Jo Nandu
Updated
KOTA KINABALU: Pergerakkan Pemantau Sukarelawan Penampang (PANTAU Penampang), a community movement based in Penampang, has called on the Ministry of Local Government and Housing (MLGH) to look into the plight of Penampang District Council (PDC) staff who are unsure of their employment status.
According to the movement’s chairperson, Jo Nandu, there are several staff listed under the status of ¡¥temporary¡¦ who have yet to be upgraded to become permanent staff despite having worked for more than a decade and passed the requisite requirements for the said upgrading.
“This is bad because some of them may miss out on the pension scheme if this continues and not dealt with immediately.
“understand that PDC has already submitted to MLGH the names of those eligible for upgrading, so I hope the new minister will look into this matter immediately and at the same time, PDC should do the necessary follow-up with that ministry,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He also bemoans the future of some of the PDC’s staff who are being listed as daily wage earners.
“Irrespective of what their jobs are, these people had in some way or another, contributed to the management of the district through their commitment to perform jobs and responsibilities entrusted to them.
“If we don’t treat our local staff properly by giving them, say a fixed monthly wages, then in the future, our own locals will shun away from these jobs and if this happen, we will start to privatise some of the jobs or worst, employ foreigners to do the jobs,” he said.
Nandu also called for the end of nepotism practice in PDC and said that employment in that agency should not be made through the interference of the State’s minister.
“Employment in the PDC must be made through the meritocracy system and preference should be given to Penampang folks who reside in the district and not those coming from other districts such as Tuaran or Putatan.
“Outstation employment should only be made if there exist an acute shortage of competent staff in PDC that necessitate the employment to avoid delays in any part of the section,” he said.
As for the PDC staff who have been employed through the recommendation or interference by the previous Barisan Nasional ministers, he suggested for them to be transferred to other districts in Sabah and their places filled by genuine Penampang folks through the normal process of interviews and so on.
Nandu also called for an end of wastages and cronyism in PDC and hope that the incoming new district officer and councilors will give high priority on these two issues.
“We have heard so many complaints by the Penampang folks in the past regarding the wastage of funds through the many unnecessary projects, such as the infamous little gongs on top of the streetlight poles that can be seen all over Donggongon town.
“I don’t know how much had been spent for this project but I reckon the funds should have been utilised to upgrade the drainage system at the worst affected areas to reduce the effect of flooding,” he said.
Nandu also urged for an end to cronyism practice, irrespective of who is asking for the projects, that had severely affected many local and hardworking contractors.
“It is time for us to work together and make sure that PDC becomes a transparent, reputable and committed agency in the district,” he concluded.