Watch the youngest female councillor in Selangor, 24-year-old Kusaaliny Mahendran, talk about how she wants to drive progressive policy-making among youths on StarMetro’s new podcast titled “Life & The City".
#StarMetro’s new podcast titled “Life & The City” is available every fortnight on the StarMetro landing page via The Star online (@thestaronline).
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#StarMetro’s new podcast titled “Life & The City” is available every fortnight on the StarMetro landing page via The Star online (@thestaronline).
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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NewsTranscript
00:00Greetings everyone. Welcome to the debut of the Life and the City podcast by Star Media Group.
00:10I'm your host Aida Ahmad and together with me is my co-host Farid Wahab.
00:15We are excited to begin this show. Are you excited as I am, Farid?
00:20Yes, I am. This is the topic which I've been wanting to talk about for quite some time now.
00:25It's about local governance which I think is incredibly important
00:28but unfortunately it's not talked about as much.
00:33We have a councillor with us here today who is going to give us some insight about how local governance is done in our country.
00:42That's right. Yes, we are excited to have our first guest.
00:46She is the youngest female city councillor in Selangor under the helm of the Petaling Jaya City Council, MPPJ.
00:5524-year-old Kusalini Mahindran, also known as Kusha, is passionate about progressive policymaking
01:03and will share her experience of the first six months in her stint with Life and the City.
01:09She is also one of the five new MPPJ councillors who were sworn in last January for the 2024-2025 term.
01:18A little background about Kusha. She has a bachelor's degree in actuarial science and a master's in public policy.
01:24Kusha, welcome to the show.
01:26Thank you for having me as the first guest. It feels like an honour.
01:29Yes, it is. Isn't it?
01:31Yes, it should be.
01:33Please tell us, which areas do you serve as councillor, Kusha?
01:36I am assigned to Zone 11 which is Section 11, Section 12, Section 13.
01:42That means PPUM, you are thinking right directly opposite of PPUM, is my zone.
01:47I see. How has it been so far?
01:51Honestly, I have been enjoying the process.
01:54I am not going to be a person who is like, oh, it has been so difficult.
01:57It has been, but I also believe that anything worth doing is difficult.
02:01I think serving in PJ is also an unfair advantage in the sense that my residents are lovely
02:07and they are very strategic, they understand.
02:10The way they advocate for the things that they want is very in sync with what I also want for our PJ.
02:17It has been so fun trying to work.
02:18There is an IWK TAPA in Section 12.
02:21Finally, we are setting up the meeting.
02:22We have already got the TAPA approved to make it a new green space in PJ.
02:25Oh, that is wonderful.
02:27We are going to make it like an urban farm.
02:29We are going to see where we can get seed grants to get that done in Section 12.
02:33Hopefully, the whole of PJ, you can still serve the whole of PJ as a little urban farm in the middle of the city.
02:39Wonderful.
02:43Farid is excited to ask you.
02:45Yes.
02:46We have actually prepared some questions for you that we are hoping maybe you can share the insight with our audience here today.
02:53Is it alright if we just jump into it?
02:55Yes, let us go.
02:56Right.
02:57I remember, before we go into that, I just want to say a little bit.
03:01When I first started this job, I did not know what a local councillor was.
03:04I remember being asked to cover the MPHA full board and thinking, what are councillors?
03:09Five years into the job, I found out what it is about.
03:13I think I have a general idea about what a councillor does.
03:16Your first assignment was an MPHA full board meeting.
03:19They just sent you there.
03:20There were other assignments before that.
03:22That was my first brush with local authorities.
03:26Maybe you can tell us a bit more, Kusha.
03:29What is a local government councillor?
03:32In Malaysia, there are three levels of government.
03:35Many Malaysians do not really know that there are three levels of government.
03:39The lowest level of government is the local government.
03:41Also in Malay, known as Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan, PBT.
03:44The second layer is the state government, which is where you have your aduns and your excos.
03:49The highest layer of government is the federal government,
03:52which is where you have your MPs and your ministers.
03:54People are usually very familiar with the federal government.
03:56Federal government usually gets most of the attention anyway
03:59because they spend the most amount of money.
04:01But both state and local government also have roles and have jurisdictions
04:05and make decisions that impact your life.
04:07For example, one decision that is given to the authority of local governments to make
04:12is land use and how much people can build,
04:16as well as what should the land be used for in the city.
04:19This is a huge decision that will impact your daily life
04:22in the sense of, do you have enough parks to exercise at if you want to exercise?
04:26Are your walkways from your LRT station comfortable to walk from?
04:30Is your development around you helping you sustain the city and its costs sufficiently?
04:41All of these decisions are made by the local council
04:46and these decisions are made by 24 councillors as well as one mayor.
04:50It's not a singular person making a decision.
04:52The mayor is the chairman of the board and the councillors are the board members.
04:58The chairman gets a lot of say,
05:00but the board members also can influence the direction of the flow of the decision-making process.
05:07As journalists with the Metrodesk, we cover all the city councils.
05:16For myself, being at the Metrodesk for 14 years already,
05:20I understand that councillors have daytime jobs as well.
05:26In your opinion, is being a councillor a full-time job with the amount of work that you have to do?
05:34Being a councillor, the job description for each councillor is also very different.
05:38For me, it is very important to solve problems,
05:41but actually that is not the actual job description written in the councillor when you swear in.
05:46Your role is more focused on you as a board member of the council,
05:49you contributing to the committees that you sit in.
05:52In Penang, councillors don't even have zones.
05:55The MPP3 is just 24 councillors making decisions,
05:58focusing on the policy-making and not on the executive.
