By Norrasyidah Arshad
PETALING JAYA, Jan 4 — Some 24 Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) councillors including two new appointments took their oath today.
They took the oath and pledge of integrity as MBPJ councillors for the 2023 term in front of president Mohamad Azhan Md Amir at Dewan Bunga Tanjung MBPJ.
Mohamad Azhan hoped the appointment would help the local council to deliver more efficient and proactive services for Petaling Jaya folks.
“The role of councillors is to bear responsibility as policymakers under the state government, in addition to mobilising the community to get involved with programmes organised by MBPJ.
“Hopefully all newly-appointed councillors will be more concerned about problems faced by local people and would help to resolve the problems. We need strong commitment from the councillors to continue developing Petaling Jaya,” he said after the swearing-in ceremony today.
Meanwhile, he added that compounds will be issued to hawkers and food operators around Petaling Jaya who fail to wear face masks.
Mohamad Azhan said the action will be taken in stages once the awareness campaign has been concluded.
“At this moment, we have begun our enforcement by educating them on the importance of face masks. Should they violate the directive, we will not issue the compound immediately, instead to give a reminder first.
“However, if they continue to violate the rules, compounds will be issued,” he said, adding that MBPJ’s enforcement officers will go to the ground to conduct random checks.
On December 29, Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari said the mandatory use of face masks for hawkers and restaurant operators in the state from January 1 is aimed to improve the level of hygiene in food handling.
He said this approach can also increase customer confidence in addition to avoiding the spread of Covid-19 and food poisoning issues.
