Local councillors urged to resign - The Star

IPOH: April 22, 2008

Umno-appointed local councillors and village heads should resign from their posts as a matter of principle, Perak Umno chief Datuk Seri Mohammad Tajol Rosli Ghazali said.

“The question of them being forced to quit doesn’t arise,” he said.

Commenting on the resignation of Umno-appointed councillors, Tajol Rosli said: “Just like the issue of village heads, the councillors asked for our opinion on whether to resign or not.

“We just ask them one thing – what will you do if you are asked to pledge your loyalty to the government of the day?”

He pointed out that when they were invited to meet the new Mentri Besar, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, there would be a pledge of loyalty.

“How can the Umno-appointed village heads pledge their loyalty to Nizar’s government?” he asked.

Tajol Rosli, who is also Perak Barisan Nasional chief, pointed out that the appointments of the local councillors and village heads were by the previous government.

He stressed that the appointees were unlike civil servants who pledge their loyalty to the government of the day.

Of the state’s 349 councillors, 139 were from Umno, 95 from MCA, 53 from Gerakan, 35 from MIC, 10 from PPP and 17 were apolitical.

Tajol Rosli said some of the Umno-appointed local councillors had tendered their resignation.

So far, an unknown number of Umno councillors, 95 from MCA and 52 from Gerakan have resigned.