06:02It's separate, the legislative and the executive,
06:05following up on complaints, which is very important
06:07because problems are very difficult to solve
06:09unless you get someone on the problem following up all the time.
06:12Half of my job is actually following up things that residents come and bring to me
06:16to make sure that their problems get solved.
06:18However, this is not a written job description.
06:22In my opinion, how you write your job description is also up to you.
06:25What are your priorities as a councillor when you are sworn in?
06:30In my team, the priority is very clear.
06:3250% of your time is spent solving problems
06:35and the other 50% is of course also spent in weighing in the decisions that BBJ make.
06:40If I can chime in a little bit.
06:42This is not part of the questions we prepared for you earlier,
06:44but it's something that occurred to me as I was listening to you.
06:47You said that you have a team working with you.
06:49Is that something common?
06:51Do all councillors have a team working with them
06:53or is it just something that you do for yourself?
06:56Most councillors work together with their local adun,
06:59whoever the adun is, in whichever state in Malaysia.
07:01There's the adun, who's the state government,
07:04and the local councillors are usually appointed by the suggestions of these aduns,
07:09wherever it is in Malaysia, even in Terengganu, in Kedah.
07:12Usually, they work together as a constituency.
07:16For example, in Bukit Gasing, we work together as a constituency, as a team,
07:20to make sure that the problems in Bukit Gasing get solved.
07:22Just to clarify, adun is the state assembly?
07:25Correct. Adun is Ali Dewan Negeri.
07:27Usually, this team is formed from there.
07:30The adun is usually the head of the team
07:32and the councillors are the lieutenant of the team.
07:34But I also understand that different people work differently.
07:36Many councillors are also very independent in the work that they do.
07:39It really does depend on what the culture is like in that office.
07:43Interesting.
07:46I want to know, is there any specific qualification,
07:49academic qualification, work experience, anything,
07:52that is required in order for someone to become a councillor?
07:57Well, you have to be part of a political party.
08:00You can choose whichever political party that you want to be part of,
08:02but you have to be part of a political party
08:04because the person who appoints you is the Menteri Besar of Selangor.
08:07They get suggestions from the parties who win the government.
08:11For example, in PERA, whoever wins the government
08:14will suggest to the Menteri Besar that they elect who should be the councillors.
08:17And the Menteri Besar signs off the official vatika.
08:20Vatika is like a surat lantikan.
08:22But these suggestions are usually taken from the political parties
08:25who win and helm the government.
08:28So, the only way to be a councillor, actually,
08:30the real qualification is to be part of a movement or a party.
08:33Political movement, right. Okay.
08:35So, if people want to get in touch with their local councillors,
08:38where do they go?
08:40As journalists, we get a lot of calls from the residents
08:45who have grievances or complaints about issues in their backyard.
08:50And these are issues that are handled by the councillors.
08:55So, where do people go?
08:57Where do they call? Who do they call?
08:59So, MPPJ has done us all a huge favour
09:01and uploaded all of our phone numbers on their website.
09:04I may miss a call, but please WhatsApp me.
09:06I will reply you.
09:09So, MPPJ has listed all of our phone numbers,
09:11but different local authorities does it differently.
09:13So, the councillors can decide at a committee meeting,
09:15which is their IT committee meeting,
09:17whether or not to put up all their faces and their phone numbers.
09:20So, MPPJ has it, MBSJ has it,
09:22all of the Selangor local councils have it.
09:24And, yeah, that's how you find your councillors in Selangor.
09:27But other states are very different.
09:29I see.
09:31I noticed that in my area,
09:34which is under Ampang Jaya Municipal Council,
09:36they do put up a notice board in certain roads,
09:39certain areas,
09:41notifying people of who are the councillors in their area.
09:44I wonder if PG has the same approach.
09:47Notice board?
09:49I guess we could decide to do...
09:51Is it like the whole Ampang Jaya has their councillor photo?
09:54Certain areas in Ampang Jaya does.
09:55I think it's a councillor initiative,
09:57because you can print banners with your face
09:59and also your designation,
10:01so people know how to look for you and where to look for you.
10:03But that's, I think, an individual thing.
10:07Yeah.
10:08Just now you mentioned that you solve problems.
10:11There are problems you're looking into.
10:13Maybe you can give us a brief description
10:15of what's your day-to-day like,
10:18and what do you do when you wake up in the morning
10:20until you finish work for the day.
10:23What are your activities in a day like for a councillor?
10:28So, other than being a councillor,
10:31I've also co-founded a think-tank, SOGDEM Malaysia.
10:33So my day is kind of warped between three things.
10:36One, the political party we should not name,
10:38and also being a councillor,
10:40as well as trying to get this think-tank up and running from the ground.
10:44So it's kind of a mush of all these three things,
10:47and it is not healthy at all.
10:49I'm not condoning this,
10:50but right now I'm working at 15-hour days.
10:52But it's like a short-term thing.
10:53It's like for the next two years
10:54until the think-tank is properly up and running,
10:56and then I will let go of the work.
10:59But right now, I have to do the work in the beginning stage.
11:01And so, in the morning,
11:03I spend a lot of time actually reading and writing for my think-tank.
11:07And when we have meetings,
11:09so MBBJ has meetings,
11:10and they'll send you a calendar in the start of the month.
11:13Every first June, you get your calendar,
11:14and you know when are your meetings.
11:16And your meetings are usually on weekdays,
11:17and it's not every day.
11:18So your meetings are maybe Monday morning,
11:20Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning.
11:22So if I have meetings,
11:23then morning I go to the meeting.
11:25But if I don't have meetings,
11:26then I actually spend a lot of the mornings writing and reading.
11:29And then in the afternoon,
11:31after the afternoon,
11:32after I have lunch,
11:33is usually when I go for my site visits or looking at this.
11:35Even though the sun is terrible,
11:37but you know, after lunch,
11:38that lunch slump,
11:40you might as well, you know,
11:41be up and about looking at things.
11:42Plus, you know, my residents are great.
11:44They'll send me a location pin.
11:45I don't really have to get out from the car.
11:46I'll just drive by it,
11:47take a photo,
11:48send the officer.
11:49So sometimes they even send me the MBBJ Adwan number.
11:52So it's just like going to the ground
11:53to see if it's solved already or not.
11:55Because the officer hasn't updated you
11:56if the problem has solved.
11:57So just take a small drive,
11:58look at the thing and see how is it looking.
12:00So that's what I do usually after lunch
12:02for like an about an hour,
12:03just follow up on all my different things
12:05people have reached out to me about.
12:06And then usually there's a meeting in the afternoon.
12:10So then I go for that meeting.
12:11And then at night,
12:12I also spend a lot of time campaigning
12:15because I also have elections to win in my political party.
12:18Sounds like you have your plate full.
12:20Yes, it is very full.
12:23Please tell us how exactly are councillors chosen?
12:28Okay, so how is it chosen in Selangor?
12:32Maybe it's a way that is more familiar to me.
12:35In Selangor, what happens is
12:36everybody from the political parties who win,
12:39they nominate their councillor list.
12:41So they will decide,
12:42the leadership will decide
12:43each party gets how many councillors.
12:45After the leadership decides
12:46each party gets how many councillors,
12:48it goes back to their own political parties
12:51and they get their leadership
12:53of the individual political parties to nominate a list.
12:56So that means, for example,
12:58political party A gets 25 councillors all over Selangor.
13:02They will nominate all 25 councillors
13:04and the local council next to it.
13:05That's how they get elected.
13:07I mean, not elected, appointed.
13:09Just to add to that question,
13:11who actually comes up with the list for your party?
13:15Who comes up with that list
13:16and how do you get chosen to be on that list?
13:19It's the state committee leadership.
13:20So the party has elections every two years
13:23and they form a state committee of 20 people
13:25and these 20 people make a decision on the list.
13:27Is that MKN?
13:28No, no.
13:29MMKN is like the EXCO,
13:31but this is like the individual party state committee.
13:33So the Selangor State Committee of the DAP
13:36makes the list for my appointment.
13:38Right.
13:40We're curious,
13:41do councillors receive any funding?
13:43Yes, we have an allocation of RM150,000.
13:47If you think about it,
13:49when you think about repair work,
13:50it's actually peanuts
13:51compared to what needs to be done.
13:53A small repair also will cost you RM50,000.
13:56But yeah, you can still use it very well.
13:59For example, I'm trying to start
14:00this urban community thing
14:02and using it as a seed fund
14:03to grow something from the ground.
14:05So I prefer to use the allocation for something
14:07that will have early part kali ganda
14:09and I'd rather wait for the repairs,
14:10wait for MPBJ to schedule them
14:12and keep bugging MPBJ to do it,
14:14let them spend the money on the repairs.
14:16If not, I'll do three repairs
14:17and my allocation is finished.
14:19So that allocation is for a year?
14:21That allocation is for a year, correct.
14:25Are you required to finish that amount in a year
14:27or do you have to report back to MPBJ
14:29how you spend it?
14:30Oh, it's not given to me
14:31at the beginning of the term.
14:32So every time you want to do something,
14:34you do the programme or you do the initiative,
14:37then you have to write claims to MPBJ.
14:39Actually, LATO Banda approves your claim
14:40or doesn't approve your claim.
14:41So there is a risk that your claim may not be approved
14:43if they don't think that what you did
14:45is a suitable thing to be claimed for.
14:47And so you put in your claims
14:48and you can claim up to RM150,000
14:51but you can spend much lesser too.
14:53Usually this is not the case.
14:55We need money for many things
14:56so it's usually zeroed out by the end of the year.
14:59That is true.
15:00Because you mentioned before we started
15:02about focus on urban planning in policy research.
15:07Would you mind just explaining that?
15:10So under my think tank,
15:11we focus on three things.
15:12Democracy and governance,
15:13climate action,
15:14and also urban planning and housing.
15:16Urban planning and housing actually to me
15:18is very important.
15:19When I did my Master's,
15:20I took urban economics as a subject
15:22that was very important to me
15:24because I did see myself in a role
15:25no matter where I move politically
15:27as someone who still contributes in a city,
15:30no matter at which level of government,
15:31it feels like naturally I am leaning towards that way.
15:35And because I will contribute in a city,
15:38it felt like it is important to see
15:40how I can add value as a policy maker to my residents.
15:44Because it's important to add value
15:45as you are doing your programs.
15:47It's very important to keep your residents engaged too
15:49because you want them to come out,
15:50you want them to see you,
15:51you want them to talk to you
15:52so they can reach out to you easily.
15:54But it's also very important
15:55to add value in these meetings
15:56and it's very important to add value
15:58in how you lobby to get certain things.
16:01So for example in this research,
16:03one of the things that I was looking at
16:05for this urban planning thing was
16:07how MPPJ's funding
16:09is only close to 10% of DPKL's funding
16:12and yet we are doing so much more
16:14and we cover a bigger surface area,
16:16we cover from all the way from PJ World Town
16:18up to Sungai Buloh,
16:19to some parts of Selayang
16:22until the border of Selayang,
16:23it's an MPS.
16:25So that's how far we go.
16:27And the square area we cover.
16:29And I was also thinking about
16:31how we should break up,
16:32should we break MPPJ into two
16:33to make it two different efficient local authorities?
16:35I've been looking at models around the world
16:38and how much their local councils
16:40spend per resident for example.
16:43And it is very literally looked at in Malaysia,
16:48in my opinion.
16:49I feel like some think tanks who do look at it
16:52maybe find it difficult to reach
16:54to the relevant people
16:55to receive the information,
16:56but I'm in a complicated position
16:59where the information is available to me
17:01and the other information
17:03for best practices around the world
17:04you can find them on the internet too.
17:06So doing these comparisons
17:08have helped me see
17:11and understand that
17:13local government's constraints,
17:15a lot of it stem from not having enough money.
17:18And many problems can be solved
17:20if we just raise funds.
17:22But how do we do that?
17:23How do we do that in a way
17:24that doesn't burden the residents?
17:25We need development charges.
17:27If there's a development,
17:28we must take 30% of the sale
17:30or the transfer of the thing.
17:33Things like this.
17:34How do you increase funds progressively?
17:37You tax the people who are making the money.
17:39And so residents can still enjoy
17:42a subsidized cost of their services provided.
17:45So MPPJ has not raised our tax for the last 16 years.
17:48I'm not sure if it's still capable to sustain.
17:51We shall see.
17:52In 16 years,
17:53a lot of businesses have even feel the cost rising.
17:56But we have stretched the dollar to the maximum.
17:59But the reason we are able to do this
18:00is because we have counselors in place
18:02who really want to see
18:03how the rest of the world is doing it
18:05and how to maximize the dollar and add value.
18:08Yeah.
18:09And Farid,
18:10as we in our daily job
18:13cover a lot of community issues,
18:15we are curious
18:17who or what groups in the community
18:19do counselors work with
18:21to somewhat establish a cohesive ecosystem
18:25to benefit the people?
18:27So we work with various groups.
18:29There's of course the RA,
18:30the Resident Association,
18:31where we take care of their parks and their play parks
18:33as well as their roads,
18:34the trees,
18:35the drains.
18:36But there's also communities like the surau
18:38and the temple
18:39and the churches
18:40who need different things at different times.
18:42And for example,
18:43maybe they need to block the road
18:44because they're having a festival.
18:45And so we also work very closely
18:47with these temple communities.
18:48And we also work closely
18:49with friends of Sungai Pencalur
18:51which is like a resident group
18:53which looks over the river.
18:55So after we did the Danai Sungai,
18:57actually someone walked in the river trail
19:00that we built
19:01and saw pollution.
19:02And they alerted us
19:03and the authority actually managed
19:05to summon the person
19:06who released the discharge
19:07because it was done within five minutes.
19:09So they alerted us
19:10and we immediately told Jabatan Alams Kita
19:12and they immediately came on the ground
19:13and it was an immediate action.
19:15So we also work with the community in this way.
19:17So community can be very interested
19:19in where they live
19:20but they can also be interested
19:21in a nature that is nearby them.
19:23So there's like friends of Kota Damansara,
19:25friends of Taman Aman,
19:26friends of Taman Aman,
19:27they can be very interested also
19:28in the recreation around them.
19:30And so we work with these kind of groups.
19:32Yeah.
19:33So being the youngest counsellor,
19:36it must be quite an experience
19:39dealing with your colleagues
19:42who are much older than you, right?
19:45And recently,
19:46another MPPJ counsellor
19:48and your colleague,
19:49Nalina Nair,
19:50posted on her social media
19:52announcing an internship programme
19:56which is really interesting
19:58where the successful applicants
20:01can experience what counsellors do
20:04and learn the ropes of policy making
20:06and public services,
20:07to name a few.
20:08I think this is interesting,
20:10don't you think, Clarit?
20:11I think it is incredibly interesting
20:13because in my line of work,
20:14I've spoken to a number of young adults
20:17who don't really know
20:19what local counsellors are.
20:20I've asked them,
20:21do you know what local counsellors are?
20:22Do you know what they do?
20:23Many of them said,
20:24no, we don't.
20:25And I think that has to do with the fact
20:27that a lot of young people
20:29are either living with their parents
20:31or renting elsewhere.
20:32In which case,
20:33things like assessment taxes,
20:35local counsellor services
20:38are handled by,
20:40the payments are handled by their parents
20:42or the homeowners
20:43that they are renting from.
20:44I think generally,
20:46from my observation,
20:47people start to care about local governance
20:50the moment they start owning
20:52their own property.
20:53Because that's when you start
20:54paying assessment taxes.
20:55That's when you start
20:56caring about your roads.
20:57That's when you start
20:58caring about the trees
20:59because you're paying for all this.
21:00So you would want to know
21:01where is all that money going to?
21:04That's my take on it
21:05based on what I've seen
21:07from my own personal observation.
21:09Yeah, that's true.
21:10And take town halls, for example.
21:12We see mostly middle-aged
21:15and the older people
21:16attending these meetings
21:18to have a dialogue
21:19with their local government representatives.
21:22But it's important,
21:23I think we feel,
21:24for youths to know that
21:26if they don't like something
21:28that is happening
21:29in their community,
21:30they can change it
21:32by actively participating
21:33in the process,
21:34by getting involved.
21:36What are your thoughts
21:37on this, Hakusha?
21:38I completely agree.
