EX- VILLAGE CHIEF QUESTIONS DELAYS IN VILLAGE APPOINTMENTS

 WED 13 Jan 2021

PENAMPANG.  A former village chief of Kg Terawi here questioned the new government delays in getting work done. Rollis Mitol said even grass at road shoulders leading to his village are so tall it blocks motorist view as they join the main road. "Are the authority concerned waiting for a fatal accident here before acting?" he queried. This could be due to the village administrative committee or JKKK and village chief are yet to be appointed since the new government took over three months ago, he said.

It does not matter who gets appointed but services to the communities must be the prime consideration, he stressed.

 

One former JKKK member shown pointing on tall grass wanted to volunteer cut the grass himself with own grass cutter,  however the others discouraged him since this good deed will never be appreciated by any government leaders, and moreover the JKR contractor appointed to do this work will claim his free work as their own and get paid for it.

Rollis who was village chief for more than two years does not expect to be reappointed after getting his termination letter but not happy when a replacement is not appointed immediately.  Some of my villagers are still approaching me for certification but in other villages of Putatan new village chiefs are already serving the people so why here in Penampang, everything is slow, he added.

He opined that a village chief should command the respect of his villagers, knows what are happening there as well as customs and traditions of the natives. He should recognise all his villagers especially in graveyard issue where outsiders might be buried in the village, he said. Hence it is time that village chiefs are elected by the residents and not otherwise, he added.

Village chiefs are also members of the Native Court or Mahkamah Anak Negeri (MAN) and should be given 5 year term and not based on political cronies, and should only be removed when unable to perform his duties.

My 2 years experience at the MAN, we found the services were really upgraded with nearly a week training to all new village chiefs and members of the MAN inclusive of computerisation.  Are the new recruits able to continue the service smoothly or are they starting with a new round of trainings?  Everytime there is a change of politics, is the MAN going to be overhauled again and again without end, so when will this court be uplifted same as the other courts? Rollis concluded.

Pix:  the human height grass on the road

Inset:  Rollis Mitol