Dozens of Taman Weng Lock residents turned up to protest the closed election of the Jalan Riong Rukun Tetangga committee last night, causing the Brickfields District Unity Officer to call it off after several hours. — Picture taken from Facebook

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 — My neighbours scored a small victory on Friday night, standing up for their right to have a say in our Rukun Tetangga.

We were standing up for a principle,that a body that is supposed to represent us should be elected by us. This principle is nowhere reflected in the Rukun Tetangga Act 2012, which creates RT Committees (RTs) by appointment.

These appointments are made by district Rukun Tetangga officers of the National Unity and Integration Department run by the Prime Minister’s Department.

The National Unity Department funds the RTs of the country.

Dozens of my neighbours in Taman Weng Lock turned up to protest the closed election of the Jalan Riong Rukun Tetangga committee last night, causing the Brickfields District Unity Officer to call it off after several hours.

The Rukun Tetangga Act 2012 has effectively created the urban counterpart of the Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung (JKKK).

Under this Act, RT Committee members are appointed without any election by the residents of the RT area. The key office bearers are also appointed “after consulting with the Rukun Tetangga Committee members”, and not the residents of the area.

The Act doesn’t even allow residents to become members of the RT. In other words, a RT consists of only the RT Committee. Not very neighbourly.

The Committee is not required to hold an annual general meeting or even to tell residents that a meeting is being held. The Committee is also not required to tell residents of their activities or projects for improving the area, only that such activities should be organised.

Is this why our little playground was paved over and the slide and swing set removed? Is this why some beautiful shade trees were lopped off? Is this why Taman Weng Lock has been renamed Bangsar Pertama? Where did the funds for these works come from? I don’t know because no one told me or my neighbours.

If it was the doing of the previous RT, we have very little recourse against them because they have the same protection from prosecution and legal suits as public authorities. They are protected under the Public Authorities Protection Act.

This is very disturbing especially in view of one of the Committee’s functions: to “receive information on, to observe and investigate, all issues pertaining to community conflict and report such information, observation and investigation to the Director”.

This has happened in my neighbourhood and it could happen in any neighbourhood anywhere in Malaysia. And you won’t have any say in many of the things that could happen under your friendly Neighbourhood Committee.

I must make clear that I am standing for election as Chairman of my neighbourhood RT Committee.

I am a new incoming Committee Member and part of a team of eight who are not on the previous Committee.

And, yes, I am one of those appointed via a letter signed by the District Unity Officer of Brickfields.

My name was submitted when some neighbours found out by chance of the formation of the new Committee and asked me to be involved. All we had to do to become a Committee Member was to write to the District Unity Officer, giving our names and particulars. That’s all it took.

My team and I rallied our neighbours to attend the election last night, and we won. We disagree with the way things have been done by the previous Committee, and we disagree with how “community representatives” are picked.

We want to save Taman Weng Lock.

I’m not sure when the postponed election will be held. But watch our Save Taman Weng Lock Facebook page. Come to the next election at our little pondok. Speak up. Come and be counted.

* The writer’s experience and views were expressed in a letter to The Malay Mail Online