21:39In fact, I want to plug in
21:40Nalina's interview
21:41a little bit more.
21:42Nalina is working on
21:43very awesome things.
21:44She is also the chair
21:45of the Landscape Committee,
21:47which is now,
21:48she's going to look into
21:49how we're going to hire
21:50an arborist firm
21:51or a consultancy
21:52to consult on all the trees
21:54in PJ,
21:55just one round,
21:56to see if there are
21:57any other risky trees left.
21:58And she's going to be working
21:59on the tree stuff after this.
22:00And she also is the chair
22:02of the Kesihatan Committee,
22:03which is looking into
22:04the animal spay and neuter.
22:06And we're looking to bring
22:07a new initiative to PJ.
22:08And she's actually
22:09working on it right now.
22:10So I really do want to plug in
22:11this internship
22:12and I want to encourage
22:13anybody who wants to apply
22:14to just take two months,
22:16experience the way,
22:19because to work closely
22:20with Nalina I think
22:21is a privilege
22:22because she's chairing
22:23two very important committees
22:24and she's also
22:25very highly capable.
22:26And I think that
22:27she will put you in a position
22:28where you can add value
22:29to her research
22:30while you learn
22:31in the process.
22:32And so she wants
22:33to adopt the model
22:34that they have done
22:35in Pinang,
22:36here in PJ
22:37with the spay and neutering.
22:38And so it's very important
22:40that opportunities
22:41like this exist
22:42in the first place
22:43because even if a youth
22:44is interested
22:45but have no avenue
22:46to experience this process,
22:48it's very tricky.
22:49Yeah, that's true.
22:50But I also believe that
22:51because we have
22:52some young people now,
22:53we're starting to trickle in
22:54much, much, much more
22:55young people.
22:56Because you hang out
22:57with the people
22:58of your same age.
22:59If you see all the counsellors
23:01are 50-year-olds,
23:02then if you want
23:03to have a conversation,
23:04yeah, you can still bring up
23:05your issue to them
23:06but they may not feel
23:07as relatable.
23:08Right.
23:09But when you see
23:10younger counsellors
23:11like myself, Nalina,
23:12Wailu and Wekiat,
23:13Nalina and Wekiat
23:14are in their 30s,
23:15me and Wailu are in our 20s,
23:16it's easier to reach out to us
23:17and also,
23:18we totally understand
23:19what you mean by
23:20it's the walkways
23:21should be shaded.
23:22For example,
23:23I understand the complaint.
23:24We may not have the money
23:25to complete it in this year
23:26but it's definitely something
23:27that I will actively
23:28look into and have
23:29like a five-year plan
23:30to have the complete
23:31covered walkways
23:32from the LRT station,
23:33for example.
23:34Yes, the last mile connectivity
23:37has been a big issue recently.
23:40Yeah, and so maybe,
23:41you know,
23:42with the age difference,
23:43like even when I did
23:44my internship in
23:45the Bukit Kasing office,
23:46I was taking the train
23:47and I was walking over
23:48from the LRT Taman Jaya
23:49every day during the internship
23:51and so,
23:52different people have
23:54different lived experiences
23:55and because they have
23:56different lived experiences
23:57and different view of the world,
23:59I think it contributes
24:00to a much more,
24:01you know,
24:02rigorous policy-making process.
24:04It's much more vibrant
24:05because there are people
24:06who care about different things
24:08and they care about it
24:09very passionately.
24:10I have an additional question,
24:12if I may.
24:13Because of your
24:14relatively younger age,
24:15do you think,
24:16has that,
24:17I mean,
24:18has that had any impact
24:19on the way that people
24:20communicated with you
24:21or received any of your views?
24:24So, I'm very lucky
24:25because, you know,
24:26all my residents
24:27were so supportive.
24:28The day I was sworn in,
24:29we were not sure
24:30which zone I was going to.
24:31So, my WhatsApp group
24:33was flooded.
24:34Not only my WhatsApp group,
24:35my entire WhatsApp
24:36was flooded with,
24:37are you coming to our section?
24:38Are you coming to our section?
24:39Congratulations,
24:40we're so happy for you.
24:41And I remember reading
24:42one message, it's like,
24:43we're so happy for you
24:44and we're so happy
24:45for our community
24:46because we have someone
24:47who not only has the heart
24:48in the right place
24:49but also has the
24:50intellectual capacity
24:51to bring these changes
24:52that she wants to bring.
24:53And I remember thinking like,
24:54why would they think that,
24:55you know,
24:56they've had like maybe
24:57three to five interactions
24:58with me.
24:59Why would someone
25:00take that time
25:01to write that heartfelt message?
25:02It was from a number
25:03that I had not saved.
25:04I think I helped them
25:05maybe like two years ago
25:06to solve some small problem
25:07when I was working
25:08in the Ardun office.
25:09And it really touched
25:10my heart in a way that
25:11actually,
25:12people appreciate
25:13the work that you do.
25:14As long as you are willing
25:15to hold yourself
25:16accountable to the work
25:17that you do,
25:18people do appreciate it.
25:19And in PJ,
25:20I am lucky
25:21and I am privileged
25:22that maybe the gender
25:24and the age bias
25:25is much lower.
25:26Yeah.
25:27Compared to maybe
25:28if I was serving
25:29in Hulu Burnham,
25:30for example.
25:31That's right.
25:32They might feel that,
25:33you know,
25:34an older person with authority
25:35might have a better
25:36serving capacity.
25:37But here,
25:38I feel like my youth
25:39is actually appreciated.
25:40It's welcome.
