We refer to the Malaysiakini report No to civil servants as Penang councillors.

The Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce (PCCC) views with regret the announcement made by State PKR Chairperson Zahrain Mohamed after the first meeting of the Penang State Pakatan Rakyat Committee.

Zahrain had announced that the representatives from the PCCC will be not enlisted in the coming new appointment of councillors for the Pulau Pinang Municipal Council and MPPP and the Seberang Jaya Municiapl Council.

PCCC opines that the seven-month of the term is too short a time for the appointed councillors to fully fulfil their jobs and responsibilities. Therefore, we hope that the state government will reconsider the decision again.

We appreciate the Penang government’s decision to appoint two representatives from the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce to serve as MPPP and MPSP councillors respectively.

We are indeed proud and happy with the appointment as this will give us the opportunity to be directly involved in the development of Penang.

During their tenure, the chamber’s representatives, Finn Choong Khuat Seng and Liu Ting Ling, had actively participated in the councils’ meetings. This is a clear evidence that they have showed their sincerity to participate in the development and planning of the state.

Besides the self-discipline of the two representatives, the chamber, being a trade organisation awarded with the ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System (QMS) certificate, had also set up a mechanism to monitor the performance of the two representatives.

They are requested to report and elaborate on projects and jobs undertaken by MPPP and MPSP to the PCCC general committee meeting convened once every two months so that the chamber would have a clearer picture of local developments. In the meantime, the chamber could also raise its views and provide assistance when necessary.

The chamber wishes to stress that the delegation of two chamber’s representatives as councillors will not involve any personal interest. The presence of the representatives from PCCC serves as spokespersons for the PCCC and thus contribute in the state development.

Last but not least , the PCCC is disappointed with the said unilateral announcement statement by Zahrain. We are of the view that such a statement is irresponsible and would arouse confusion among the community.

The writer is president, Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce.