What exactly is the role of the Member of Parliament?
I remember some 20 years ago, Dr Tan Seng Giaw used to tell me that it is not the Member of Parliament's responsibilty to peek into clogged drains and other public amenities. Yet, without fail, the Kepong MP would faithfully come to the ground to see for himself the complaint, big or small. This was part of his weekly schedule of meeting the people on matters that affected them. Local Government's Failure While Dr Tan and I (MP and voter) agreed that looking at clogged drains should be the job of the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), we all know the reality on the ground -- the local government throughout the whole country has failed miserably. I can say that at the very least, Penang seems to havve gotten it right. Well, at least on one aspect -- cleanliness of the island! ...