Onus not on MCC to brief public on private projects, has no personal interest in waterfront development
Lai shows the press the Local Authority Ordinance 1996.
MIRI: Mayor Lawrence Lai says Miri City Council (MCC) should not be blamed for failing to keep the public informed of the status and plan of projects implemented by the private sector, such as the Marina Park here.
The project was dragged into controversy as several parking lots at Miri Waterfront Commercial Centre have been scrapped to make way for a new access road to link the marina with Jalan Bendahara.
“I was blamed for not giving enough briefing on the development project to the people. They must bear in mind and understand that this is a private project. It is not up to the mayor or city council to brief the public on the project or any other project implemented by the private sector,” Lai told the press yesterday.
The mayor was responding to accusations by Miri MP Dr Michael Teo and Pujut assemblyman Fong Pau Teck on Wednesday that he had failed to brief the public on the project.
Lai said if he were to give the briefing the public might have the impression that he had a personal interest on the project and cast doubts on his integrity as a mayor.
“What would the people think (of me) if I always brief the public on every private project. They would think that I have some personal interest (on the projects).The city council can only update the public on its own projects.”
As elected representatives, Lai said Dr Teo and Fong should know the roles and jurisdiction of the city council, government departments and agencies.
“In this case, car parks, roads, drains and culverts are all part of an engineering plan. The approval of engineering plan comes under the Land and Survey Department while some come under the Ministry of Resource Planning,” said Lai.
The building of Marina Park was approved 20 years ago, he pointed out.
“Not all roads come under the city council. Some come under Public Works Department (JKR) and district office. The city council is not part of the planning authority. Our role under Building Ordinance only approve building plans and later issue occupational permits ,” he added.
City councils are governed under Local Authority Ordinance 1996 and have to work and operate within the purview of the local authority ordinance.
Lai was also questioned why he had not protested against the loss of parking lots in front of his own legal firm affected by the project.
“If I were to speak up then I have vested interest. I was appointed by the state government to protect public interest. It would be a very personal matter if I were to do that. I have to put people’s interest above personal interest even though the project affects the parking space in front of my law firm,” said Lai.
The State Planning Authority (SPA) has approved the plan and it is not up to the city council to object he added.
“If they want to object they should do it earlier. They didn’t do it when the project was being implemented,” he added.
Lai said the council’s Infrastructure standing committee would be looking into creating parking lots in the area upon completion of the road during their next meeting.
“We hope to create 20 parking lots at the former site after the on-going project is completed and the road handed over to the council. We have instructed our officers to go on the ground to really look into the issue,” said Lai.
He also believed that motorists would not face any problem looking for parking lots in the area as there was a private seven-storey car park not far from area.