Selangor Special

"Selangor different from other states," so says the Menteri Besar of Selangor, Datuk Mohd Khir "hati lapang" Toyo.

Therefore, state assemblymen in Selangor should be allowed to retain their municipal councillorship. Otherwise, given the immense bureaucratic red tape existing in the local governments, the assemblymen would have "difficulty channelling the people's grouses to the local government."

You see, in other states, the local councils are more efficient, therefore, it isn't necessary for their state assemblymen to be part of the local government. Selangor, however, is "different from other states".

It is after all the only state in Malaysia which has declared itself a "developed state", more developed than New Zealand, better education system than Singapore and less corrupt than Belgium. So, Selangor is different. The Menteri Besar himself admitted:

"Selangor is developing and there are many complaints on infrastructure, such as on potholes, clogged drains and non functioning streetlights. It would be more difficult if they (state assemblymen) are outside (the council)," he told reporters after attending [a] Hari Raya open house.

But that's contradicting himself, I hear you say. No, in Selangor, it's different. Selangor is a "fully developed developing state".

In such a state, the local councillors, being appointed based on their positions in Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties are unelected in nature. Hence, they have absolutely no interest in "infrastructure [issues], such as potholes, clogged drains and non functioning streetlights". Only the duly elected state assemblymen, who under normal circumstances should be involved with state legislation in a developed state will go down to the nitty gritty and concern themselves with whether your rubbish gets collected daily.

But then the Selangor Menteri Besar's hands are tied for the Federal government banned local government elections many many years ago, so it's really not his fault. After all, he blamed the Federal Government for regulations requiring appointment of local councillors from the pool of local BN party division position holders instead of the appointment of the appropriate professionals who actually know their stuff.

Of course it doesn't matter that the inconsequential Housing and Local Authority Ministry and Minister from the inconsequential party corrected the Menteri Besar's understanding of the Local Government Act

You see, that's because Selangor, the developed developing state is different. The Menteri Besar of Selangor himself stated so, so it must be so.