She said the Federal Capital Act 1960, which governs the manner in which the city is run, must be amended to allow for the appointment of councillors to improve the manner in which the city communicates with, and responds to, its residents.
“I feel very strongly about this. I have eight to nine staff members (at my service centre) handling all the different complaints in our constituency.
“It takes a lot of manpower to do that,” Kok told FMT.
Currently, DBKL only has a 15-member advisory board chaired by the city’s mayor.
Under Section 6 of the Act, the board’s role only involves advising the mayor on matters connected with the administration of the city and addressing questions referred to it by the ministry or the mayor.
However, Kok said this is not enough.
“Councillors (can) play an important role in shouldering the burden, and they can also monitor DBKL’s operations,” she said.
Her suggestion has the backing of DAP colleague and Selangor executive councillor Ng Sze Han.
Ng said the introduction of a councillor system in Kuala Lumpur would allow for improved implementation of policies on the ground.
“MPs cannot attend to all areas of their constituencies at once. As such, delegating small areas to councillors can make things move faster,” he told FMT.
He said Selangor is zoned into 12 local councils and has in total 272 appointed councillors.
These councillors act as mediators between the authorities and the people, he said. They make sure the public understands local government processes and help them to follow up with the authorities on issues raised.
Meanwhile, Kok lauded the mayor and DBKL for according greater respect and recognition to the city’s political representatives.
“All those years, when I was in the opposition bloc, we had to do everything ourselves,” she said, adding that DBKL had on numerous occasions “ignored” letters sent by her office because of her political alignment.
However, she said, things have improved in recent times, with the mayor and senior DBKL officials meeting all Kuala Lumpur MPs once a month to discuss issues in their constituencies.