

The board comprises one representative each from the Federal Territories Ministry, Finance Ministry, and the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) under the Prime Minister’s Department as well as two representatives from the Selangor government, according to the Rules and Regulations of the Advisory Board of the City of Kuala Lumpur 1989.

Meanwhile, the rest of the 10 members must understand local government issues and be professionals who are knowledgeable in commerce or industries to represent the interests of the local community.

According to DBKL’s website, 13 people from the old government were still listed as members of the board until 2019.

Eight of them were political appointees from the previous government, said The Star.

These include representatives from the Bukit Bintang, Seputeh, Bandar Tun Razak and Putrajaya Umno branches as well as one each from the MCA, Gerakan, MIC and MyPPP.

According to local government issues law expert Derek Fernandez, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong appoints the board members on the advice of the Prime Minister, as per Section 6 of the Federal Capital Act 1960.

He said while the Selangor representatives can only be removed if the state government revokes their appointment, the other board members can be removed subject to the terms of their letter of appointment.

“But under Section 47 of the Interpretation Acts of 1948 and 1967, it says the power to appoint also includes the power to remove.

“The Government must inform the Agong if they want to remove the (current) board members because they serve at the pleasure of His Majesty.”