25:41My energy is very much
25:42the residents,
25:43you know,
25:44they are very much happy
25:45to interact and
25:46call for complaints.
25:47That's right.
25:48Every time I solve a complaint,
25:49sometimes they also send me,
25:50Oh, thanks,
25:51you are such an angel.
25:52You know,
25:53it's like a very
25:54like a uncle-auntie-grandma
25:55relationship.
25:56They are very sweet to you.
25:57It's not in a way
25:58that it's undermining
25:59your authority
26:00but in a way that
26:01it's very grateful,
26:02very appreciative
26:03but also very empowering
26:04for both of us.
26:05Like,
26:06I am willing to listen to them
26:07and they are also willing
26:08to listen to me.
26:09It's a two-way relationship.
26:10Yeah.
26:12Fresh perspectives,
26:13right?
26:14In the community,
26:15dealing with their
26:16backyard issues.
26:17We want to know,
26:18what are some of the
26:19challenges that you have faced
26:21and how did you
26:22overcome them?
26:24I think,
26:26of course,
26:27you know,
26:28while most of the residents
26:29are great,
26:30some people have had
26:31concerns that have
26:32irked them for a long time
26:33and maybe the issue has,
26:34you know,
26:35it's like a thorn in your skin.
26:36It's hurt you for a long time.
26:37So,
26:38maybe the way they approach
26:39is like
26:40very aggressive
26:41and
26:43while we come in
26:44from a mindset of
26:45very willing to solve
26:46their problem,
26:47in the process of
26:48listening to the problem,
26:49they don't actually
26:50manage to
26:51explain their problem
26:52clearly but they
26:53give you an
26:54emotional outpour
26:55of how they have
26:56been feeling.
26:57Which is,
26:58I sympathize with it
26:59because I understand
27:00that it has annoyed them
27:01to the point that
27:02they can't even
27:03explain themselves well.
27:04They are just very angry.
27:05But,
27:06they are angry at the
27:07wrong person,
27:08you know,
27:09but,
27:10yeah,
27:11I was just wondering,
27:12it's not really at my zone,
27:13it's more like overall.
27:14Like,
27:15sometimes when you receive
27:16a phone call,
27:17maybe you are in the
27:18middle of driving somewhere
27:19and then you pick up the phone
27:20and someone is just
27:21angrily yelling at you.
27:22Maybe it's not even
27:23your zone.
27:24It's not even Bukit Gassing.
27:25Maybe it's not even PJ
27:26because our numbers
27:27are available online, right?
27:28I think we go through
27:29the same thing.
27:30So,
27:31I think the biggest
27:32challenge is this
27:33because your number
27:34is public,
27:35you are a public person
27:36and people,
27:37and I do want people
27:38to understand
27:39that this is a problem.
27:40But,
27:41at the same time,
27:42it also comes with
27:43a lot of this,
27:44a lot of,
27:45you know,
27:46people being angry,
27:47sad.
27:48I've even had people
27:49call me and crying
27:50in Tamil
27:51and I was like,
27:52you know,
27:53I can't really do
27:54anything for you.
27:55You are in Klang.
27:56Okay,
27:57let's see how
27:58to work it out.
27:59Let me connect you
28:00to your MP office
28:01in Klang
28:02to see how
28:03they can help you.
28:04So,
28:05this is what we do.
28:06When people contact us
28:07I find this
28:08quite challenging
28:09and very exhausting
28:10honestly.
28:11It sounds like
28:12you have plenty
28:13on your plate
28:14and I'm sure
28:15there have been
28:16a number of programs
28:17that you've worked on.
28:18Maybe you can tell us,
28:19is there any like,
28:20you can,
28:21maybe you can tell us this,
28:22is there any particular
28:23program that you've worked on
28:24or you've done in the past
28:25that is,
28:26has particularly
28:27stuck in your mind?
28:28Yes,
28:29okay.
28:30I want to talk about
28:31ARIVA
28:32because I feel like
28:33this is something
28:34that is an initiative
28:35truly from the bottom
28:36of my heart.
28:37I joined Sungai Pencalak
28:38actually four years ago,
28:39much longer before I became
28:40a counsellor
28:41when I was an intern
28:42actually.
28:43And so,
28:44I remember we had a conversation
28:45with the adun,
28:46YB Rajiv at that time.
28:47He was like,
28:48you know,
28:49pick an initiative,
28:50what do you want to do?
28:51And I was like,
28:52you know,
28:53I want to clean up our river.
28:54He looked at me
28:55and he was like,
28:56that's a very bold thing to say.
28:57He was like,
28:58that's a very bold thing to say
28:59but you know,
29:00actually,
29:01if you can pledge
29:02to clean the river
29:03and we can figure out
29:04how to do it,
29:06it will be a great angle.
29:07It is a big undertaking.
29:08Yes,
29:09it's a big undertaking.
29:10It's a big thing
29:11to say publicly
29:12because it really
29:13is like holding yourself
29:14accountable
29:15at the end of another
29:16five or ten years
29:17if it doesn't happen.
29:18This is our new initiative.
29:19And so,
29:20cleaning the river
29:21is not at all
29:22a straightforward process
29:24because there's chemical
29:25expelling stuff,
29:27there is the physical
29:28expulsion and all of that
29:29and there's also
29:30an angle that
29:31the river is treated
29:32like our backyard
29:33in PJ.
29:34Our Sungai Pencalur
29:35is always facing
29:36the back of something.
29:37It is at,
29:39the sides of it
29:40are overgrown
29:41and I was like,
29:42we need to change this.
