theSun | MONDAY JUNE 22 2009 13

speak up!

Of ignorance and
conflict of interest
RESIDENTS and stakeholders who attended last shareholders. But in the public realm, Tan must be
Monday’s Subang Jaya Draft Plan public hearing seen to be impartial in dishing out advice and in
expected to see executive councillors Ronnie Liu, this case it is impossible to do so, especially when
Elizabeth Wong and public hearing committee the conflict of interest is so profound.
chairman Iskandar Abdul Samad on the panel. Moreover, Rehda is merely an association and
Who they did not expect to see was Datuk if the state town and country planning director
David Tan, a committee member of the Real feels that other opinions matter, why not recruit
Estate Housing Developers all relevant stakeholders in
Association (Rehda)’s Selan- development including archi-
gor branch. After protests
from residents and Subang Comment tects, NGOs and residents’
associations?
Jaya assemblywoman Han- by Llew Ann Phang If they are there as
nah Yeoh, it was decided that experts, why not invite the
Rehda will not sit at future draft plan meetings. Malaysian Architects Association or the House
The next one is tonight. Buyers Association (HBA)?
The argument that Rehda is there by provi- The omission of other groups gives little hope
sion of its “expertise” and by invitation of the to allay public concerns that MPSJ and the state
state town and country planning director as government were playing favourites. Not only
articulated by Rehda Selangor chairman Datuk has this lent credence to accusations of conflict
Fateh Iskandar Mohamed Mansor in his letter (see of interest but also questions the authorities’
below) is flawed since Section 14 of the Town and prudence and professionalism in getting a ho-
Country Planning Act says that the state may only listic view of development for the community by
appoint three people – in this case Liu, Iskandar engaging all stakeholders.
and Wong. It is hard to stomach Liu’s reaction that
“No others are allowed and if the committee the thought of extending the participation to
needs resource people, then it can under the other stakeholders did not occur to him until the
general principles of administrative law, appoint question was posed by this reporter.
independent resource people who have no “Actually, I’m not sure what kind of people
powers to talk or make decisions,” said planning should be enlisted for consultation purposes
law expert Derek Fernandez who provides legal but since you’ve brought this up I will put this
advice to the Selangor Government – though not question to the chairman (Iskandar) because the
on this issue. decision is his,” he said.
He said that Section 56 of the Act (read This was in stark contrast to Liu’s first state-
together with the Commissions of Inquiry Act) ment over Rehda’s presence at the hearing: “I
states that only the three state-appointed don’t know why there is an issue. They are there
commission members are allowed to call upon because they are sound in development and
expert advisers. housing issues.”
“The state town and country planning director He added that the panel at the hearing has
had no business calling Rehda when under the nothing to do with decision making as the hearing
Act Wong, Iskandar and Liu had already been is aimed at clarifying issues, listening to complaints
appointed,” he said, adding that advisers must and reasoning behind objections and issues.
have no vested interest in the subject matter. Well and good. Then why was the HBA not
With the law as clear as day, one cannot help included as advisers?
but agree with Fernandez. Fellow exco member Wong who was 40 min-
Moreover, Rehda has a vested interest in the utes late for the hearing due to an earlier meeting,
development of the area. More than half of Pu- should make this a lesson in punctuality. Known
chong falls under the jusrisdiction of Subang Jaya to be vocal against such conflicts, she found
Municipal Council (MPSJ) and the major developer herself unwittingly seated with the Rehda reps
there is IOI Properties, of which Tan is executive – not knowing who they were until later.
director. Perhaps this whole episode would also serve
No disrespect to Tan, a bona fide town plan- as a lesson to all local councils and the not-so-
ning expert. One gives him the benefit of the new state government that the basic principles
doubt and that his advice will not be encumbered of good governance include impartiality and
by him having to also consider the interests of his consultation with ALL stakeholders.

letter
letters@thesundaily.com

Rehda invited to meeting

WE refer to “Rehda kicked out of MPSJ’s plan”
(June 17) and would like to set the record
straight. Rehda Selangor branch’s representa-
tive attended the public hearing on MPSJ’s
Draft Local Plan on June 15 at the invitation of
the director of the Selangor Town and Country
Planning Department as a member of the MPSJ
draft local plan public hearing committee.
In the invitation dated June 9, the Rehda
Selangor branch chairman was informed that
he had been appointed as “ahli badan bukan
kerajaan bagi jawatankuasa siasatan dan
pendengaran awam kajian draf rancangan
tempatan majlis perbandaran Subang
Jaya 2020” and was invited to attend the
committee meetings on June 15 and 22.
Rehda Selangor branch nominated its
committee member Datuk David Tan to
attend the June 15 meeting in his capacity as
Rehda Selangor branch planning policies and
standard sub-committee chairman as well
as Subang Jaya zone committee chairman.
Tan, who has a Bachelor of Science degree in
Housing, Building and Planning and a Masters
degree in Urban and Regional Planning is a
registered town planner with 30 years experi-
ence in planning and property development.
With his vast achievements in his profession
and the industry, we believe Tan is able to
contribute to the MPSJ draft local plan public
hearing committee and carry out its duty with
a high sense of responsibility and integrity.
The hearing on June 15 was to hear the
objections and feedback on the draft local
plan prepared by the planning authority which
had been exhibited for public viewing and
comments. We do not understand where the
conflict of interest may arise.
Furthermore your headline implied that the
Rehda Selangor branch representative was
“kicked out” of the hearing. Please be informed
that the representative sat through the entire
hearing and was never asked to leave. As
such your article would lead to the erroneous
perception that the representative suffered
the indignity of being asked to leave a meeting
where Rehda Selangor was legitimately invited.
We are concerned that if the public are misled
to perceive the article in such derogatory man-
ner, it would harm the trust the people have in
Rehda and lower the esteem of Rehda in the
eyes of the public.
As such, we seek your clarification on this
matter. We trust that your journalistic integrity
will not allow you to publish articles which
will cause the public to have an erroneous
perception of an event.
Datuk Fateh Iskandar
Mohamed Mansor
Chairman
Rehda Selangor Branch