KUALA LUMPUR: With his science background, Sivarajan Arumugam should be tinkering with test tubes and microscopes.

Instead, he decided to hang up his laboratory coat to become a Shah Alam city councillor.

"I don't like spending all my time in the laboratory. It's just not me," he said.

Sivarajan, 39, received his education at Jalan Pudu Primary School and later at Victoria Institution. He obtained his degree in chemistry from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

His father, Arumugam Suppiah, was a government servant while his late mother, Thangamah Jacob, was a housewife. Sivarajan is the youngest of three children.




Q: How often do you check on your zone?

A: I have been given Zone 88, which is divided into two areas -- Section U4 and Section U5. But most of the time I am in Section U5 as the other section is mostly an industrial area. I make it a point to check on the areas two or three times a week and enquire about problems faced by the residents.





Q: Are there any problems in Section U5?

A: Yes, there is a dispute in the area on the incomplete road connecting the housing schemes. The area was developed by several developers and this has caused a problem today as the road linking the housing schemes has not been completed. The developers complete the roads only within their boundaries and the connecting road ends up a dead end.

Imagine a 6m-long road taking about five to six years to be built. This is absurd; we have allocated a portion of the council budget for infrastructure development in the area as well as other zones. Other problems in Section U5 are the usual things like keeping the area free of dengue and having the grass cut.





Q: How do you feel about the council's budget for next year?

A: It is not what I had expected. We did not get a chance to study the proposed budget, and the balance sheet for the previous budget was not given. However, we managed to discuss the budget at the council meeting and succeeded in cutting costs on non-crucial expenditure. I would like to suggest zero budgeting, where we start from scratch and list what the council needs to spend. This will enable us to know how much is going to be spent and where it would be used.



Q: Do you have any plans to make the council's operations smoother?

A: I have been pushing for the council to be transparent in all aspects in line with the state's freedom of information policy. This means that all documents, including accounts and financial reports, are not kept confidential any more. We must be transparent: the public are the rate-payers and they should know where their money goes.

I am also chairperson of the environmental section in the Local Agenda 21 committee; I want to have a clear guideline or charter on all developments. It will clearly state what the developers should comply with when planning a development project in a new area.





Q: You are a Shah Alam councillor but most of your time is spent in Kota Damansara helping Dr Nasir. How do you justify that?

A: Not many people know that a portion of Kota Damansara comes under the Shah Alam council. The other portion is under Petaling Jaya. My area would be the northern part of Kota Damansara and I still oversee areas at the Shah Alam boundary. I have got my hands full but I see it as a full-time job.





Q: Both Petaling Jaya and Shah Alam are cities and they are closely located. What distinguishes the two cities?

A: To me, Petaling Jaya is a metropolis. Shah Alam, on the other hand, still has transit homes, new villages and the largest Malay settlement in Kampung Melayu Subang. We still hold on to rural and traditional cultures in most of the areas. However, we also face problems such as the presence of illegal factories in Kampung Subang and Kampung Baru Sungai Buloh.





Q: Which city committees are you on and what matters have the committees raised?

A: I have been appointed to sit on three committees: licensing, assessment and appointments, and bylaws.

In licensing, our focus is to overcome the night-market problem; many traders are doing business without permits and the council needs to reorganise night market operations. Under the previous government, some night markets were controlled by a few influential people. This will no longer be the case -- the council will manage all the night markets within city limits.

We are also seriously looking into the issue of illegal billboards and will come down hard on offenders. In time, we will tear down illegal billboards as the council is losing thousands in fees.

We also have made it clear that approval of licences for massage centres, cyber cafes and entertainment outlets must be reviewed by the committee before the licensing director can issue them. This is to prevent any favouritism and quell doubts about the transparency of the process.

I am also working on new bylaws. One bylaw will help the low-income group to obtain licences in an open and transparent system.

In the assessment committee, we have come out with a "contra" system whereby tenants who fail to settle their debts by the given deadline will have their properties seized to "contra" against the amount owed.





Q: Where have you travelled so far?

A: Many places, including overseas. Most of it is due to work and to attend political meetings.





Q: Which party do you belong to?

A: Parti Sosialis Malaysia; I am its national treasurer.





Q: I was told you like to draw.

A: Yes, I like to draw, mostly portraits and cartoons. Sometimes I sketch and doodle just to pass the time and ease the tension when I'm under stress.