29:43We need to put the river
29:44at the centre of this
29:45and we need to
29:46not only protect
29:47but appreciate our river.
29:48And actually,
29:49people want more green space
29:50and people are looking
29:51for green spaces
29:52every day.
29:53Even if you get to have
29:54a 15 minute walk there,
29:55it's great for people
29:56in general.
29:57And,
29:58when we undertook this,
29:59there was four segments
30:00to the project.
30:01One is cleaning
30:02the water itself
30:03and then the other one
30:04is to make sure
30:05that physical debris
30:06come out.
30:07And the third one
30:08was to increase
30:09the visibility of the river
30:10and to make the river
30:11stand out.
30:12So, we were like,
30:13okay,
30:14we need a river trail.
30:15How have the countries
30:16around the world done it?
30:17They've put two river trails
30:18where people can walk
30:19on both sides of the river
30:20and that's how it works.
30:21And so,
30:22the first stage was,
30:23okay,
30:24we were trying to get grants
30:25from the federal government
30:26because it's very expensive
30:27to stabilise the slope
30:28and build the river trail.
30:29So, now we've built it
30:30for 700 metres.
30:31It is from
30:32OK Mart,
30:33Piccadilly,
30:34in section 14,
30:35opposite OK Mart,
30:36Piccadilly,
30:37in section 14,
30:38right up to Toyota
30:39in section 19.
30:40That's like a 700 metre walk.
30:41That's right.
30:42I've taken a walk there
30:43and it is hot.
30:44It is hot.
30:45There's no tree covering it
30:46but that's all the money
30:47we had to do a bare cement
30:48to really,
30:49we only had 400,000
30:50and we maximised
30:51that 400,000
30:52to make that cement
30:53and the railing first
30:54and the Sungai Pencari
30:55is 3.1 kilometres long
30:56and after that,
30:57the top of it
30:58is in Bukit Kiara
30:59but in PJ,
31:00it's about 3.1 kilometres
31:01long
31:02and I'm very happy
31:03to say that
31:04in our section 1951
31:05and 51A draft,
31:06we have mandated
31:07that if people
31:08along the river
31:09want to rebuild
31:10or want to tear down
31:11their building
31:12and change to the current
31:13things that we have
31:14given them,
31:15they have to rebuild
31:16the walkway
31:17and they have to
31:18give us some amount
31:19of their land space
31:20to build a big enough
31:21walkway so people
31:22can actually walk
31:23at the river
31:24and so,
31:25this is not only
31:26prioritised in a way
31:27like we're still
31:28looking for grants
31:29to build it
31:30but it's like
31:31as PJ develops
31:32over the next 10 years,
31:33this will be done
31:34because it's mandated
31:35by the local government
31:36for it to be done
31:37and this was something
31:38that I actively pushed
31:39alongside YB Rajiv,
31:40Arun Bukit Gasing
31:41and it's in.
31:42It's the draft rancangan
31:43so it's 12A,
31:44the public feedback
31:45for the first round
31:46just closed.
31:47There will be a second
31:48round public feedback.
31:49Don't worry,
31:50we are not afraid
31:51of public consultation.
31:52In fact,
31:53we encourage it
31:54and we want to hear
31:55from you
31:56and we will be honest
31:57with you that
31:58as a local council,
31:59we have to pay
32:00assessment taxes
32:01by three to four times
32:02but development
32:03is a good way
32:04for us to prioritise
32:05the nature
32:06and as long as
32:07it's done sustainably
32:08and accountably
32:09and transparently,
32:10I think we are not
32:11afraid to face the public
32:12and we are very,
32:13very open to
32:14constructive criticism.
32:15There will be a
32:16second round display.
32:17And it takes a village,
32:18right?
32:19It does.
32:20And the community
32:21plays a big role
32:22in making a change
32:23or changes, right?
32:24So that's why
32:25we have the
32:26feedback
32:27from the public.
32:28How has being a
32:29councillor
32:30changed your
32:31perspectives
32:32on the local
32:33community
32:34and government
32:35issues?
32:37I think that
32:38honestly,
32:39PJ has a much
32:40more active
32:41local community
32:42compared to
32:43where I grew up.
32:44I grew up in Ipoh
32:45and I'm sure
32:46we had a
32:47Rukun Tetangga.
32:48I'm sure the
32:49Rukun Tetangga
32:50did something.
32:51I went to like
32:52one Merdeka thing,
32:53I think.
32:54But I think
32:55in PJ,
32:56we are lucky.
32:57Actually,
32:58every resident,
32:59they do feel
33:00some level of
33:01this is our
33:02community,
33:03this is our
33:04space.
33:05They might take
33:06different levels
33:07of actions.
33:08Maybe the action
33:09can just be
33:10joining your
33:11resident WhatsApp
33:12group to get
33:13in the know
33:14of what's
33:15going on
33:16and being
33:17in the loop.
33:18But the action
33:19can go as
33:20far as
33:21contesting for
33:22the chairman
33:23of the
33:24resident
33:25association
33:26and not
33:27taking any
33:28position
33:29or any
33:30leadership.
33:31The role
33:32that the
33:33community
33:34plays
33:35is a
33:36very,
33:37it's a role
33:38where not
33:39only you
33:40are the
33:41bridge
33:42between
33:43your
33:44resident
33:45group
33:46and the
33:47committee
33:48and the
33:49councillor,
33:50you also
33:51get to
33:52suggest
33:53how to
33:54spend the
33:55money.
