The problem with municipal and district councils is that their officials are not elected but appointed and given too much room to conduct their affairs in secret, said an opposition leader today.

Former Kota Melaka parliamentarian Lim Guan Eng said due to this, revelations of questionable expensive overseas trips by these councils will continue to haunt the government.

He added that the only way to overcome this problem was to put in place mechanisms to ensure transparency and accountability

Lim also noted that the identities of the councils' executive committee members are rarely known despite being public servants.

"Councillors are supposed to represent the taxpayers. Apart from the top office holders, councillors are completely anonymous," he added when contacted.

Australian trip

Lim was commenting on the controversy concerning a Melaka municipal council's scheduled trip to Newcastle, Australia, that will cost taxpayers RM125,000.

He had earlier criticised the Alor Gajah Municipal Council (MPAG) for wasting public funds on the trip, which he described as a 'vacation'.

The DAP leader said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's 'war against corruption' will fail unless the latter addresses this problem.

"It flies in the face of his exhortations to fight corruption, for we must not only be transparent, we must also be seen to be transparent. I hope the PM can intervene in this," he added.

The former parliamentarian also pointed out that MPAG officers have refused to answer any questions regarding the trip.

"They've refused to even talk to me, saying that they have no authority to speak on the matter," he said.

'Retirement gifts'

Lim also questioned the objective of the Newcastle trip as a number of the councillors involved are said to be at the end of their terms as office holders and cannot be renewed.

"The tenure is for three years. Some have already completed their terms. I know one or two of the councillors in MPAG will be at the end of their tenure this December, and they have not been slated for reappointment.

"Why are they going on this trip?" he asked.

According to him, the trip appears to be more like a 'retirement gift' than 'regular official visits for better exposure to the modern management practices of other local and district councils' as claimed by MPAG president Idris Haron (photo)

Lim also criticised the MPAG trip for its choice of destination, arguing that there were other countries more conducive to learning as they provided more commonalities with Malaysia.

"Why Australia, and not a country with more compatible cultures, such as Singapore? We have much more to learn from Singapore, which is known for its cleanliness, efficiency and its efforts against corruption.

"What are the similarities between Newcastle and Melaka? It is a gross defiance of public sensibilities," he stressed.

If the excuse is strained political relations with Singapore, Lim said ties with Australia are not perfect either.

'Study trip'

Despite his insistence that Melaka Chief Minister Ali Rustam cancels the Australia trip, there have been no reports of any change in plans.

Attempts to contact MPAG officials for comment proved futile.

Meanwhile, Lim also revealed that a team from the Jasin district council had returned from a 'study trip' to India a few weeks earlier.

"They're all trying to be quiet about it. Why can't they announce that they are going on such vacations?" he asked.

When contacted, officials at the Jasin district council said that president Murtadza Abu Bakar is currently away in China.