33:56If the
33:57community
33:58did not
33:59have a
34:00strong
34:01representation,
34:02how would
34:03they have
34:04brainstormed
34:05this idea
34:06together as
34:07a community,
34:08have the
34:09resident
34:10association
34:11of section
34:1214
34:13together
34:14because they
34:15have all
34:16decided as
34:17a community
34:18that they
34:19now want
34:20a pickleball
34:21court instead
34:22of a
34:23basketball
34:24court.
34:25So
34:26that's
34:27one.
34:28Hopefully
34:29we can
34:30have the
34:31second
34:32one.
34:33Things like
34:34this,
34:35having a
34:36participatory
34:37say that
34:38can actually
34:39change your
34:40neighbourhood
34:41is very
34:42important.
34:43It's
34:44important for
34:45people like
34:46me and
34:47your
34:48representative
34:49to know
34:50what the
34:51community
34:52wants.
34:53So
34:54I'm
34:55sure
34:56at some
34:57point you
34:58have to
34:59prioritise
35:00which ones
35:01you want
35:02to compete
35:03first,
35:04which ones
35:05you probably
35:06have to
35:07postpone it
35:08for a
35:09little bit.
35:10So
35:11how do you
35:12prioritise?
35:13What
35:14criteria do
35:15you use?
35:16Actually
35:17it's just
35:18like a
35:19WhatsApp
35:20label system.
35:21So
35:22the
35:23most
35:24urgent
35:25complaints
35:26are for
35:27example
35:28like maybe
35:29a tree fell
35:30and it's
35:31blocking your
35:32driveway and
35:33there's no
35:34way to get
35:35out of the
35:36house.
35:37That's
35:38like a
35:39very highly
35:40urgent
35:41complaint that
35:42needs to
35:43be solved
35:44within the
35:45next few
35:46hours.
35:47So
35:48then you
35:49keep calling
35:50the
35:51MPPJ
35:52and
35:53they'll
35:54continue to
35:55follow up
35:56in MPPJ.
35:57But so
35:58far from
35:59what we've
36:00seen, 95%
36:01of the
36:02complaint, once
36:03it goes
36:04through the
36:05system, it
36:06gets solved
36:07automatically.
36:08It might
36:09take some
36:10time, maybe
36:11a month,
36:12maybe a
36:13month and
36:14a half, but
36:15it will
36:16eventually
36:17be added
36:18to the
36:19list of
36:20issues.
36:21They walk
36:22into our
36:23service centre
36:24every Wednesday
36:25from 5pm to
36:267pm, so I'm
36:27also there to
36:28listen to them
36:29in real life
36:30because different
36:31people have
36:32different methods
36:33of communication
36:34and I'm
36:35open to
36:36receiving it
36:37in the way
36:38that they
36:39prefer.
36:40They also
36:41email me a
36:42lot, so I
36:43have to check
36:44my emails,
36:45I have to
36:46check my
36:47WhatsApp, I
36:48have to
36:49check my
36:50emails.
36:51Anything else
36:52you want to
36:53add, Farid?
36:54This has been
36:55an insightful
36:56conversation,
36:57right?
36:58Any extra
36:59questions for
37:00our young
37:01counsellors?
37:02I think we
37:03pretty much
37:04covered everything
37:05today.
37:06It has been
37:07an insightful
37:08conversation.
37:09It's nice to
37:10know how
37:11our complaints
37:12are being
37:13handled, how
37:14do local
37:15counsellors
37:16respond to
37:17our queries.
37:18Do you have
37:19any parting
37:20insights you
37:21would like to
37:22share with
37:23our listeners
37:24before we
37:25end this
37:26show?
37:27Cities are
37:28inherited,
37:29right?
37:30No city in
37:31Malaysia is
37:32perfect.
37:33All the
37:34cities that
37:35we have
37:36is a
37:37mix of
37:38decisions that
37:39have been
37:40made for
37:41the last
37:4265 years
37:43is what
37:44is today.
37:45But the
37:46decisions we
37:47make in
37:48the last
37:4930 years,
37:50if you
37:51don't have
37:52a say now,
37:5330 years
37:54later it
37:55will be too
37:56late to
37:57have a
37:58say.
37:59That's
38:00right.
38:01That's why
38:02youths play
38:03an important
38:04role.
38:05I'm building
38:06the city
38:07that will
38:08be perfect
38:09for my
38:10retirement.
38:11I want it
38:12to be
38:13age-friendly.
38:14I don't
38:15want to
38:16be a
38:17caged
38:18dinosaur.
38:19All these
38:20phone numbers
38:21are on
38:22the website.
38:23You can
38:24reach out to
38:25us.
38:26Please do.
38:27We want to
38:28build a
38:29city that
38:30works for
38:31all of us
38:32together,
38:33a city we
38:34are proud
38:35of 20-30
38:36years later.
38:37Our city
38:38needs a lot
38:39of protecting.
38:40The climate
38:41is getting
38:42quite
38:43errant and
38:44we can't
38:45you can have a say in that. That's right. Yeah, apply for Nalina's internship.
38:50Yes, and please tell us what is the website that people can visit to view your numbers.
38:57Okay, so you can just Google Ahli Majlis MPPJ, depending on where your local council is.
39:02So, for example, if you're MBSA, you just Google Ahli Majlis MBSA.
39:06Just Google this, the website should pop up immediately.
39:08Anywhere in Selangor, you should be able to find the website.
39:12That's great. Well, once again, it's been a pleasure having you on our first podcast episode, Kusha.
39:18And we wish you all the best in your future endeavours.
39:21And as our local government representative, thanks for listening, everyone.
39:27The Life in the City podcast can be viewed on www.thestar.com.my.
39:41Thank you.